DOI: 10.5061/dryad.3ffbg79zz
title: Data from: Biomass and nutrient dynamics of fine litter of terrestrially rooted and epiphytic material in a neotropical montane forest, Costa Rica

description: To investigate the importance of the epiphyte community to ecosystem
 nutrient cycling, we assessed the standing crop, input rates, and turnover
 rates of litterfall derived from epiphytic material and compared them to
 litterfall derived from terrestrially rooted material in a neotropical
 cloud forest in Monteverde, Costa Rica. The standing crop of fallen
 epiphytic material in 1988 was 0.5 t ha-1and 0.3 t ha-1in 1990. Annual
 input of fallen epiphytic material was 0.5 t ha-1, more than two times as
 much as has been reported for other tropical cloud forests. This is
 equivalent to 5-10 percent of total fine litter at the site (7.5 t ha-1).
 Nutrient input from fallen epiphytic material was (kg ha-1yr-1): N, 7.5
 (7% of nutrient transfer via total fine litter); P, 0.5 (8%); Ca, 4.2
 (4%); Mg, 0.8 (5%); and K, 0.1 (1%). Assuming a steady state condition in
 this old-growth forest, epiphyte-derived litter biomass had a higher
 annual decay rate (Ka= 1.3) than did litter derived from terrestrially
 rooted plants (0.7). However, turnover time (1/Ka) of all nutrients except
 K in fallen epiphytic material was four to six times slower than for
 nutrients in terrestrially rooted material; K was tenfold faster. Over
 half of the fallen epiphytic material was collected in less than 2 percent
 of the collections, indicating the deposition of epiphytic material is
 highly sporadic in space and time and must be measured at the appropriate
 spatial scale.
description: # Data from: Biomass and nutrient dynamics of fine litter of terrestrially
 rooted and epiphytic material in a neotropical montane forest, Costa Rica
 Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.3ffbg79zz](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3ffbg79zz) ##
 Description of the data and file structure To investigate the dynamics of
 nutrient transfer in fine litter, we assessed the forest floor standing
 mass, input rates, and turnover rates of litter derived from terrestrially
 rooted material in a neotropical cloud forest in Monteverde, Costa Rica,
 and compared them to litter dynamics in other tropical cloud forests. The
 mean standing crop of fine litter was 10.1 t ha ^-1^, and showed no
 striking seasonal differences but apparent annual differences. Input of
 fine litter was 7.0 t ha ^-1^ y ^-1^ and showed a strong seasonal pattern,
 with the greatest amounts of fine litter falling during the dry season.
 Nutrient input from fine litter was (kg ha ^-1^ y ^-1^): N, 93; P, 6; Ca,
 115; Mg, 15; and K, 12. Assuming a steady state condition in this
 old-growth forest, fine litter had an annual decay rate (K~a~) of 0.69 and
 a turnover time (1/K~a~) of 1.4 years. About 25 percent of N and 42
 percent of P were retranslocated from foliage prior to abscission. Litter
 nutrient fluxes were high, and nutrient use efficiency was low compared to
 other tropical montane forests, indicating that N and P may not be as
 limiting in this forest as in other montane forests.
 **Primary_standing_crop_biomass_and_both_terrestrial_litterfall_and_standing_crop_composition.csv** Biomass measures (grams per square meter) and composition (percentage leaves, sticks, moss, and miscellaneous) are provided for the terrestrial-derived standing crop. For terrestrial-derived standing crop composition measurements, es reproductive tissues were minimal (listed as “null”) and when present, included under miscellaneous. Additionally, composition (including separate values for reproductive tissues) is provided for terrestrial leaflitter. Biomass data is not available for terrestrial litterfall and is listed as “null”. Sampling dates range from May 26th 1987 through March 6th 1990, and span all three local seasons (Dry, Wet, and Misty), totaling 163 observations. The standing crop data in the original paper spanned through the end of July 1990; however, the last two years of data were not available for archival. The last standing crop measure provided is from December 1988. **Primary_standing_crop_and_terrestrial_litterfall_nutrients_by_component.csv** Nutrient concentrations (mg per g) of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium are provided for each component (Leaves, Sticks, Moss, and Miscellaneous) of the terrestrial-derived standing crop and litterfall. Reproductive components are also included for litterfall measures. Sampling dates range from June 20th 1987, through September 19th 1998, and span both the Dry and Wet seasons for standing crop measures, and all three seasons for litterfall, totaling 111 observations. **Primary_Terrestrial_litterfall_biomass_nutrients.csv** Fine litterfall was collected in 23 ground buckets over multiple sampling intervals ranging from 5 to 31 days. The biomass of the leaflitter was measured for each interval and standardized to values of grams per square meter per day, week, and year. Utilizing the mean nutrient values and composition for litterfall in the above datasets, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium values were calculated for each sample. Nutrient measures are provided for each sample, both as a percentage and as grams per square meter per day, week, and year. Finally, to compare to other studies nutrient are provided in kg per hectare per year. Sampling dates range from June 20th 1987, through September 30th 1991, and span all three local seasons (Dry, Wet, and Misty), totaling 1,796 observations. Information on specific Ground_bucket_ID is not available before Sept. 20th, 1988, and these values are listed as “null’. **Nutrient_content_of_live_foliage_and_terrestrial_litterfall.csv** Samples were analyzed for five macronutrients (K, P, N, Na, Ca) and one micronutrient (Al). Macronutrients are expressed in mean percent of total leaf dry weight, while micronutrients are expressed in parts per million (ppm). Live foliage and corresponding litterfall were sampled from three individual trees across four tree species (12 trees total) monthly for 24 months, across three seasons (dry, wet, and misty), for a total of 180 observations. Four monthly samplings resulted in no nutrient measures. Sodium was not assessed in the last two months, and other nutrient measures were occasionally unmeasurable throughout the study—all of these are reported as “null” values. **Primary_epiphytic_standing_crop_and_litterfall_composition.csv** Biomass measures (grams per square meter) and composition (percentage dead organic matter, bryophytes, and vascular plants) are provided for the epiphytic-derived standing crop and litterfall. One sample turned 0.00 g of litterfall, and thus, composition values are reported as “null”. 21 litterfall traps with unique IDs (Sample ID) were sampled from Sept. 21st, 198,8 through Aug. 5th 1991, spanning all three local seasons (Dry, Wet, and Misty), totaling 620 observations. the  As standing crop was not assessed via litterfall traps standing crop IDs are reported as “null”. Standing crop was measured on July 1st 1991 (15 observations). **Primary_epiphytic_standing_crop_nutrients_by_component.csv** Nutrient concentrations (g per square meter) of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calciu,m and molybdenum are provided for each component (Dead organic matter, Bryophytes, and Vascular plants) of the epiphyte-derived standing crop. Sampling occurred on two dates (July 29th 1988, and June 6th 1989) during the wet season. Values are provided for each component per date for a total of 6 observations. **Primary_epiphytic_litterfall_biomass.csv** Fine litterfall was collected in 21 litterfall traps over 87 sampling intervals ranging from 9 to 30 days. The length of the 4th  sampling interval is not known and recorded as “null”. Specific litterfall trap ID was not available before March 31st 1988, and is reported as “null” for these observations. The biomass of the leaflitter was measured for each interval and standardized to values of grams per square meter per day, week, and year. Sampling dates range from Dec 20th1987 through August 5th 1991, and span all three local seasons (Dry, Wet, and Misty), totaling 1,769 observations. Nutrient estimates per sampling were not readily calculable, as they were for the terrestrial litterfall data.