Weight loss and nutrient changes in decomposing litter and forest floor material in New Brunswick forest stands

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (21) ◽  
pp. 2730-2749 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. MacLean ◽  
Ross W. Wein
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Deciduous Species ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Nutrient Changes ◽  
Floor Material

Weight loss and nutrient (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) changes with decomposition were examined over a 2-year period fora variety of kinds of litter on five forest sites. Litter types included pine needles, leaves of four deciduous species (red maple, pin cherry, trembling aspen, and white birch), branches of pine and four deciduous species, understory vegetation, and partially decomposed forest floor material, while the study sites consisted of jack pine stands aged 16, 29, and 57 years and mixed hardwood stands aged 7 and 29 years. Statistically significant differences in rate of weight loss were found to occur, with understory and leaf litter significantly faster on the hardwood stands than on the pine stands, understory litter faster on the 7-year-old hardwood stand than on the 29-year-old stand, and forest floor material faster on the 29-year-old pine stand than on the 57-year-old pine stand. Among the four deciduous species examined, significant differences in leaf weight loss also occurred, but differences among branch litter were nonsignificant. The mass of N in samples generally decreased with decomposition, with increases occurring in a few cases (i.e., pine understory and needle litter). Phosphorus mass generally increased on the pine sites and decreased on the hardwood sites; this appeared to be largely a function of the low initial P concentrations of litter on the pine sites. In general, the mass of K, Ca, and Mg decreased in the various samples with decomposition; the loss of K from deciduous leaves in this study was particularly fast and was greater than other values from the literature.

First-year impacts of shelterwood logging on understory vegetation in an old-growth pine stand in central Ontario, Canada

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER A. QUINBY
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Forest Understory ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Disturbed Condition ◽  
Bracken Fern ◽  
Shelterwood Cut ◽  
Understory Plant

There is evidence in the literature that a variety of logging practices may result in significant short and long-term changes to vegetation in the forest understory, however, these changes are still largely unknown for many forest types. The objective of this study was to determine the short-term effects of shelterwood logging on tree and non-arboreal plant species composition and diversity in both the understory and sapling strata within the Owain Lake Stand of old-growth red and eastern white pine located in Temagami, Ontario. The most significant changes were increases of white birch (800%), red maple (363%) and bracken fern (110%) in the understory. The most significant decreases within the understory occurred in mosses and liverworts (110%), Canada mayflower (49%) and starflower (28%). Bracken fern, red maple, and bush honeysuckle were the three most abundant species in the post-harvest understory plant community and will probably increase in their abundance under the present disturbed condition. A second shelterwood cut in 20 to 40 years may further facilitate an increase in these three species primarily by increasing light levels at the forest floor. All three species are very vigorous and are likely to dominate the forest understory until the upper canopy closes resulting in decreased light intensity at the forest floor.

scholarly journals Atmospheric Heavy Metal Input to Forest Soils in Rural Areas of Denmark

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 192-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Hovmand ◽  
Kaare Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Ambient Atmosphere ◽  
Chronological Order ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Yearly Average ◽  
Atmospheric Inputs

Atmospheric bulk deposition of heavy metals (HM) was measured from 1972/73 to the present time at five to ten forest sites in rural areas of Denmark. From 1979, HM in aerosols were measured at one to four forest sites. On the basis of these long-term continuous measurements, the atmospheric inputs to the forest floor have been calculated. Yearly HM emission estimates to the European atmosphere seems to correlate well with yearly average values of HM deposition, as well as with HM concentrations in the ambient atmosphere. HM emissions have been estimated since the 1950s. Using the correlation between emission and deposition, HM deposition values maybe extrapolated in reverse chronological order. The accumulated atmospheric HM deposition has been estimated in this way over a period of 50 years.

scholarly journals Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta

2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hamer
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus ◽  
Red Squirrel ◽  
Limber Pine ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Pinus Spp

