scholarly journals Xylogenesis in black spruce: does soil temperature matter?

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Lupi ◽  
H. Morin ◽  
A. Deslauriers ◽  
S. Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Black Spruce

scholarly journals A Comparison of some Upland and Valley Soils in the Ungava-Labrador Peninsula

2007 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Hendershot
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Shallow Depth ◽  
Soil Profiles ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Climatic Regions ◽  
Coarse Texture ◽  
Active Mixing ◽  
Extractable Iron

ABSTRACT Thirteen soil profiles from northern Québec and Labrador, Canada, near the northern tree-line, were sampled and analysed. Five of these, located on poorly to imperfectly drained sites, are strongly cryoturbated soils with permafrost at a shallow depth. Below the surface horizon they have very uniform profile distributions of pH, carbon and extractable iron and aluminum due to the active mixing of the horizons. The eight soils from well-drained sites have profiles similar to those of soils in similar settings in more temperate climatic regions. One of these, developed in one of the most northerly valleys having a black spruce-larch forest vegetation, has the characteristics of a podzol (spodosol) except that the podzolic B (spodic) horizon is too thin. The other seven profiles all have color B horizons, although the coarse texture prevents their classification as cambic horizons; these soils all have carbon-rich A horizons varying in thickness from 1.5 to 20 cm. Soil temperature at 50 cm depth closely follows the elevational and latitudinal distribution of the soils; a range of 0 to 10° C was observed. Soil development, measured as depth of solum, organic carbon accumulation or degree of B horizon development, is closely related to soil temperature and site position. The presence of permanently frozen ice layers at shallow depth has a marked influence on soil genesis and the properties of the resultant soils.

Productivity and nutrient cycling in taiga forest ecosystems

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 747-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Van Cleve ◽  
Lola Oliver ◽  
Robert Schlentner ◽  
Leslie A. Viereck ◽  
C. T. Dyrness
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Cycling ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Lignin Content ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Interior Alaska ◽  
Taiga Forest ◽  
Tree Production

This paper considers the productivity and nutrient cycling in examples of the major forest types in interior Alaska. These ecosystem properties are examined from the standpoint of the control exerted over them by soil temperature and forest-floor chemistry. We conclude that black spruce Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P. occupies the coldest, wettest sites which support tree growth in interior Alaska. Average seasonal heat sums (1132 ± 32 degree days (DD)) for all other forest types were significantly higher than those encountered for black spruce (640 ± 40 DD). In addition, black spruce ecosystems display the highest average seasonal forest-floor and mineral-soil moisture contents. Forest-floor chemistry interacts with soil temperature in black spruce to produce the most decay-resistant organic matter. In black spruce the material is characterized by the highest lignin content and widest C/N (44) and C/P (404) ratios. Across the range of forest types examined in this study, soil temperature is strongly related to net annual aboveground tree production and the annual tree requirement for N, P, K, Ca, and Mg. Forest floor C/N and C/P ratios are strongly related to annual tree N and P requirement and the C/N ratio to annual tree production. In all cases these controls act to produce, in black spruce, the smallest accumulation of tree biomass, standing crop of elements, annual production, and element requirement in aboveground tree components.

scholarly journals Environmental factors regulating winter CO<sub>2</sub> flux in snow-covered boreal forest soil, interior Alaska

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1129-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Kim ◽  
Y. Kodama
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Forest Soil ◽  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
Co2 Emission ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Co2 Flux ◽  
Atmospheric Temperature ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Interior Alaska

Abstract. Winter CO2 flux is an important element to assess when estimating the annual carbon budget on regional and global scales. However, winter observation frequency is limited due to the extreme cold weather in sub-Arctic and Arctic ecosystems. In this study, the continuous monitoring of winter CO2 flux in black spruce forest soil of interior Alaska was performed using NDIR CO2 sensors at 10, 20, and 30 cm above the soil surface during the snow-covered period (DOY 357 to 466) of 2006/2007. The atmospheric pressure was divided into four phases: >1000 hPa (HP: high pressure); 985<P<1000 (IP: intermediate pressure); <986 hPa (LP: low pressure); and a snow-melting period (MP); for the quantification of the effect of the environmental factors determining winter CO2 flux. The winter CO2 fluxes were 0.22 ± 0.02, 0.23 ± 0.02, 0.25 ± 0.03, and 0.17 ± 0.02 gCO2-C/m2 d−1 for the HP, IP, LP, and MP phases, respectively. Wintertime CO2 emission represents 20 % of the annual CO2 emissions in this boreal black spruce forest soil. Atmospheric temperature, pressure, and soil temperature correlate at levels of 56, 25, and 31 % to winter CO2 flux, respectively, during the snow-covered period of 2006/2007, when snow depth experienced one of its lowest totals of the past 80 years. Atmospheric temperature and soil temperature at 5 cm depth, modulated by atmospheric pressure, were found to be significant factors in determining winter CO2 emission and fluctuation in snowpack. Regional/global process-based carbon cycle models should be reassessed to account for the effect of winter CO2 emissions, regulated by temperature and soil latent-heat flux, in the snow-covered soils of Arctic and sub-Arctic terrestrial ecosystems of the Northern Hemisphere.

