Litterfall nutrient content in fertilised plots in the Central Amazon, 2017-2019

To determine macro and micronutrients and secondary compounds, litter samples were bulked by plot using litterfall material collected during the months of August of 2017, 2018, and 2019. All analysis were conducted at INPA's soil and plants lab. After dried, samples 0.5g of each sample were ground using a knife and/ or ball mill for nutritional analysis. Leaves and insect frass were analysed separately. Micronutrients, phosphorus, and cations were analysed by nitroperchloric digestion protocol described by Malavolta et al. (1989). The base cations (K, Ca, and Mg) and micronutrients were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS, 1100 B, Perkin-Elmer, Ueberlingen, Germany) (Anderson and Ingram, 1993). The total P concentrations were determined by colorimetry (Anderson and Ingram, 1993), and quantified by spectrophotometry (UV-120-01, Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan). The C and N contents were determined using an automatic C and N analyzer (VARIO MAX CHN Element Analyzer) (Nelson and Sommers, 1996). Leaves were not identified by species and leaf characteristics represent means at plot level (Metcalfe et al., 2014).

Concentrations of lignin and cellulose in the litter were determined by the ADF- sulfuric method (Van Soest, 1963; Rowland and Roberts, 1994). The method consists in applying an acidic detergent solution (ADF), followed by the cellulose using H2SO4 72%, with lignin subsequently determined by weight loss on ignition 0 to 50° C in a muffle furnace.

This dataset is included in the following collections

Amazon Fertilization Experiment (AFEX) in Central Amazon, Brazil (2017-2020)