Quantitative analysis of litter-fall in hornbeam-oak-pine stands in the Lviv Roztoche region

The aim of the article is to find out if there is a difference between amount of litter-fall in hornbeam-oak-pine stands according to regeneration (naturally and artificially) and age of the stand (middle-aged, mature). We analysed the annual dynamics of litter-fall (litter) and its fractions (needles of Scots pine; leaves of common oak; leaves of associate species; twigs; bark; pine cones; acorns of common oak; seeds of other species; acorn cups, winged seeds; lichens, mosses) in middle-aged hornbeam-oak-pine stands which were regenerated naturally or artificially on the cutover sites following two-stage uniform shelterwood felling and clearcutting, as well as in a mature parent stand (control plot) in the Lviv Roztoche region. Two peaks of organic matter fall have been revealed on both the control plot and the experimental plots: the largest one in October and much lower in May. It was found that the annual mass of litter was 5.8 - 6.6 tons per hectare, the annual weight of litter in the middle-aged hornbeam-oak-pine stands was greater than in the mature stands. Annual dynamics of certain fractions of litter in the stands is preconditioned by the specificity of functioning of the relevant bodies of the trees.