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What Factors May Influence the Accumulation of Humus Layers?

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Plant Litter

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Abstract

Carbon (C) sequestration in organic layers has been studied in single forest stands and in continental scale gradients and this chapter focuses on gravimetric determinations, which mainly have been carried out in managed stands and chronosequences. Carbon sequestration rates may be based on two main factors, namely litter fall and size of the stable litter fraction formed during decomposition. We discuss and describe linear relationships between stand age and amount of humus accumulated in a humus layer. We also question the concept ‘steady state’. It appears that pine species gave a dominant C sequestration rate for humus on top of the mineral soil (primary sequestration). Recent data indicate that other species (e.g. Norway spruce) may store less in primary sequestration but a higher fraction in the mineral soil (secondary sequestration). Coniferous species appear to accumulate C in the humus layer faster than deciduous ones. Further, there appears to be a positive relationship between C accumulation rate in a humus layer and mean annual temperature with rates ranging from 0 to 1106 kg C ha−1 yr−1. The chapter also considers factors that influence the accumulation and distribution of soil organic matter in the soil profile.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Prof. Björn Berg

  2. Department of Biology, University of Mount Union, Alliance, OH, USA

    Prof. Charles McClaugherty

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  1. Prof. Björn Berg
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  2. Prof. Charles McClaugherty
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Correspondence to Björn Berg .

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Berg, B., McClaugherty, C. (2020). What Factors May Influence the Accumulation of Humus Layers?. In: Plant Litter. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59631-6_11

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