Harvesting and slash piling affects soil respiration, soil temperature, and soil moisture regimes in Newfoundland boreal forests

2009 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Moroni ◽  
P. Q. Carter ◽  
D. A.J. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
A Minor

The effect of harvesting and slash piling on soil respiration, temperature and moisture was examined in a balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and a black spruce (Picea marinara) forest located in western Newfoundland, Canada, 2 mo to 2.5 yr following harvesting. Within 4 mo of harvesting, soil temperature, moisture, and soil respiration rates were affected by harvesting and slash piling. Clearcut areas without slash (CC-S) had significantly lower soil respiration rates than uncut forests (F). However, clearcut areas with slash cover (CC+S) had significantly higher soil respiration rates than CC-S. When harvested areas with and without slash were combined, harvesting decreased soil respiration in the black spruce forest but had no effect on soil respiration in the balsam fir forest. Harvesting increased soil temperatures at 10 cm, however CC+S temperatures were cooler than CC-S temperatures. Harvested areas tended to dry faster than F, although soil moisture levels at >3.5 cm were not significantly depleted. However, there was evidence of soil drying at <3.5 cm. Soil temperature (at 10 cm) at the time of measurement was most strongly correlated to rates of soil respiration. Temporal variability and treatment effects (harvesting and slash piling) played a minor role in explaining soil respiration rates when variations in soil respiration were adjusted for 10-cm soil temperature,. Soil moisture levels (3.5-9.5 cm depth), which did not vary widely, also played a minor role in explaining soil respiration rates.Key words: Clearcut, Abies balsamea, Picea marinara, carbon dioxide, greenhouse gas

Soil carbon stabilization along climate and stand productivity gradients in black spruce forests of interior Alaska

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 2118-2129 ◽  
Author(s):  
E S Kane ◽  
D W Valentine ◽  
E AG Schuur ◽  
K Dutta
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Stand Productivity ◽  
Interior Alaska ◽  
C Balance ◽  
Soil C Balance

The amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) in stable, slow-turnover pools is likely to change in response to climate warming because processes mediating soil C balance (net primary production and decomposition) vary with environmental conditions. This is important to consider in boreal forests, which constitute one of the world's largest stocks of SOC. We investigated changes in soil C stabilization along four replicate gradients of black spruce productivity and soil temperature in interior Alaska to develop empirical relationships between SOC and stand and physiographic features. Total SOC harbored in mineral soil horizons decreased by 4.4 g C·m–2 for every degree-day increase in heat sum within the organic soil across all sites. Furthermore, the proportion of relatively labile light-fraction (density <1.6 g·cm–3) soil organic matter decreased significantly with increased stand productivity and soil temperature. Mean residence times of SOC (as determined by Δ14C) in dense-fraction (>1.6 g·cm–3) mineral soil ranged from 282 to 672 years. The oldest SOC occurred in the coolest sites, which also harbored the most C and had the lowest rates of stand production. These results suggest that temperature sensitivities of organic matter within discrete soil pools, and not just total soil C stocks, need to be examined to project the effects of changing climate and primary production on soil C balance.

Variation in postfire organic layer thickness in a black spruce forest complex in interior Alaska and its effects on soil temperature and moisture

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 2164-2177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric S Kasischke ◽  
Jill F Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Organic Layer ◽  
Layer Depth ◽  
Interior Alaska ◽  
Soil Temperature And Moisture

This study investigated the relationship between climate and landscape characteristics and surface fuel consumption as well as the effects of variations in postfire organic layer depth on soil temperature and moisture in a black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forest complex in interior Alaska. Mineral soil moisture and temperature at the end of the growing season and organic layer depth were measured in three burns occurring in different years (1987, 1994, 1999) and in adjacent unburned stands. In unburned stands, average organic layer and humic layer depth increased with stand age. Mineral soil temperature and moisture varied as a function of the surface organic layer depth in unburned stands, indicating that as a stand matures, the moisture content of the deep duff layer is likely to increase as well. Fires reduced the depth of the surface organic layers by 5 to 24 cm. Within each burn we found that significant variations in levels of surface fuel consumption were related to several factors, including mineral soil texture, presence or absence of permafrost, and timing of the fires with respect to seasonal permafrost thaw. While seasonal weather patterns contribute to variations in fuel moisture and consumption during fires, interactions among the soil thermal regime, surface organic layer depth, and previous fire history are also important in controlling patterns of surface fuel consumption.

