Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fine-root production and litterfall: main contributions to net primary production in an old-growth evergreen broad-leaved forest in southwestern Japan

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

Net primary production (NPP) is an important index for evaluating the patterns, processes, and dynamics of carbon cycling in forest ecosystems. In this study, we estimated the NPP in a warm-temperate old-growth evergreen broad-leaved forest in southwestern Japan. The estimation was based on four compartments: aboveground stand increment (ΔM), aboveground litterfall (Lf), fine-root production (Fr), and coarse root increment (ΔCr). The data for ΔM and ΔCr were collected from a permanent 200 × 200 m2 plot over a 4-year interval, while Lf and Fr were collected over a 1-year interval. The NPP was 4.65 g m−2 day−1, of which ΔM accounted for 25.2 %, Lf accounted for 38.7 %, Fr accounted for 33.4 %, and the remaining 2.7 % was attributed to ΔCr. There was a significant regression between aboveground litterfall and fine-root production (R 2 = 0.65, P < 0.05). Fine-root decomposition (0.66 g m−2 day−1) accounted for 14.2 % of the NPP, leading to a higher belowground NPP in the present study compared with that in other forests. We conclude that an estimation of the decomposition of dead fine-roots by the continuous inflow method must be included to improve the accuracy of NPP estimations for forest ecosystems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aiba S, Kitayama K (1999) Structure, composition and species diversity in an altitude-substrate matrix of rain forest tree communities on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Plant Ecol 140:139–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baishya R, Barik SK (2011) Estimation of tree biomass, carbon pool and net primary production of an old-growth Pinus kesiya Royle ex. Gordon forest in north-eastern India. Ann For Sci 68:727–736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernier PY, Robitaille G (2004) A plane intersect method for estimating fine-root productivity of trees from minirhizotron images. Plant Soil 265:165–173

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers JQ, Santos JD, Ribeiro RJ, Higuchi N (2001) Tree damage, allometric relationships, and above-ground net primary production in central Amazon forest. For Ecol Manage 152:73–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapin FS, Salo OE, Burke IC, Grime JP, Hooper DU, Lauenroth WK, Lombard A, Mooney HA, Mosier AR, Nacem S, Pacala SW, Roy J, Steffen WL, Tilman D (1998) Ecosystem consequences of changing biodiversity. Bioscience 48:45–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen W, Chen JM, Price DT, Cihlar J (2002) Effects of stand age on net primary productivity of boreal black spruce forests in Ontario, Canada. Can J For Res 32:833–842

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark DA, Brown S, Kicklighter D, Chambers JQ, Thomlinson JR, Ni J (2001) Measuring net primary production in forests: concepts and field methods. Ecol Appl 11:356–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dannoura M, Kominami Y, Oguma H, Kanazawa Y (2008) The development of an optical scanner method for observation of plant root dynamics. Plant Root 2:14–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson ED, Savage K, Bolstad P, Clark DA, Curtis PS, Ellsworth DS, Hanson PJ, Law BE, Luo Y, Pregitzer KS, Randolph JC, Zak D (2002) Belowground carbon allocation in forests estimated from litterfall and IRGA-based soil respiration measurements. Agric For Meteorol 113:39–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairley RI, Alexander IJ (1985) Methods of calculating fine-root production in forests. In: Fitter AH, Atkinson D, Read DJ (eds) Ecological interactions in soil: plants, microbes and animals. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, pp 37–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Girardin CAJ, Malhi Y, Aragão LEOC, Mamani M, Huaraca HW, Durand L, Feeley KJ, Rapp J, Silva-Espejo JE, Silman M, Salinas N, Whittaker RJ (2010) Net primary productivity allocation and cycling of carbon along a tropical forest elevational transect in the Peruvian Andes. Glob Chang Biol 16:3176–3192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendricks RL, Pregitzer KS (1993) The dynamics of fine-root length, biomass, and nitrogen content in two northern hardwood ecosystems. Can J For Res 23:2507–2520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hishi T, Takeda H (2005) Dynamics of heterorhizic root systems: protoxylem groups within the fine-root system of Chamaecyparis obtusa. New Phytol 167:509–521

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kajimoto T, Matsuura Y, Sofronov MA, Volokitina AV, Mori S, Osawa A, Abaimov AP (1999) Above- and belowground biomass and net primary productivity of a Larix gmelinii stand near Tura, central Siberia. Tree Physiol 19:15–822

