| Summary: | In this study, the above-ground biomass, the amount of annual litterfall of tree components (needle, branch, cone, bark, and other) and the amount of carbon and plant nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) passing into the forest floor by litterfall were determined in different natural black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) stands in terms of canopy cover and development stages in Türkmen Mountain. The study was carried out between June 2012 and June 2013. The average annual amount of litterfall in the study area was found to be 3,449 kg/ha. The proportion of foliage in the total litterfall is 53%; followed by 25% for cone, 11% for other material, 6% for bark and 5% for branch. The amount of litterfall varies according to the types of stands, and as the canopy cover and the average diameter of stand increase, the amount of litterfall generally increases. The amounts of annual carbon and plant nutritious elements (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu) entering the ecosystem by litterfall were calculated 1,744 kg/ha/year, and 10.11 kg/ha/year, 1.73 kg/ha/year, 11.41 kg/ha/year, 25.73 kg/ha/year, 2.41 kg/ha/year, 5.99 kg/ha/year, 307 kg/ha/year, 1299 kg/ha/year, 309 kg/ha/year, 140 kg/ha/year and 63.1 kg/ha/year, respectively. With this study, the turnover rates which can be used to estimate the annual amounts of the litterfall of tree components from live trees were also calculated. These annual turnover rates used in various models to estimate the amount of organic carbon stored in forest soils were found to be 0.170 for needles, 0.008 for branches and 0.012 for barks.
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