Differences in spatial patterns and driving factors of biomass carbon density between natural coniferous and broad-leaved forests in mountainous terrain, eastern Loess Plateau of China

Abstract Background Mountain forests in China are an integral part of the country’s natural vegetation. Understanding the spatial variability and control mechanisms for biomass carbon density of mountain forests is necessary to make full use of the carbon sequestration potential for climate change mitigation. Based on the 9th national forest inventory data in Shanxi Province, which is mountainous terrain, eastern Loess Plateau of China, we characterized the spatial pattern of biomass carbon density for natural coniferous and broad-leaved forests using Local Getis-ord G* and proposed an integrative framework to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of stand, geographical and climatic factors on biomass carbon density for the two types of forests using structural equation modeling. Results There was no significant difference between the mean biomass carbon densities of the natural coniferous and broad-leaved forests. The number of spots with a spatial autocorrelation accounted for 51.6% of all plots of the natural forests. Compared with the broad-leaved forests, the hot spots at the 1% significance level for the coniferous forests were distributed in areas with higher latitude, higher elevation, lower temperature, and lower precipitation. Geographical factors affected biomass carbon density positively and indirectly, via the stand and climatic factors, with larger effects for the natural coniferous than broad-leaved forests. Latitude and elevation are the most crucial driving factors for coniferous forests, but stand age and forest coverage are for broad-leaved forests. Climatic factors had weaker effects than other factors, with negative effects of temperature for coniferous and no effects for broad-leaved forests. Conclusions The effects of stand, geographical and climatic factors on biomass carbon density are different between natural coniferous and broad-leaved forests, respectively. Employing the integrative framework can improve the prediction of the impact of stand, geographical and climatic factors on natural forests in mountainous areas.

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Spatial pattern and driving factors of biomass carbon density for natural and planted coniferous forests in mountainous terrain, eastern Loess Plateau of China

Forest Ecosystems ◽

10.1186/s40663-020-0218-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Lina Sun ◽

Mengben Wang ◽

Xiaohui Fan

Keyword(s):

Spatial Pattern ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Driving Factors ◽

Coniferous Forests ◽

Mountainous Terrain ◽

Biomass Carbon ◽

Carbon Density

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Assessment of Carbon Density in Natural Mountain Forest Ecosystems at Northwest China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18042098 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 2098

Author(s):

Li Dai ◽

Yufang Zhang ◽

Lei Wang ◽

Shuanli Zheng ◽

Wenqiang Xu

Keyword(s):

Carbon Content ◽

Carbon Storage ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Northwest China ◽

Biomass Carbon ◽

Forest Age ◽

Carbon Density ◽

Old Growth Forest ◽

Content Ratio

The natural mountain forests in northwest China are recognized as a substantial carbon pool and play an important role in local fragile ecosystems. This study used inventory data and detailed field measurements covering different forest age groups (young, middle-aged, near-mature, mature, old-growth forest), structure of forest (tree, herb, litter and soil layer) and trees (leaves, branches, trunks and root) to estimate biomass, carbon content ratio, carbon density and carbon storage in Altai forest ecosystems. The results showed that the average biomass of the Altai Mountains forest ecosystems was 126.67 t·hm−2, and the descending order of the value was tree layer (120.84 t·hm−2) > herb layer (4.22 t·hm−2) > litter layer (1.61 t·hm−2). Among the tree parts, trunks, roots, leaves and branches accounted for 50%, 22%, 16% and 12% of the total tree biomass, respectively. The average carbon content ratio was 0.49 (range: 0.41–0.52). The average carbon density of forest ecosystems was 205.72 t·hm−2, and the carbon storage of the forest ecosystems was 131.35 Tg (standard deviation: 31.01) inside study area. Soil had the highest carbon storage (65.98%), followed by tree (32.81%), herb (0.78%) and litter (0.43%) layers. Forest age has significant effect on biomass, carbon content ratio, carbon density and carbon storage. The carbon density of forest ecosystems in study area was spatially distributed higher in the south and lower in north, which is influenced by climate, topography, soil types and dominant tree species.

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Changes of cropland evapotranspiration and its driving factors on the loess plateau of China

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138582 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 728 ◽

pp. 138582

Author(s):

Fengjiao Wang ◽

Wei Liang ◽

Bojie Fu ◽

Zhao Jin ◽

Jianwu Yan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Loess Plateau ◽

Driving Factors ◽

The Loess Plateau

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Soil organic carbon dynamics following afforestation in the Loess Plateau of China

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-10-11181-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 11181-11211 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

N. Lu ◽

J. Liski ◽

R. Y. Chang ◽

A. Akujärvi ◽

X. Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Carbon Fixation ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Early Stage ◽

Arable Land ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Successional Stage

Abstract. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial carbon pool and sensitive to land use and cover change; its dynamics is critical for carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. In this study, we combined a modeling approach and field measurements to examine the temporal dynamics of SOC following afforestation of former arable land at six sites under different climatic conditions in the Loess Plateau during 1980–2010. The results showed that the measured mean SOC increased to levels higher than before afforestation when taking the last measurements (i.e., at age 25 to 30 yr), although it decreased in the first few years at the wetter sites. The accumulation rates of SOC were 1.58 to 6.22% yr–1 in the upper 20 cm and 1.62 to 5.15% yr–1 in the upper 40 cm of soil. The simulations reproduced the basic characteristics of measured SOC dynamics, suggesting that litter input and climatic factors (temperature and precipitation) were the major causes for SOC dynamics and the differences among the sites. They explained 88–96, 48–86 and 57–74% of the variations in annual SOC changes at the soil depths of 0–20, 0–40, and 0–100 cm, respectively. Notably, the simulated SOC decreased during the first few years at all the sites, although the magnitudes of decreases were small at the drier sites. This suggested that the modeling may be advantageous in capturing SOC changes at finer time scale. The discrepancy between the simulation and measurement was a result of uncertainties in model structure, data input, and sampling design. Our findings indicated that afforestation promoted soil carbon sequestration at the study sites, which is favorable for further restoration of the vegetation and environment. Afforestation activities should decrease soil disturbances to reduce carbon release in the early stage. The long-term strategy for carbon fixation capability of the plantations should also consider the climate and site conditions, species adaptability, and successional stage of recovery.

