Annual and seasonal patterns of litter‐fall of hard beech (Nothofagus truncata) and silver beech (Nothofagus menziesil) in relation to reproduction

Abstract Vegetative and reproductive components of litter‐fall of hard beech were measured for five years and of silver beech for four years under mature trees in the Orongorongo Valley, near Wellington, New Zealand. Mean annual total litter‐fall of hard beech (477 g m ‐2 ) included 318 g of leaves and 109 g of twigs; that of silver beech (463 g m ‐2 ) included 295 g of leaves and 164 g of twigs. In one year only (1994/95) both species flowered and seeded prolifically. The two species produced similar numbers of seeds (hard beech 4866 seeds m ‐2 ; silver beech 5551 seeds m ‐2 ) but litter from male flowers, seeds, and cupules of hard beech weighed 232 g m ‐2 compared with only 59 g m‐ 2 for silver beech. Seasonal patterns of leaf‐fall of the two species also differed substantially; peak leaf‐fall of hard beech was in November and of silver beech in April/ May. These differences in the amounts and timing of the components of litter‐fall between species and years will have important ecosystem effects.