Organic Matter in Novel Forests Can Create Ideal Conditions for Agroforestry.

The anthropogenic introduction of invasive plant species and land cover change are transforming the environment. In Puerto Rico, this has resulted in secondary forests dominated by invasive and introduced species, which can be considered novel ecosystems. Forests are self-sufficient systems that do not need external inputs to thrive, contrary to most of the man made agrosystems that require these external inputs to operate. The study of the ecological function in novel forest ecosystems can help understand how we can manage to develop self-sustainable agro-ecosystems. The soil is the base of the trophic levels in the environment and it is directly linked to the cycle of the exchange of nutrients in the forest through litterfall and decomposition. Getting to know how this dynamic works can broaden the knowledge of how to manage forests and agro-ecosystems. In this study, we quantified mass and nutrient content of standing litter components (leaf, wood, reproductive material) in novel forest sites and relate these to the traits of the dominant introduced species. We evaluated four dominant species and catalog them in two groups Nitrogen fixing group Senna casia, Albizia procera and Non fixing group Spathodea campanulata, Castilla elastica. For each dominant specie we evaluated five sites and extracted one soil sample and three litter sample to be processed and analyzed. The Nitrogen fixing group had more light going in the underbrush and had a larger amount of leaf and wood material scattered on the floor providing space for the succession of other species. The Non fixing group sites had less light going to the underbrush and had more presence of reproductive material. To deepen the study the soil and litter material chemical composition and properties has been analyzed, with this data we’ll have a better idea of which plant group and specie is better suited for the implementation of agroforestry and help design feasible self-sustainable practices for the improvement of our agrosystems.