NDLI: Recovery of Ecosystem Carbon Stocks in Young Boreal Forests: A Comparison of Harvesting and Wildfire Disturbance

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Seedre, Meelis Taylor, Anthony R. Brassard, Brian W. Chen, Han Y. H. Jõgiste, Kalev
Copyright Year	2014
Abstract	Corresponding with the increasing global resource demand, harvesting now affects millions of hectares of boreal forest each year, and yet our understanding of harvesting impacts on boreal carbon (C) dynamics relative to wildfire remains unclear. We provide a direct comparison of C stocks following clearcut harvesting and fire over a 27-year chronosequence in the boreal forest of central Canada. Whereas many past studies have lacked measurement of all major C pools, we attempt to provide complete C pool coverage, including live biomass, deadwood, forest floor, and mineral soil C pools. The relative contribution of each C pool to total ecosystem C varied considerably between disturbance types. Live biomass C was significantly higher following harvesting compared with fire because of residual live trees and advanced regeneration. Conversely, most live biomass was killed following fire, and thus post-fire stands contained higher stocks of deadwood C. Snag and stump C mass peaked immediately following fire, but dramatically decreased 8 years after fire as dead trees began to fall over, contributing to the downed woody debris C pool. Forest floor C mass was substantially lower shortly after fire than harvesting, but this pool converged 8 years after fire and harvesting. When total ecosystem C stocks were examined, we found no significant difference during early stand development between harvesting and fire. Maximum total ecosystem C occurred at age 27 years, 185.1 ± 18.2 and 163.6 ± 8.0 Mg C ha−1 for harvesting and fire, respectively. Our results indicate strong differences in individual C pools, but similar total ecosystem C after fire and clearcutting in boreal forests, and shall help improve modeling terrestrial C flux after stand-replacing disturbances.
Starting Page	851
Ending Page	863
Page Count	13
File Format	PDF
ISSN	14329840
Journal	Ecosystems
Volume Number	17
Issue Number	5
e-ISSN	14350629
Language	English
Publisher	Springer US
Publisher Date	2014-03-20
Publisher Place	Boston
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	boreal forest climate change carbon disturbance fire harvest productivity Ecology Plant Sciences Zoology Environmental Management Geoecology/Natural Processes Hydrology/Water Resources
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology Environmental Chemistry Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Decline in Net Ecosystem Productivity Following Canopy Transition to Late-Succession Forests

Do Boreal Forests Need Fire Disturbance to Maintain Productivity?

When a Tree Dies in the Forest: Scaling Climate-Driven Tree Mortality to Ecosystem Water and Carbon Fluxes

Differences in Ecosystem Carbon Distribution and Nutrient Cycling Linked to Forest Tree Species Composition in a Mid-Successional Boreal Forest

Does Drought Influence the Relationship Between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Boreal Forests?

Losing Legacies, Ecological Release, and Transient Responses: Key Challenges for the Future of Northern Ecosystem Science

Effects of Harvesting Forest Biomass on Water and Climate Regulation Services: A Synthesis of Long-Term Ecosystem Experiments in Eastern North America

Disturbances, Their Interactions, and Cumulative Effects on Carbon and Charcoal Stocks in a Forested Ecosystem

Managed Wildfire Effects on Forest Resilience and Water in the Sierra Nevada

Recovery of Ecosystem Carbon Stocks in Young Boreal Forests: A Comparison of Harvesting and Wildfire Disturbance

Similar Documents

Decline in Net Ecosystem Productivity Following Canopy Transition to Late-Succession Forests

Do Boreal Forests Need Fire Disturbance to Maintain Productivity?

When a Tree Dies in the Forest: Scaling Climate-Driven Tree Mortality to Ecosystem Water and Carbon Fluxes

Differences in Ecosystem Carbon Distribution and Nutrient Cycling Linked to Forest Tree Species Composition in a Mid-Successional Boreal Forest

Does Drought Influence the Relationship Between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Boreal Forests?

Losing Legacies, Ecological Release, and Transient Responses: Key Challenges for the Future of Northern Ecosystem Science

Effects of Harvesting Forest Biomass on Water and Climate Regulation Services: A Synthesis of Long-Term Ecosystem Experiments in Eastern North America

Disturbances, Their Interactions, and Cumulative Effects on Carbon and Charcoal Stocks in a Forested Ecosystem

Managed Wildfire Effects on Forest Resilience and Water in the Sierra Nevada

Recovery of Ecosystem Carbon Stocks in Young Boreal Forests: A Comparison of Harvesting and Wildfire Disturbance