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimura M (1960) Primary production of the warm-temperate laurel forest in the southern part of Osumi peninsula, Kyushu, Japan. Misc Rep Res Inst Nat Resour 52–53:36–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Kira T (1991) Forest ecosystems of east and southeast Asia in a global perspective. Ecol Res 6:185–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kira T, Yabuki K (1977) Production rates. In: Shidei T, Kira T (eds) Primary productivity of Japanese forests—productivity of terrestrial communities. JIBP synthesis., 16The University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp 101–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Kira T, Yabuki K (1978) Primary production rate in the Minamata forest. In: Kira T, Ono Y, Hosokawa T (eds) Biological production in a warm-temperate evergreen oak forest of Japan. JIBP Synthesis., 18University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, pp 131–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitayama K, Aiba S (2002) Ecosystem structure and productivity of tropical rain forests along altitudinal gradients with contrasting soil phosphorus pools on Mount Kinabalu. Borneo J Ecol 90:37–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kubota Y (2003) Population structure and growth dynamics of Castanopsis sieboldii in secondary-and old growth-subtropical forests in southwestern Japan. Occas Pap 38:47–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumamoto Regional Forestry Office (1963) Soil survey report, vol 21. Aya District Forestry Office, Kumamoto Regional Forestry Office, Kumamoto (in Japanese)

  • Luo TX, Li WH, Zhu HZ (2002) Estimated biomass and productivity of natural vegetation on the Tibetan Plateau. Ecol Appl 12:980–997

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Majdi HK, Pregitzer K, Moren AS, Nylund JE, Agren GI (2005) Measuring fine-root turnover in forest ecosystems. Plant Soil 276:1–8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Melillo JM, Prentice IC, Schulze ED, Farquhar G, Sala O (1995) Terrestrial biotic responses to environmental change and feedbacks to climate. In: Callender BA, Harris N, Kattenberg A, Maskell K, Houghton JT, Meira Filho LG (eds) Climate change: the science of climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 445–482

    Google Scholar 

  • Metcalfe DF, Meir P, Williams M (2007) A comparison of methods for converting rhizotron root length measurements into estimates of root mass production per unit ground area. Plant Soil 301:279–288

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mokany K, Raison RJ, Prokushkin AS (2006) Critical analysis of root: shoot ratios in terrestrial biomes. Glob Chang Biol 12:84–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mooney HA, Cushman JH, Medina E, Sala OE, Schulze ED (1996) Functional roles of biodiversity: a global perspective. Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer KJ, Raich JW (1992) Fineroot production estimates and belowground carbon allocation in forest ecosystems. Ecology 73:1139–1147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakagawa M, Saito H, Kasuya N (2006) Dry-matter production of a young Quercus phillyraeoides stand at Nantoh-cho, Mie. Sci Rep Kyoto Pref Univ Hum Env Agr 58:51–59

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nitta I, Ohsawa M (1997) Leaf dynamics and shoot phenology of eleven warm-temperate evergreen broad-leaved trees near their northern limit in central Japan. Plant Ecol 130:71–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noguchi K, Konôpka B, Satomura T, Kaneko S, Takahashi M (2007) Biomass and production of fine-roots in Japanese forests. J For Res 12:83–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohnuki Y, Sato T, Fujimoto K, Inagaki M (1998) Dynamics and physical properties of surficial soil and microtopography at Aya evergreen broad-leaved forest, southern Japan. Jpn J For Environ 40:67–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohtsuka T, Negishi M, Sugita K, Iimura Y, Hirota M (2013) Carbon cycling and sequestration in Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) forest on lava flow of Mt. Fuji. Ecol Res 28:855–867

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Osawa A, Aizawa R (2012) A new approach to estimate fine-root production, mortality, and decomposition using litter bag experiments and soil core techniques. Plant Soil 355:167–181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raich JW, Nadelhoffer KJ (1989) Belowground carbon allocation in forest ecosystems: global trends. Ecology 70:1346–1354

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saito S (2002) Effects of a severe typhoon on forest dynamics in a warm-temperate evergreen broad-leaved forest in southwestern Japan. J For Res 7:137–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sasse J (1998) The forests of Japan. Japan Forest Technical Association, Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  • Sato T, Kominami Y, Saito S, Niiyama K, Manabe T, Tanouchi H, Noma N, Yamamoto S (1999) An introduction to the Aya research site, a long-term ecological research site, in a warm temperate evergreen broad-leaved forest ecosystems in southwestern Japan: research topics and design. Bull Kitakyushu Mus Nat His 18:57–180

