Leaf Production During Secondary Succession in Northern Hardwoods

Leaf biomass is an important component of forest ecosystems. It is proportional to leaf area and primary production and also contains a major portion of a plants annual nutrient uptake and its contribution, through litter fall, to the forest floor. Thus leaf biomass reflects important developmental differences in both primary production and nutrient cycling between stands. While much information is avaialable for changes in leaf production over time in monospecific stands we know of no similar published data for a mixed-species temperate forest.