Bears (Ursus spp.) in North America eat the seeds of several pines (Pinus spp.), including Limber Pine (P. flexilis E. James). Information on use of Limber Pine in Canada is limited to a report of three bear scats containing pine seeds found in Limber Pine stands of southwestern Alberta. After my preliminary fieldwork in Banff National Park revealed that bears were eating seeds of Limber Pine there, I conducted a field study in 2014–2015 to assess this use. Because bears typically obtain pine seeds from cone caches (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), I described the abundance, habitat characteristics, and use by bears of Red Squirrel middens in and adjacent to Limber Pine stands at six study sites. On Bow River escarpments, I found abundant Limber Pines (basal area 1–9 m2/ha) and middens (0.8 middens/ha, standard deviation [SD] 0.2). Of 24 middens, 13 (54%) had been excavated by bears, and three bear scats composed of pine seeds were found beside middens. Although Limber Pines occurred on steep, xeric, windswept slopes (mean 28°, SD 3), middens occurred on moderate slopes (mean 12°, SD 3) in escarpment gullies and at the toe of slopes in forests of other species, particularly Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). At the five other study sites, I found little or no use of Limber Pine seeds by bears, suggesting that Limber Pine habitat may be little used by bears unless the pines are interspersed with (non-Limber Pine) habitat with greater forest cover and less-steep slopes where squirrels establish middens. These observations provide managers with an additional piece of information regarding potential drivers of bear activity in the human-dominated landscape of Banff National Park’s lower Bow Valley.

Sap yields, sugar content, and soluble carbohydrates of saps and syrups of some Canadian birch and maple species

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. C. Jones ◽  
I. Alli
Keyword(s):  
Sap Flow ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrates ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Total Carbohydrate ◽  
Total Carbohydrate Content ◽  
Maple Sap

During the spring of 1984 and 1985, white birch (Betulapapyrifera Marsh), sweet birch (B. lenta L), and yellow birch (B. alleghaniensis Britt.) were tapped to determine sap yields and syrup characteristics. These properties were compared with sap yields and syrup produced from sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh) and red maple (A. rubrum L). The sap flow seasons were as follows: white birch, 23 days (April 7–29, 1984) and 29 days (April 5 – May 3, 1985); sweet birch, 26 days (1984); yellow birch, 25 days (1985). The sap flow season for the maple species was much earlier than the birch species. Maple sap flow seasons were as follows: sugar maple, 16 days (March 28 – April 12, 1984) and 45 days (March 10 – April 23, 1985); red maple, 44 days (March 11 – April 23, 1985). Sap yields were as follows: white birch, 80.5 L in 1984 (1.0% sap) 51.0 L in 1985 (1.0% sap); sweet birch, 48.0 L in 1984 (0.5% sap); yellow birch, 28.4 L in 1985 (0.5% sap); red maple, 30.6 L in 1985 (2.3% sap); sugar maple, 53.5 L in 1985 (4.5% sap). Sap analyses showed the average total carbohydrate content of all birch saps and all maple saps was 9.2 and 24.5 g/L, respectively. The average sugar contents of the syrups from the birch saps and the maple saps were 302 and 711 g/L, respectively. The average pH of birch and maple saps were similar but the average pH of the syrups obtained from the birch saps was substantially lower than that of the syrups obtained from the maple saps.

scholarly journals EARLY DETECTION OF FOREST DROUGHT STRESS WITH VERY HIGH RESOLUTION STEREO AND HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGERY

