| Wanmulin Nature Reserve in Jian'ou Fujjian China is one of the earliest nature reserves of China. The communities in it are complex and the species are abundant that they have become typical forest ecosystem reserved in China. It's communities developed well, most species are listed as rare forest species .As a nature reserve, Wanmulin is rarely disturbed by human' activities ,so it has important academic value in scientific research. From January 2000 to December 2002,the litter characteristics, such as amount, component, seasonal dynamics, nutrient content and return, decomposition and energy release were studied for seven natural forests of Schima superba (SCS), Castanopsis fabri (CAF), Tsoongiodendron odorum (TSO), Cinnamomum chekiangeme (CIC), Altingia gracilipes (ALG), Castanopsis carlesii (CAC) and Pimis massoniana (PIM), and the comparisons of the seven forests characteristics were also conducted with those of an adjacent 29-year-old plantation of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata, CUL) in Wanmulin The results were shown as follows.1 During the three years, the litterfall of different species differed significantly. Litterfall of eight species was ranked as PIM.>SCS>CAF>TSO>CIC>ALG>CAOCUL. The litterfall of PIM 'was the largest .amounted to 8850.56 kg hm-2 yr-1; CUL, the smallest ,4631.08 kghm-2yr-1.The components of litter were of the most complexity. Leaf litter was the most major part of litterfall., accounted for more than 60% of total litterfall; and branch litterfall of CUL is higher significantly than any other species.2. There were three patterns of monthly variation of litter mass: unimodal, bimodal, multi-modal .CAF, CAC, ALG followed unimodal, SCS, TSO complied with bimodal.CIC, PIM, CUL showed three peaks. Peak time showed significant difference among different species. Monthly variation in either leaf litterfall or branch litterfall was similar to that of the total litter fall.3. There was significant difference in nutrient content among eight species. The rank order of nutrient content of the six broadleaved species and PIM was N>Ca>K>Mg>P, while that of CUL was Ca>N>K>Mg>P.4. Contents ofN and Mg were high in leaf litter, P> K were richest in flower litter and cones litter, Ca was high in branch litter. Both content of N and P in leaf litter of eight species correlated with its' amount of leaf litter. N and P content in littered foliage was high during the months when foliage littered in the largest amount, while they were low in the months of little fall of foliage. Variety of K. in leaf is large and there was no rule. The monthly variation of N, P,K content in branch litter of CUL presented similar trend to that of leaf fall..5. Foliage fall is the principal part of returned nutrient to the forest floor due to the largest amount and nutrient content, The amount of N returned to forest floor was highest., then that of Ca, with the exception of CUL. The amount of P was lowest, among eight species.6. the monthly variety pattern of returned N, P showed similar trend to that of foliage fall. The returned amount of K differed significantly with different months.7. The caloric value was high in leaf litter and cone litter, and those of CAF, TSO, CIC were the highest in corn litter, while for the other five species, the values were the highest in leaf litter.. Of eight species, the energy flow through litter was the highest in PIM (16931.14KJ m-2 yr-1), and was the lowest in CUL (10117.10 KJ m-2 yr-1). The percent of energy flow through leaf litter of total energy flow was the highest among different litter components. Then that of branch litter..
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