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Biomass and composition of understory vegetation and the forest floor carbon stock across Siberian larch and mountain birch chronosequences in Iceland

Sigurdsson, B D ; Magnusson, B ; Elmarsdottir, A and Bjarnadottir, Brynhildur LU (2005) In Annals of Forest Science 62(8). p.881-888
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... (More)
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. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
woody debris, Betula pubescens, carbon sequestration, understory, Larix sibirica
in
Annals of Forest Science
volume
62
issue
8
pages
881 - 888
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • wos:000233972500013
  • scopus:30444453432
ISSN
1286-4560
DOI
10.1051/forest:2005079
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3c4bbec5-d7c0-4298-97dc-9a0c25108b36 (old id 211065)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:28:50
date last changed
2022-01-27 05:37:43
@article{3c4bbec5-d7c0-4298-97dc-9a0c25108b36,
  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 &lt; 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.}},
  author       = {{Sigurdsson, B D and Magnusson, B and Elmarsdottir, A and Bjarnadottir, Brynhildur}},
  issn         = {{1286-4560}},
  keywords     = {{woody debris; Betula pubescens; carbon sequestration; understory; Larix sibirica}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{8}},
  pages        = {{881--888}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Annals of Forest Science}},
  title        = {{Biomass and composition of understory vegetation and the forest floor carbon stock across Siberian larch and mountain birch chronosequences in Iceland}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/forest:2005079}},
  doi          = {{10.1051/forest:2005079}},
  volume       = {{62}},
  year         = {{2005}},
}