Influence of flooding and soil temperature on the water relations and morphological development of cold-stored black spruce and white spruce seedlings

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 821-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven C. Grossnickle
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Cold Storage ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Morphological Development ◽  
Pressure Potential ◽  
Xylem Pressure Potential ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Flow Through

Fall-lifted, cold-stored black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S. P.) and white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) seedlings [Formula: see text] were planted in a controlled environmental chamber with an air temperature of 20 °C, soil temperatures of 10 or 20 °C, and flooded or nonflooded soil treatments. Stomatal conductance (gwv) was lower in flooded seedlings compared with nonflooded seedlings for both black spruce and white spruce seedlings. Black spruce seedlings drained after 14 days of flooding showed gwv similar to nonflooded seedlings, while drained white spruce seedlings had gwv patterns greater than nonflooded seedlings. White spruce seedlings had diurnal xylem pressure potential (ψx) patterns slightly more negative in the flooded treatment compared with the nonflooded treatment. Measured predawn ψx was found to be more negative in flooded seedlings compared with nonflooded seedlings in both black spruce and white spruce. In both species, flooded seedlings 1 day out of cold storage had a greater resistance to water flow through the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum (RSPAC) compared with non-flooded seedlings. After 21 days out of cold storage, rspac decreased in nonflooded seedlings of both species, while flooded seedlings of both species had high RSPAC values. For both black spruce and white spruce seedlings, flooded soils inhibited root growth, while low soil temperatures resulted in a reduction in root growth in nonflooded seedlings. Shoot growth of white spruce seedlings was not influenced by 21 days of flooding or low soil temperature, while the combination of 21 days of flooding and low soil temperature in black spruce seedlings resulted in less shoot development compared with nonflooded seedlings.

Temperature of upland and peatland soils in a north central Minnesota forest

1998 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale S. Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Cold Weather ◽  
Peat Soils ◽  
North Central ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Aspen Forest

Soil temperature strongly influences physical, chemical, and biological activities in soil. However, soil temperature data for forest landscapes are scarce. For 6 yr, weekly soil temperatures were measured at two upland and four peatland sites in north central Minnesota. One upland site supported mature aspen forest, the other supported short grass. One peatland site was forested with black spruce, one supported tall willow and alder brush, and two had open vegetation — sedges and low shrubs. Mean annual air temperature averaged 3.6 °C. Mean annual soil temperatures at 10- to 200-cm depths ranged from 5.5 to 7.6 °C among the six sites. Soils with open vegetation, whether mineral or peat, averaged about 1 °C warmer annually and from 2 to 3 °C warmer during summer than the forested soils. The tall brush peatland was cooler than all other sites due to strong groundwater inputs. The mineral soils warmed more quickly in the spring, achieved higher temperatures in the summer, and cooled more quickly in the fall than the peat soils; however, the greatest temperature differences between mineral and peat soils occurred at or below 50 cm. In the upper 20 cm, vegetation and groundwater had greater effects on temperature than did soil type (mineral or peat). Summer soil temperatures were higher, relative to air temperature, during periods of greater precipitation. This effect was minimal at upland sites but substantial in the peatlands. In spite of the persistent sub-freezing air temperatures typical of Minnesota winters, significant frost developed in the soils only in those years when severe cold weather arrived before an insulating cover of snow had accumulated. Key words: Soil temperature, vegetation effects, forest soils, groundwater, peatlands

Seedling growth and water use of boreal conifers across different temperatures and near-flooded soil conditions

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 2292-2300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane M. Wolken ◽  
Simon M. Landhäusser ◽  
Victor J. Lieffers ◽  
Uldis Silins
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Seedling Growth ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
High Water ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Flooded Soil

To test the hypothesis that seedling growth and water use increase with soil temperature and improved soil aeration and vary with species, we evaluated the above- and below-ground growth and water use of seedlings of four northern boreal conifer species: black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.), white spruce ( Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), tamarack ( Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch), and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.) grown under different temperature and near-flooded soil conditions. Seedlings were grown in specialized pots that maintained the water table level at either 15 cm (high water table treatment: very wet) or 30 cm (low water table treatment: moderately wet) below the soil surface, and whole-seedling transpiration was assessed. Soil temperature (5, 10, or 20 °C) was controlled with a water bath surrounding the pots. Although some species were sensitive to the high water table treatment, soil temperature was the driver of seedling growth and water use. We ranked the ability of the seedlings of the species to tolerate the cold soil conditions examined as black spruce > lodgepole pine > tamarack > white spruce. The ranking of the ability to tolerate near-flooded conditions was tamarack and lodgepole pine > black spruce > white spruce.

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