Litterfall in a Scots Pine Forest on Inland Dunes in Central Europe: Mass, Seasonal Dynamics and Chemistry

Extensive areas of inland dunes are commonly overplanted with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). However, thus far the pine litterfall has not been investigated in detail in Scots pine stands overgrowing the landforms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the mass and chemical composition of litterfall in a dune Scots pine forest, paying special attention to the differences in the properties of the particular categories of litterfall (needles, twigs, bark, cones, residue) occurring in different seasons. The secondary goal of the research was to investigate the possible effect of contrasting slope aspect on litterfall properties. Litterfall was examined for three years on a north- and south-facing dune slope using the litter trap method. The mass and chemical composition (C, N, P, K, Mg, Mn, Ca, Fe, Al) of each litterfall category was analysed. Average annual mass of litterfall ranged from 322.0 ± 2.6 (slope N) to 361.9 ± 34.2 (slope S) g m−2 year−1. Fluctuations in the annual concentrations of N, P, K and Mg were determined, which was the result of their gradual withdrawal from needles before they were dropped in autumn. Immobile or poorly mobile elements (i.e., Mn, Ca, Fe and Al) were found to be steadily accumulated during the year in fallen tissues. The studied elements can be set in the following order as regards the annual pools which return to a topsoil with litterfall: C > N > Ca > K > Mg > Mn > Al > P > Fe on slope N and C > Ca > N > K > Mg > Al > P > Mn > Fe on slope S. Despite the fact that the residue (seeds etc.) constitutes a much smaller part of the total litterfall mass than the needles, comparable amounts of N, P, K, Al and Fe return to a topsoil with both these categories. The only element for which we determined differences in concentrations regarding slope aspect was Mn: the concentrations were significantly higher for needles, twigs, bark and cones on the N than the S slope.

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Typology of the natural regeneration in a middle-aged Scots pine forest

Silva Gandavensis ◽

10.21825/sg.v53i0.913 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 53 ◽

Author(s):

C. De Schepper

Keyword(s):

Scots Pine ◽

Natural Regeneration ◽

Free Field ◽

Sandy Soils ◽

Structural Basis ◽

Pedunculate Oak ◽

Pine Stands ◽

Scots Pine Forest ◽

Forest Practice ◽

Scots Pine Stands

The study describes the natural regeneration state of a forest on coarse sandy soils. The natural regeneration was studied in three different ecological conditions: in 30 to 60 year old Scots pine stands, in a 62 year old mixed stand of pedunculate oak and red oak, and on the free field. The analysis of the regeneration groups revealed that the first settler maintained a dominant social position during the following years after the settlement. The structural basis is consequently laid out early. This means that the forest practice has to consider the very first phase of the regeneration as determining for the following evolution of the regeneration groups.

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Analysis of natural regeneration of Scots pine forest in the high Campine after a fire

Silva Gandavensis ◽

10.21825/sg.v53i0.912 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 53 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N. Lust

Keyword(s):

Scots Pine ◽

Natural Regeneration ◽

Fire Regime ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Seed Supply ◽

Regeneration Period ◽

The Social ◽

Short Period ◽

Fire Area ◽

Scots Pine Forest

The study deals with the spontaneous resettlement of a fire area, after destruction of 600 ha Scots pine forest. The following items have been examined in particular: the composition of the tree species, the duration of the regeneration period, the influence of the parent stand, the exposition, the slope, the treatment, the fire regime and the social differentiation. The resettlement took place very quickly and over a very short period. Birch and Scots pine take up 95 % of the stem number. The regeneration result is precarious, yet mostly good. The parent stand is favourable both to seed supply and to microclimate, but only over a short distance. The Scots pine prefers more open and dry areas, whereas birch needs more humidity. Practice has shown that natural regeneration of Scots pine stands is possible. The forest treatment, however, is very important. It determines not only the immediate result of the regeneration, but also the composition and the structure of the future stand.

