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The storage and flow of carbon (C) into and out of forests can differ under the influence of dominant tree species because of species-based variation in C production, decomposition, retention, and harvest-based export. Following abandonment of agricultural activities in the first half of the 20th century, many landscapes of the Great Lakes region (USA) were planted to red pine ( Pinus resinosa ) or naturally regenerated to northern hardwood species including sugar maple ( Acer saccharum ), red oak ( Quercus rubra ) and red maple ( Acer rubrum ). We located eight pairs of adjacent, similarly aged (∼60 yr) stands of planted red pine and naturally regenerated hardwood forests on previous agricultural fields. We found that the hardwood forests stored more C than pine stands (255 vs . 201 Mg C ha −1 ), with both storing substantially more than an adjacent area maintained as pasture (107 Mg C ha −1 ). The greater accumulation of C in the hardwood stands occurred mostly in living biomass. No significant differences for soil C (to 1 m depth) were found between forest types, despite significantly higher belowground inputs and aboveground litterfall in hardwood stands. Notably, both forest types had about 18% more soil C than the pasture, with O horizon C accounting for about one-third of the increase under trees. Forest type had no significant effect on estimated amount of exported C despite fairly large differences in projected end uses (solid wood products, land-fills, bioenergy). Using adjacent pasture as our baseline condition, we combined estimated on-site accumulation rates with estimates of exported C, and found that average total C sequestration rates were higher for hardwood (2.9 Mg C ha −1 yr −1 ) than red pine plots (2.3 Mg C ha −1 yr −1 ). The modeled potential contribution of exported C to these sequestration rate estimates did not differ between species, but the fate of modeled post-harvest off-site C may exert a large influence on sequestration rate estimates depending on actual displacement actions, including product longevity. These results show that tree species selection has the potential to impact C sequestration rates but effects vary by ecosystem component and could not be predicted from previous species effects studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Tropical forests contain large reserves of carbon that are vulnerable to perturbation linked to human activities, including deforestation and climate change. Accurate estimates of forest carbon are therefore required urgently to support efforts to conserve tropical forests. We quantified carbon stocks in primary and 60-year-old secondary forest plots located on infertile Ultisols in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, one of the few remaining areas of forest in Singapore. We used tree census data for 24.2ha of primary forest and 23ha of secondary forest, together with allometric equations, to estimate aboveground and coarse root biomass. Coarse woody debris stocks were censused along 2.44km and 2.12km of transects in primary and secondary forest, respectively. Soil carbon and fine root carbon stocks were assessed from soil samples taken to 3m depth in a 2-ha secondary forest plot and a 2-ha primary forest plot, combined with bulk density measured in a nearby soil profile pit. Total estimated carbon stock in the primary forest, which was located on the hilltop and upper slopes (80–115m elevation), was 337MgCha−1, of which 50% was aboveground biomass, 33% in soil, 12% in coarse roots, 4.6% in coarse woody debris, and 0.8% in fine roots. In the secondary forest, located on lower slopes and valley (50–85m elevation), the total carbon stock was 274MgCha−1 and the relative importance of aboveground biomass and soil were reversed, with 38% in aboveground biomass, 52% in soil, 6.9% in coarse roots, 1.5% in coarse woody debris, and 1.3% in fine roots. Including carbon in deep subsoil (i.e. to 3m) increased soil carbon stocks by ∼40% compared to 1m depth. Overall, the 60-year-old secondary forest contained 60% as much biomass as the primary forest, while the primary forest had lower carbon stocks than other primary forests in the region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is limited understanding of the carbon (C) storage capacity and overall ecological structure of old-growth forests of western Montana, leaving little ability to evaluate the role of old-growth forests in regional C cycles and ecosystem level C storage capacity. To investigate the difference in C storage between equivalent stands of contrasting age classes and management histories, we surveyed paired old-growth and second growth western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt)–Douglas-fir (Pseudostuga menziesii var. glauca) stands in northwestern Montana. The specific objectives of this study were to: (1) estimate ecosystem C of old-growth and second growth western larch stands; (2) compare C storage of paired old-growth–second growth stands; and (3) assess differences in ecosystem function and structure between the two age classes, specifically measuring C associated with mineral soil, forest floor, coarse woody debris (CWD), understory, and overstory, as well as overall structure of vegetation. Stands were surveyed using a modified USFS FIA protocol, focusing on ecological components related to soil, forest floor, and overstory C. All downed wood, forest floor, and soil samples were then analyzed for total C and total nitrogen (N). Total ecosystem C in the old-growth forests was significantly greater than that in second growth forests, storing over 3 times the C. Average total mineral soil C was not significantly different in second growth stands compared to old-growth stands; however, total C of the forest floor was significantly greater in old-growth (23.8Mgha−1) compared to second growth stands (4.9Mgha−1). Overstory and coarse root biomass held the greatest differences in ecosystem C between the two stand types (old-growth, second growth), with nearly 7 times more C in old-growth trees than trees found on second growth stands (144.2Mgha−1 vs. 23.8Mgha−1). Total CWD on old-growth stands accounted for almost 19 times more C than CWD found in second growth stands. Soil bulk density was also significantly higher on second growth stands some 30+ years after harvest, demonstrating long-term impacts of harvest on soil. Results suggest ecological components specific to old-growth western larch forests, such as coarse root biomass, large amounts of CWD, and a thick forest floor layer are important contributors to long-term C storage within these ecosystems. This, combined with functional implications of contrasts in C distribution and dynamics, suggest that old-growth western larch/Douglas-fir forests are both functionally and structurally distinctive from their second growth counterparts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]