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Extensive forest management contributes to maintain suitable habitat characteristics for the endangered Atlantic-Gaspésie caribou

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2016-0038 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 46 (7) ◽

pp. 933-942 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Marie-Audrey Nadeau Fortin ◽

Luc Sirois ◽

Martin-Hugues St-Laurent

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽

Habitat Characteristics ◽

Coniferous Forests ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Habitat Conditions ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Forest Practices ◽

Partial Canonical Correspondence Analysis ◽

Conservation Of Endangered Species

Extensive forest management aims at minimizing differences between managed and natural forests and at contributing to the conservation of endangered species such as the Atlantic-Gaspésie caribou. The decline of this isolated population was exacerbated by intensive forest practices, as the over-representation of regenerating forests supports high densities of bears and coyotes. These predators select such stands for the high availability of berries and browse suitable to alternative prey, especially moose. Our objective was to verify whether extensive treatments can provide suitable habitat characteristics for caribou. We compared the impacts of different intensive and extensive treatments on habitat attributes known to be selected by caribou, moose, and their predators. We sampled 291 sites in seven treatments and in mature coniferous forests (as the control). A partial canonical correspondence analysis highlighted which treatments maintain habitat attributes that are comparable with those found in mature forests, including some characteristics suitable for caribou such as a substantial biomass of arboreal lichen and a lower availability of resources for predators. Although being more suitable than the three intensive treatments tested, none of the four extensive treatments we studied provided similar habitat conditions to mature forest. Favouring extensive treatments could nevertheless be a relevant conservation compromise at the forest stand level, but their utility remains uncertain under the maximum sustainable yield paradigm as they impact a larger area.

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Measurement of Diurnal Carbon Sequestration Rate and Aboveground Biomass Carbon Potential of Two Young Species and Soil Respiration in Two Natural Forests in India

Impact of Climate Change on Natural Resource Management ◽

10.1007/978-90-481-3581-3_17 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 309-328

Author(s):

Bipal K. Jana ◽

Soumyajit Biswas ◽

Mrinmoy Majumder ◽

Pankaj Roy ◽

Asis Mazumdar

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Soil Respiration ◽

Aboveground Biomass ◽

Carbon Potential ◽

Biomass Carbon ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Sequestration Rate ◽

Carbon Sequestration Rate

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Positive biodiversity–productivity relationships in forests: climate matters

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2017.0747 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 20170747 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

H. Jactel ◽

E. S. Gritti ◽

L. Drössler ◽

D. I. Forrester ◽

W. L. Mason ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Tree Species ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Global Scale ◽

Tree Age ◽

Drought Severity ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Mixed Species

While it is widely acknowledged that forest biodiversity contributes to climate change mitigation through improved carbon sequestration, conversely how climate affects tree species diversity–forest productivity relationships is still poorly understood. We combined the results of long-term experiments where forest mixtures and corresponding monocultures were compared on the same site to estimate the yield of mixed-species stands at a global scale, and its response to climatic factors. We found positive mixture effects on productivity using a meta-analysis of 126 case studies established at 60 sites spread across five continents. Overall, the productivity of mixed-species forests was 15% greater than the average of their component monocultures, and not statistically lower than the productivity of the best component monoculture. Productivity gains in mixed-species stands were not affected by tree age or stand species composition but significantly increased with local precipitation. The results should guide better use of tree species combinations in managed forests and suggest that increased drought severity under climate change might reduce the atmospheric carbon sequestration capacity of natural forests.

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Sustainable management of mountain forests in the Czech Republic

Journal of Forest Science ◽

10.17221/4651-jfs ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 50 (No. 11) ◽

pp. 526-532 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

S. Vacek ◽

V. Balcar

Keyword(s):

Czech Republic ◽

Forest Management ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Raw Material ◽

Anthropogenic Factors ◽

Mountain Forests ◽

Natural Forests ◽

The Czech Republic

Forest management in the Czech Republic (CR) was not shaped in the environment of natural forests but in the territory that was influenced by unregulated felling and animal grazing for a long time. Hence the fear for sustainable and balanced benefits from forests endangered by long-term uncontrolled exploitation was legitimate. Almost after three centuries of application of the sustainability principle, forests are considered not only as a source of renewable wood raw material but also as a tool of the environment formation. Mountain forests are an important landscape component of this country. They are an object of specific importance from the aspect of natural environment conservation, stabilization of natural processes and general landscape homeostasis. In addition, they fulfil a number of production and non-production functions. Cardinal elements of sustainable forest management in the CR conditions are as follows: management of the forest as an ecosystem, i.e. transition from exclusive care of forest tree species and their stands to care of the whole forest ecosystems; restructuring (conversion, reconstruction) of damaged and declining forests; optimum (species, genetic, spatial, age) structure of forest ecosystems differentiated according to site conditions and management targets; differentiated transition from general management to group or individual methods; utilization and support of spontaneous processes such as natural regeneration, competition and other principles of self-regulation. The above cardinal elements of sustainable forest management are applicable to forests of the CR in general, but their importance considerably increases in mountain forests where many species survive on the margin of subsistence. Moreover, mountain forests of CR have been heavily destroyed by anthropogenic factors, especially air-pollution ecological stresses, during the last three or four decades.

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