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Exchange of trace gases between soils and the atmosphere in Scots pine forest ecosystems of the northeastern German lowlands

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/s0378-1127(01)00725-3 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 167 (1-3) ◽

pp. 123-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 87

Author(s):

K Butterbach-Bahl ◽

L Breuer ◽

R Gasche ◽

G Willibald ◽

H Papen

Keyword(s):

Scots Pine ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Trace Gases ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Scots Pine Forest

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Impacts of summer water limitation on the carbon balance of a Scots pine forest in the southern upper Rhine plain

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology ◽

10.1016/j.agrformet.2008.06.008 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 148 (11) ◽

pp. 1815-1826 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Jutta Holst ◽

Romain Barnard ◽

Elke Brandes ◽

Nina Buchmann ◽

Arthur Gessler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Scots Pine ◽

Carbon Balance ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Water Limitation ◽

Scots Pine Forest ◽

Upper Rhine

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Methodological development for combined analysis of S and 35S in a Scots pine forest study

Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis ◽

10.1080/00103629209368688 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 23 (13-14) ◽

pp. 1575-1589 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A. P. Rowland ◽

A. F. Harrison ◽

V. H. Kennedy ◽

J. N. Cape

Keyword(s):

Scots Pine ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Methodological Development ◽

Combined Analysis ◽

Scots Pine Forest

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Soil Solution Response to Nitrogen and Magnesium Application in a Scots Pine Forest

Soil Science Society of America Journal ◽

10.2136/sssaj2001.1812 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 65 (6) ◽

pp. 1812-1823 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Live S. Vestgarden ◽

Gunnar Abrahamsen ◽

Arne O. Stuanes

Keyword(s):

Soil Solution ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Scots Pine Forest

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Modelling short-term variability in carbon and water exchange in a temperate Scots pine forest

Earth System Dynamics ◽

10.5194/esd-6-485-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 485-503 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

M. H. Vermeulen ◽

B. J. Kruijt ◽

T. Hickler ◽

P. Kabat

Keyword(s):

Water Uptake ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Water Exchange ◽

Carbon Sink ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Temperature Threshold ◽

Water Fluxes ◽

Local Data ◽

Deep Soil ◽

Scots Pine Forest

Abstract. The vegetation–atmosphere carbon and water exchange at one particular site can strongly vary from year to year, and understanding this interannual variability in carbon and water exchange (IAVcw) is a critical factor in projecting future ecosystem changes. However, the mechanisms driving this IAVcw are not well understood. We used data on carbon and water fluxes from a multi-year eddy covariance study (1997–2009) in a Dutch Scots pine forest and forced a process-based ecosystem model (Lund–Potsdam–Jena General Ecosystem Simulator; LPJ-GUESS) with local data to, firstly, test whether the model can explain IAVcw and seasonal carbon and water exchange from direct environmental factors only. Initial model runs showed low correlations with estimated annual gross primary productivity (GPP) and annual actual evapotranspiration (AET), while monthly and daily fluxes showed high correlations. The model underestimated GPP and AET during winter and drought events. Secondly, we adapted the temperature inhibition function of photosynthesis to account for the observation that at this particular site, trees continue to assimilate at very low atmospheric temperatures (up to daily averages of −10 °C), resulting in a net carbon sink in winter. While we were able to improve daily and monthly simulations during winter by lowering the modelled minimum temperature threshold for photosynthesis, this did not increase explained IAVcw at the site. Thirdly, we implemented three alternative hypotheses concerning water uptake by plants in order to test which one best corresponds with the data. In particular, we analyse the effects during the 2003 heatwave. These simulations revealed a strong sensitivity of the modelled fluxes during dry and warm conditions, but no single formulation was consistently superior in reproducing the data for all timescales and the overall model–data match for IAVcw could not be improved. Most probably access to deep soil water leads to higher AET and GPP simulated during the heatwave of 2003. We conclude that photosynthesis at lower temperatures than assumed in most models can be important for winter carbon and water fluxes in pine forests. Furthermore, details of the model representations of water uptake, which are often overlooked, need further attention, and deep water access should be treated explicitly.

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