Root nodule age-class transition, production and decomposition in an age sequence of Alnus nepalensis plantation stands in the eastern Himalayas.
Abstract
For 5 plantation stands (age 7-56 yr) in the Kalimpong forest district in the hills of Darjeeling, data are presented on the age transition of nodules from young to medium to old to inactive and the nodule biomass contribution of these stages, annual nodule production and decomposition rates, nutrient (N, P, K and Ca) and energy release patterns, and relations between decomposition rates, nodule quality and environmental factors.