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Changes in aboveground and belowground properties during secondary natural succession of a cool-temperate forest in Japan

  • Original Article
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Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

Forest development in temperate regions is considered to be a global carbon sink. Many studies have examined forest development after harvesting or fire from aboveground (e.g., biomass) or belowground (e.g., soil nutrient) perspectives. However, few studies have explored forest development from both perspectives simultaneously in cool-temperate forests in Japan. In this study, we examined changes over 105 years in both aboveground and belowground components during secondary natural succession. The aboveground biomass increased for 50 years and reached a plateau in a 105-year-old stand. The N mineralization rate increased during succession for 50 years, but showed a decline in the 105-year-old stand due to the decrease in the nitrification rate in late succession. The percent nitrification (i.e., relative contribution of nitrification to N mineralization) decreased significantly with increasing forest stand age. The N mineralization rates had significant relationships with N concentrations of the dominant tree foliage and litter fall and with the amount of litter fall N. Meanwhile, other belowground properties (i.e., soil pH, phenol concentration, soil microbial respiration, and litter mass loss) did not show any significant relationship with forest stand age. This may be because the soil at the study sites was heterogeneous and consisted of Cambisols and Andosols, the latter of which originally has high organic matter content, and thus may have buffered the effect of the aboveground development. These results indicate that belowground N dynamics are more closely associated with aboveground development than other belowground properties in these forests.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Makiko Udagawa, Miwa Satoh, Arisa Kobayashi, and Atsuko Tanaka for their assistance. This study was supported by Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Sciences and Technology from MEXT, and partly by a grant-in-aid from the JSPS (25840158).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Core for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Okayama University, 3-1-1, Tsushimanaka, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan

    Fujio Hyodo

  2. Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 2-509-3, Hirano, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2113, Japan

    Takashi F. Haraguchi

  3. Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, 3-1-1, Tsushimanaka, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan

    Muneto Hirobe

  4. Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto, 602-8502, Japan

    Ryunosuke Tateno

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  1. Fujio Hyodo
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  2. Takashi F. Haraguchi
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  4. Ryunosuke Tateno
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Correspondence to Fujio Hyodo.

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Hyodo, F., Haraguchi, T.F., Hirobe, M. et al. Changes in aboveground and belowground properties during secondary natural succession of a cool-temperate forest in Japan. J For Res 21, 170–177 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-016-0526-5

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