2020 ◽  
Vol V-2-2020 ◽  
pp. 781-787
Author(s):  
J. Tian ◽  
T. Schneider ◽  
C. Kempf ◽  
Y. Xia ◽  
M. Lusseau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Drought Stress ◽  
Early Detection ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Satellite Image ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Middle Part ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract. The project ‘Application of remote sensing for the early detection of drought stress at vulnerable forest sites (ForDroughtDet)’ is funded by the German Federal Agency of Agriculture and Food and aims to detect drought stress in an early phase using remote sensing techniques. In this project, three test sites in the south and middle part of Germany are selected. Three levels of observation and analyses are performed. In the first level, close-range stereo images and spectral information are captured with a research crane in Kranzberg forest. In the second level, three study sites are imaged twice in three years by airborne hyperspectral and stereo cameras. In the third level, the drought stress detection approach will be transferred to regional scale by satellite image. In this paper, we will briefly report our results from the first and second levels. In the first level, 3D models of the forest canopies are generated with the MC-CNN based dense matching approaches, with which the 3D shapes of the stressed and healthy trees are analysed. In addition, for the spectral analyses, different chlorophyll-sensitive indices are calculated and compared for the stressed and healthy trees. In order to further analyse the tree drought stress in the second level, a novel individual tree crown (ITC) segmentation approach is proposed and tested on the airborne stereo dataset.

scholarly journals Decoupling of a Douglas fir canopy: a look into the subcanopy with continuous vertical temperature profiles

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 6423-6439
Author(s):  
Bart Schilperoort ◽  
Miriam Coenders-Gerrits ◽  
César Jiménez Rodríguez ◽  
Christiaan van der Tol ◽  
Bas van de Wiel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Thermal Stratification ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Temperature Profiles ◽  
Distributed Temperature Sensing ◽  
Vertical Temperature ◽  
Vertical Exchange ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Flux Measurements ◽  
Atmosphere Interaction

Abstract. Complex ecosystems such as forests make accurately measuring atmospheric energy and matter fluxes difficult. One of the issues that can arise is that parts of the canopy and overlying atmosphere can be turbulently decoupled from each other, meaning that the vertical exchange of energy and matter is reduced or hampered. This complicates flux measurements performed above the canopy. Wind above the canopy will induce vertical exchange. However, stable thermal stratification, when lower parts of the canopy are colder, will hamper vertical exchange. To study the effect of thermal stratification on decoupling, we analyze high-resolution (0.3 m) vertical temperature profiles measured in a Douglas fir stand in the Netherlands using distributed temperature sensing (DTS). The forest has an open understory (0–20 m) and a dense overstory (20–34 m). The understory was often colder than the atmosphere above (80 % of the time during the night, >99 % during the day). Based on the aerodynamic Richardson number the canopy was regularly decoupled from the atmosphere (50 % of the time at night). In particular, decoupling could occur when both u*<0.4 m s−1 and the canopy was able to cool down through radiative cooling. With these conditions the understory could become strongly stably stratified at night. At higher values of the friction velocity the canopy was always well mixed. While the understory was nearly always stably stratified, convection just above the forest floor was common. However, this convection was limited in its vertical extent, not rising higher than 5 m at night and 15 m during the day. This points towards the understory layer acting as a kind of mechanical “blocking layer” between the forest floor and overstory. With the DTS temperature profiles we were able to study decoupling and stratification of the canopy in more detail and study processes which otherwise might be missed. These types of measurements can aid in describing the canopy–atmosphere interaction at forest sites and help detect and understand the general drivers of decoupling in forests.

Use of near- and mid-infrared spectroscopy to distinguish carbon and nitrogen originating from char and forest-floor material in soils

2008 ◽  
Vol 172 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Michel ◽  
Thomas Terhoeven-Urselmans ◽  
Renate Nitschke ◽  
Phillip Steffan ◽  
Bernard Ludwig
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Mid Infrared ◽  
Mid Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Floor Material

scholarly journals Site Type Effect on Litter Decomposition Rates: A Three-Year Comparison of Decomposition Process between Spoil Heap and Forest Sites

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Horodecki ◽  
Jagodziński
Keyword(s):  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Degraded Lands ◽  
Spoil Heap ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Pine Stands

