Abstract
In order to determine the effects of frequent forest fire on the decomposition process, two dominant species of heath forests were studied: T. obovata and C. pulcherrimum. During a period of two years, it was observed that T. obovata decomposed more rapidly with higher nutrient release than C. pulcherrimum in intact and post-fire stands. The decomposition rates of the two species were higher in the intact stand than in the post-fire stand. C/N ratio dynamics and nitrogen release were determined showing that T. obovata rapidly released nutrients and C. pulcherrimum retained nutrients. The results suggest that forest fire did not change the nutrient release pattern of these two dominant species, but did slow the decomposition rate and, consequently, affected the rate of nitrogen release.
