Can fertilization and liming affect the amount of litter and roots on Pinus taeda forest floor?

The present study evaluated the litter accumulation and the roots contained in the litter as related to different fertilization and liming situations in a commercial stand of Pinus taeda (23 years), after five-year application.The study was established in a site of low fertility, located in the forest region of Jaguariaíva -PR.In 2008 an area of 1 ha was selected to establish a subtraction diagnosis, with 7 treatments (Complete; less macro; less micro; less K; less Zn; less lime and control) with 4 replicates.The accumulated litter dry matter, as well as its compartments was quantified: new litter, old litter and humus.The total dry matter of roots contained in litter (≤2 mm) and coarse roots (> 2 mm), total root length, root length (fine and coarse) and total volume of the roots contained in the litter were evaluated.No effect of the treatments on the evaluated attributes was verified, except on the dry matter of old litter.A very expressive accumulation of litter in the stands studied (88 to 116 Mg ha -1 ) was verified mostly in the fine fraction (58.2 to 83.3 Mg ha -1 ).Dry matter of roots (6 to 8.5 Mg ha -1 ) and root length found in litter (142 to 176 thousand km ha -1 ) were also high, being much higher than those found in the literature.The absence of effect of fertilization and liming on the assessed attributes suggests that these practices are not very efficient in stands with more advanced age.