Research Highlights: Direct comparison of leaf litter decomposition rates between harsh soil conditions of degraded lands and adjacent “closer to natural” forest areas has not been done before. Background and Objectives: We aimed to fill this knowledge gap by determining the differences in amounts of carbon and nitrogen released by species-specific litter depending on decomposition rates in various stand and habitat conditions, which enables selection of the most ecologically and economically appropriate (for fast soil organic layer development) tree species for afforestation of reclaimed lands. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on the external spoil heap of the “Bełchatów” lignite mine (Central Poland) and adjacent forests. In December 2013, we established a litterbag experiment beneath the canopies of birch and pine stands. We used litter of Alnus glutinosa (Gaertn.), Betula pendula (Roth), Pinus sylvestris (L.), and Quercus robur (L.) collected ex situ, which we installed (after oven-drying) beneath the canopies of eight stands. The experiment lasted for three years (with sampling of three-month intervals). Results: Harsh soil conditions of degraded lands are unfavorable for litter mineralization. It was found that 23%–74% of decomposed materials were mineralized in spoil heap stands, whereas in forest stands these amounts ranged from 35%–83%. Litter of Q. robur in birch stands on the spoil heap is predicted to take 12 years longer for total decomposition than in forest stands of the same species. This hinders organic carbon turnover and could result in elongation of the time for full biological and economic reclamation of degraded lands. On the other hand, decomposition of relatively fast decomposable litter (A. glutinosa and B. pendula) in pine stands on the spoil heap was faster than in pine stands in forest sites (17% and 13% faster, respectively). We did not observe this trend for decomposition of more recalcitrant litter types of P. sylvestris and Q. robur. Conclusions: The results show the value of selective choice of tree species for afforestation of post-mining areas to accelerate the development of technogenic soil substrates. We recommend introducing all tree species studied in the cluster form of admixtures as all of them could bring some profits in ecological and economical reclamation.

Forest floor dynamics in a chronosequence of hardwood stands in central Nova Scotia

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. Wallace ◽  
B. Freedman
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Nitrate N ◽  
Ammonium N ◽  
Field Samples ◽  
Mature Stands

A postclear-cutting chronosequence of hardwood stands in Nova Scotia was examined for patterns of forest floor weight, concentration of selected nutrients, rate of potential insitu litter decomposition (litterbags), and potential lab ammonification and nitrification. Some evidence was found that the forest floor experiences weight loss following clear-cutting. However, the large weight losses and clear pattern of recovery described by others for New Hampshire hardwood chronosequences were not observed. The lack of close agreement may have been a result of intra- and inter-stand variation in forest floor weight in our study. This spatial variation was greater than any effect as a result of clear-cutting. There was no significant relationship between insitu weight loss of leaves or twigs with stand age. No clear-cutting effect was observed in the laboratory for potential ammonification, which occurred readily in all stands (three clear-cuttings, three mature stands). Limed materials produced significantly more mineralized N (nitrate N + ammonium N) than did unlimed materials. Concentrations of ammonium N in F and H horizon field material were significantly higher on clear-cuttings than in mature stands. However, since this measurement reflects net rather than total production, it is not evidence that higher rates of ammonification occurred on clear-cuttings. Potential nitrification was not an important process in F and H horizon materials at their natural pH. Nitrification occurred readily in limed materials, but there were no significant differences among different aged stands. Concentrations of nitrate N in field F and H horizon material were low for all stands, with a mean of 9 ± 7 ppm (n = 350). However, in 7% of field samples, nitrate N ≥ 15 ppm was found; in 2%, ≥30 ppm was found.

scholarly journals Species diversity patterns in managed Scots pine stands in ancient forest sites

PLoS ONE ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. e0219620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Stefańska-Krzaczek ◽  
Monika Staniaszek-Kik ◽  
Katarzyna Szczepańska ◽  
Tomasz H. Szymura
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Scots Pine ◽  
Diversity Patterns ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Ancient Forest ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
Scots Pine Stands
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