Abstract
Changes in understory biomass, forest floor carbon (C) stock and vegetation composition were studied in six age-classes of Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) and two age-classes of native birch (Betula pubescens) in Iceland. The ground vegetation was less in the larch during the thicket stage and in the old-growth birch compared to a treeless pasture. Understory biomass was strongly related to canopy gap fraction across forest stands (P < 0.001), but not to soil pH or soil C/N ratio. Increased mass of dead wood and alterations in vegetation composition increased the forest floor C-stock of older forests. The forest floor had reached as high C-stock as the pasture's ground vegetation in ca. 50 years in the managed larch plantations and in ca. hundred years in the unmanaged birch forest. This study clearly shows the importance of which time-step is used when changes in forest floor C-stocks are computed for afforestation areas.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 881-888 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Annals of Forest Science |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Dec 2005 |
Other keywords
- Betula pubescens
- Betula pubescens i
- Carbon sequestration
- Carbon sequestration /
- Larix sibirica
- Larix sibirica i
- Understory
- Woody debris
- Woody debris /