    Google Scholar 

  • Sato T, Kominami Y, Saito S, Niiyama K, Tanouchi H, Nagamatsu D, Nomiya H (2010) Temporal dynamics and resilience of fine aboveground litterfall in relation to typhoon disturbances over 14 years in an old-growth lucidophyllous forest in southwestern Japan. Plant Ecol 208:187–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimel DS, Braswell BH, Holland EA, McKeown R, Ojima DS, Painter TH, Parton WJ, Townsend AR (1994) Climatic, edaphic, and biotic controls over storage and turnover of carbon in soils. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 8:279–293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shvidenko AZ, Schepashchenko DG, Vaganov EA, Nilsson S (2008) Net primary production of forest ecosystems of Russia: a new estimate. Doklady Earth Sci 421A:1009–1012

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Slik JWF, Paoli G, McGuire K, Amaral I, Barroso J, Bastian M, Blanc L, Bongers F, Boundja P, Clark C, Collins M, Dauby G, Ding Y, Doucet J-L, Eler E, Ferreira L, Forshed O, Fredriksson G, Gillet J-F, Harris D, Leal M, Laumonier Y, Malhi Y, Mansor A, Martin E, Miyamoto K, Araujo-Murakami A, Nagamasu H, Nilus R, Nurtjahya E, Oliveira Á, Onrizal O, Parada-Gutierrez A, Permana A, Poorter L, Poulsen J, Ramirez-Angulo H, Reitsma J, Rovero F, Rozak A, Sheil D, Silva-Espejo J, Silveira M, Spironelo W, ter Steege H, Stevart T, Navarro-Aguilar GE, Sunderland T, Suzuki E, Tang J, Theilade I, van der Heijden G, van Valkenburg J, Van Do T, Vilanova E, Vos V, Wich S, Wöll H, Yoneda T, Zang R, Zhang M-G, Zweifel N (2013) Large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 22:1261–1271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tada M, Saito H, Ohkubo M, Kasuya N (2006) Dry-matter production of a middle-aged Quercus phillyraeoides stand at Shodoshima Island, Kagawa Prefecture. Sci Rep Kyoto Pref Univ Hum Env Agr 58:41–49 [in Japanese]

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tadaki Y (1968) Studies on the production structure of forest (XIV) The third report on the primary production of a young stand of Castanopsis cuspidata. J Jpn For Soc 50:60–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Tadaki Y (1995) Structure and productivity of young Castanopsis cuspidata forests growing in different stand densities. Bull Nagoya Univ For 14:1–24 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanouchi H, Yamamoto S (1995) Structure and regeneration of canopy species in an old-growth evergreen broad-leaved forest in Aya district, southwestern Japan. Vegetatio 117:51–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tateno R, Hishi T, Takeda H (2004) Above and belowground biomass and net primary production in a cool-temperate deciduous forest in relation to topographical changes in soil nitrogen. For Ecol Manage 193:297–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt KA, Vogt DJ, Palmiotto PA, Boon P, Ohara J, Asbjornsen H (1996) Review of root dynamics in forest ecosystems grouped by climate, climatic forest type and species. Plant Soil 187:159–219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang S, Zhoua L, Chen J, Ju W, Feng X, Wua W (2011) Relationships between net primary productivity and stand age for several forest types and their influence on China’s carbon balance. J Environ Manage 92:1651–1662

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Woodward FI, Smith T, Emanuel WR (1995) A global land primary productivity and phytogeography model. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 9:471–490

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yashiro Y, Lee NIM, Ohtsuka T, Shizu Y, Saitoh TM, Koizum H (2010) Biometric-based estimation of net ecosystem production in a mature Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) plantation beneath a flux tower. J Plant Res 123:463–472

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. T.V Con from Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences for guideline on statistical analysis and anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on the manuscript.

Funding

This research is co-funded by Long-term monitoring of forest carbon dynamics in East Asia [EA-FDPN Phase II]” from the Global Environmental Research Account for National Institute, Ministry of the Environment Japan (MOEJ), ‘‘Evaluation, Adaptation and Mitigation of Global Warming in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: Research and Development’’, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, ‘‘Monitoring-site 1000 Project’’ MOEJ, and Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) under Grant number 106-NN.06-2013.01.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Vegetation, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan

    Tran Van Do & Tamotsu Sato

  2. Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, 46 Shimoadachi-cho, Yoshida Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Tran Van Do & Osamu Kozan

  3. Silviculture Research Institute, Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Tran Van Do

  4. Department of Plant Ecology, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan

    Satoshi Saito

Authors
  1. Tran Van Do
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tamotsu Sato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Satoshi Saito
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Osamu Kozan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tran Van Do.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Van Do, T., Sato, T., Saito, S. et al. Fine-root production and litterfall: main contributions to net primary production in an old-growth evergreen broad-leaved forest in southwestern Japan. Ecol Res 30, 921–930 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-015-1295-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-015-1295-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation