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Influence of Disturbance on Temperate Forest Productivity

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Abstract

Climate, tree species traits, and soil fertility are key controls on forest productivity. However, in most forest ecosystems, natural and human disturbances, such as wind throw, fire, and harvest, can also exert important and lasting direct and indirect influence over productivity. We used an ecosystem model, PnET-CN, to examine how disturbance type, intensity, and frequency influence net primary production (NPP) across a range of forest types from Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA. We assessed the importance of past disturbances on NPP, net N mineralization, foliar N, and leaf area index at 107 forest stands of differing types (aspen, jack pine, northern hardwood, black spruce) and disturbance history (fire, harvest) by comparing model simulations with observations. The model reasonably predicted differences among forest types in productivity, foliar N, leaf area index, and net N mineralization. Model simulations that included past disturbances minimally improved predictions compared to simulations without disturbance, suggesting the legacy of past disturbances played a minor role in influencing current forest productivity rates. Modeled NPP was more sensitive to the intensity of soil removal during a disturbance than the fraction of stand mortality or wood removal. Increasing crown fire frequency resulted in lower NPP, particularly for conifer forest types with longer leaf life spans and longer recovery times. These findings suggest that, over long time periods, moderate frequency disturbances are a relatively less important control on productivity than climate, soil, and species traits.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Scott Ollinger for help with PnET-CN parameters and algorithms; Peter Snyder for advice on climate data; Matthew Peters for providing soil water holding capacity data; and all the researchers whose work provided useful comparative data. This work was funded by a Discovery Grant from the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, the Wilderness Research Foundation, and the Superior National Forest. We also thank the NSF LTER program (DEB 0620652) for support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA

    Emily B. Peters

  2. Forest Resources Department, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA

    Kirk R. Wythers & Peter B. Reich

  3. United States Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86001, USA

    John B. Bradford

  4. Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, New South Wales, 2751, Australia

    Peter B. Reich

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  1. Emily B. Peters
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Correspondence to Emily B. Peters.

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Emily B. Peters: Conceived of or designed study, performed research, analyzed data, wrote the paper. Kirk R. Wythers: Conceived of or designed study, performed research, analyzed data. John B. Bradford: Conceived of or designed study, analyzed data. Peter B. Reich: Conceived of or designed study, analyzed data.

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Peters, E.B., Wythers, K.R., Bradford, J.B. et al. Influence of Disturbance on Temperate Forest Productivity. Ecosystems 16, 95–110 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9599-y

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