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Abstract
This work reports the changes occurring in production and decomposition of litter and its invertebrate fauna during succession in a pasture and three forest patches of different ages (11,21 and 30 years) in Ciudad Colón, Costa Rica, at 800 m above sea level, with an annual rainfall of about 2000 mm, and a mean annual temperature of 23 C. There is a severe dry season of approximately 6 months.
Litter production increases with the age of the forest, 65% and 87%, respectively, in the 11- and 21 -year old forests as compared with that of the 30-year-old patch. The rate of decomposition is very similar in the two older forests.
The invertebrate population is more diverse and stable in the 30 year-old forest, but an increment of this fauna was observed in the three forests when litter moisture increased with the first rains. Mites, ants and collembola were the most abundant groups found in the litter of the three forests and in the pasture.
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Copyright (c) 1977 Revista de Biología Tropical