scholarly journals Substrate effects on distribution, biomass allocation, and morphology of forest understory plants

Botany ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (10) ◽  
pp. 1133-1142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura J. Six ◽  
Charles B. Halpern
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Allocation ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Physical Structure ◽  
Forest Understory ◽  
Stable Substrate ◽  
And Performance

Relationships between rooting substrate and the distribution and performance of forest plants are inadequately understood. We tested whether understory species in a dense coniferous forest were associated with coarse woody debris (CWD) or forest floor. In addition, for three species with differing substrate associations ( Vaccinium parvifolium Smith, Tiarella trifoliata L., and Maianthemum dilatatum (Wood) Nels. and Macbr., we excavated individuals rooted in CWD and forest floor, and compared biomass allocation and plant morphological traits. Substrate samples were also tested for moisture content. Of 29 species tested, 18 (62%) showed positive associations with forest floor and 6 (21%) with CWD. Forest floor is a more predictable and stable substrate; in these forests it also supports lower moss cover that can inhibit seedling establishment. As expected, plants rooted in forest floor (which was drier) allocated greater biomass to belowground structures. Root-system traits, however, did not suggest plasticity in response to resource availability. Instead, the physical structure of logs may constrain root systems in CWD. In addition, total plant biomass did not differ between substrates suggesting that under low light, species may be incapable of responding to differences in belowground resources. Alternatively, substrate associations may develop earlier in the life histories of these plants via differential germination and survival.

The influence of decomposing logs on soil biology and nutrient cycling in an old-growth mixed coniferous forest in Oregon, U.S.A.

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (11) ◽  
pp. 2193-2201 ◽  
Author(s):  
J DH Spears ◽  
S M Holub ◽  
M E Harmon ◽  
K Lajtha
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Soil Biology ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Long Term Effect ◽  
Floor Control ◽  
Water Soluble Organic Carbon ◽  
Mineral Soils

This study investigated the effect of coarse woody debris (CWD) on mineral soils at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in the central Cascade Range of Oregon, U.S.A. Nutrients in CWD leachates were compared with (i) forest floor (control) leachates, (ii) over a decay chronosequence, and (iii) among CWD of four species. There were few differences among CWD leachates and forest floor leachates. Soils under CWD were warmer but not wetter than control soils. Water-soluble organic carbon was higher in soils under CWD than in controls at 5–15 cm depth (p < 0.02), but soil C concentrations did not differ. Gross N mineralization was faster in control soils. We found no differences in N, P, microbial biomass, Biolog plate assays, or enzyme activity in soils. Nutrient leachate differences among CWD species were small. Differences in solutions and in soils among CWD and controls were largest during the middle decay classes. This study suggests that either (i) CWD has no long-term effect and does not contribute large amounts of organic matter to the soil profile or (ii) the effect of CWD is so prolonged that no spatial affect is noticeable because all soils have been affected by CWD at some time.

Comparison of coniferous forest carbon stocks between old-growth and young second-growth forests on two soil types in central British Columbia, Canada

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 1411-1421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur L Fredeen ◽  
Claudette H Bois ◽  
Darren T Janzen ◽  
Paul T Sanborn
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
C Stocks

Carbon (C) stocks were assessed for hybrid interior spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss × Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.)-dominated upland forests within the Aleza Lake Research Forest in central British Columbia, Canada. Four old-growth (141–250 years old) and four young second-growth (<20 years old) forest plots were established on the two dominant soil texture types, coarse and fine, for a total of 16 plots. Mean total C stocks for old-growth stands ranged from 423 Mg C·ha–1 (coarse) to 324 Mg C·ha–1 (fine), intermediate between Pacific Northwest temperate forests and upland boreal forests. Total C was lower in second-growth stands because of lower tree (mostly large tree stem), forest floor, and woody debris C stocks. In contrast, old-growth forest-floor C stocks ranged from 78 Mg C·ha–1 (coarse) to 35 Mg C·ha–1 (fine), 2.9- and 1.2-fold higher than in corresponding second-growth stands, respectively. Woody debris C stocks in old-growth stands totaled 35 Mg C·ha–1 (coarse) and 31 Mg C·ha–1 (fine), 2.7- and 3.4-fold higher than in second-growth stands, respectively. Mineral soil C to 1.07 m depth was similar across soil type and age-class, with totals ranging from 115 to 106 Mg C·ha–1. Harvesting of old-growth forests in sub-boreal British Columbia lowers total C stocks by 54%–41%.

