Carbon Flux of Down Woody Materials in Forests of the North Central United States

Across large scales, the carbon (C) flux of down woody material (DWM) detrital pools has largely been simulated based on forest stand attributes (e.g., stand age and forest type). The annual change in forest DWM C stocks and other attributes (e.g., size and decay class changes) was assessed using a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: C. W. Woodall
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2010-01-01
Series:International Journal of Forestry Research
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/413703
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Summary:Across large scales, the carbon (C) flux of down woody material (DWM) detrital pools has largely been simulated based on forest stand attributes (e.g., stand age and forest type). The annual change in forest DWM C stocks and other attributes (e.g., size and decay class changes) was assessed using a forest inventory in the north central United States to provide an empirical assessment of strategic-scale DWM C flux. Using DWM inventory data from the USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis program, DWM C stocks were found to be relatively static across the study region with an annual flux rate not statistically different from zero. Mean C flux rates across the study area were −0.25, −0.12, −0.01, and −0.04 (Mg/ha/yr) for standing live trees, standing dead trees, coarse woody debris, and fine woody debris, respectively. Flux rates varied in their both magnitude and status (emission/sequestration) by forest types, latitude, and DWM component size. Given the complex dynamics of DWM C flux, early implementation of inventory remeasurement, and relatively low sample size, numerous future research directions are suggested.
ISSN:1687-9368
1687-9376