Litterfall, plant litter, leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, or duff, is dead plant material, such as leaves, bark, needles, and twigs, that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent nutrients are added to the top layer of soil, commonly known as the litter layer or O horizon ("O" for "organic"). Litter has occupied the attention of ecologists at length for the reasons that it is an instrumental factor in ecosystem dynamics, is indicative of ecological productivity, and may be useful in predicting regional nutrient cycling and soil fertility.
Read more about Soil Litter: Characteristics and Variability, Net Primary Productivity, Nutrient Cycle, Collection and Analysis, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words soil and/or litter:
“Let him
Who was love’s teacher teach you too love’s cure;
Let the same hand that wounded bring the balm.
Healing and poisonous herbs the same soil bears,
And rose and nettle oft grow side by side.”
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)
“Sunday morning may be cheery enough, with its extra cup of coffee and litter of Sunday newspapers, but there is always hanging over it the ominous threat of 3 P.M., when the sun gets around to the back windows and life stops dead in its tracks.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)