Mass and nutrient content of woody debris and forest floor in western red cedar and western hemlock forests on northern Vancouver Island

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1052-1059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney J. Keenan ◽  
Cindy E. Prescott ◽  
J.P. Hamish Kimmins
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Western Red Cedar

Biomass and C, N, P, and K contents of woody debris and the forest floor were surveyed in adjacent stands of old-growth western red cedar (Thujaplicata Donn)–western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) (CH type), and 85-year-old, windstorm-derived, second-growth western hemlock–amabilis fir (Abiesamabilis (Dougl.) Forbes) (HA type) at three sites on northern Vancouver Island. Carbon concentrations were relatively constant across all detrital categories (mean = 556.8 mg/g); concentrations of N and P generally increased, and K generally decreased, with increasing degree of decomposition. The mean mass of woody debris was 363 Mg/ha in the CH and 226 Mg/ha in the HA type. The mean forest floor mass was 280 Mg/ha in the CH and 211 Mg/ha in the HA stands. Approximately 60% of the forest floor mass in each forest type was decaying wood. Dead woody material above and within the forest floor represented a significant store of biomass and nutrients in both forest types, containing 82% of the aboveground detrital biomass, 51–59% of the N, and 58–61% of the detrital P. Forest floors in the CH and HA types contained similar total quantities of N, suggesting that the lower N availability in CH forests is not caused by greater immobilization in detritus. The large accumulation of forest floor and woody debris in this region is attributed to slow decomposition in the cool, wet climate, high rates of detrital input following windstorms, and the large size and decay resistance of western red cedar boles.

Nitrogen storage and availability during stand development in a New Zealand Nothofagus forest

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 344-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
P W Clinton ◽  
R B Allen ◽  
M R Davis
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Stand Development ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Nitrogen Storage ◽  
Nothofagus Forest ◽  
Mature Stands

Stemwood production, N pools, and N availability were determined in even-aged (10, 25, 120, and >150-year-old) stands of a monospecific mountain beech (Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides (Hook. f.) Poole) forest in New Zealand recovering from catastrophic canopy disturbance brought about by windthrow. Nitrogen was redistributed among stemwood biomass, coarse woody debris (CWD), the forest floor, and mineral soil following disturbance. The quantity of N in stemwood biomass increased from less than 1 kg/ha in seedling stands (10 years old) to ca. 500 kg/ha in pole stands (120 years old), but decreased in mature stands (>150 years old). In contrast, the quantity of N stored in CWD declined rapidly with stand development. Although the mass of N stored in the forest floor was greatest in the pole stands and least in the mature stands, N availability in the forest floor did not vary greatly with stand development. The mass of N in the mineral soil (0–100 mm depth) was also similar for all stands. Foliar N concentrations, net N mineralization, and mineralizable N in the mineral soil (0–100 mm depth) showed similar patterns with stage of stand development, and indicated that N availability was greater in sapling (25 years old) and mature stands than in seedling and pole stands. We conclude that declining productivity in older stands is associated more with reductions in cation availability, especially calcium, than N availability.

Short-term effect of thinning on carbon storage in soil, forest floor and coarse woody debris ofQuercusspp. stand in Hoengseong, Gangwon-do, Korea

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 168-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
A-Ram Yang ◽  
Nam Jin Noh ◽  
Sue Kyoung Lee ◽  
Tae Kyung Yoon ◽  
Choonsig Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Short Term Effect

scholarly journals Belowground plant biomass allocation in tundra ecosystems and its relationship with temperature

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 055003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Wang ◽  
Monique M P D Heijmans ◽  
Liesje Mommer ◽  
Jasper van Ruijven ◽  
Trofim C Maximov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Allocation ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Belowground Plant Biomass ◽  
Tundra Ecosystems

Effects of short-term N addition on plant biomass allocation and C and N pools of theSibiraea angustatascrub ecosystem

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Wang ◽  
H. L. He ◽  
Q. Gao ◽  
C. Z. Zhao ◽  
W. Q. Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Allocation ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
N Addition ◽  
Short Term ◽  
C And N ◽  
C And N Pools
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