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Temporal trends and sources of variation in carbon flux from coarse woody debris in experimental forest canopy openings

  • Ecosystem ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Pulses of respiration from coarse woody debris (CWD) have been observed immediately following canopy disturbances, but it is unclear how long these pulses are sustained. Several factors are known to influence carbon flux rates from CWD, but few studies have evaluated more than temperature and moisture. We experimentally manipulated forest structure in a second-growth northern hardwood forest and measured CO2 flux periodically for seven growing seasons following gap creation. We present an analysis of which factors, including the composition of the wood-decay fungal community influence CO2 flux. CO2 flux from CWD was strongly and positively related to wood temperature and varied significantly between substrate types (logs vs. stumps). For five growing seasons after treatment, the CO2 flux of stumps reached rates up to seven times higher than that of logs. CO2 flux of logs did not differ significantly between canopy-gap and closed-canopy conditions in the fourth through seventh post-treatment growing seasons. By the seventh season, the seasonal carbon flux of both logs and stumps had decreased significantly from prior years. Linear mixed models indicated the variation in the wood inhabiting fungal community composition explained a significant portion of variability in the CO2 flux along with measures of substrate conditions. CO2 flux rates were inversely related to fungal diversity, with logs hosting more species but emitting less CO2 than stumps. Overall, our results suggest that the current treatment of CWD in dynamic forest carbon models may be oversimplified, thereby hampering our ability to predict realistic carbon fluxes associated with wood decomposition.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the US Department of Agriculture Biomass Research and Development Initiative. The Wisconsin DNR Division of Forestry and WI DNR Bureau of Integrated Science Services, Pittman-Robertson Funds provided support for establishing the Flambeau Experiment. We greatly appreciated assistance from field crews, especially Tera Lewandowski, Emily Lannoye, Jason Schatz, and Amy Milo. Thanks to the staff at the Flambeau River State Forest, especially Heidi Brunkow.

Author contribution statement

JAF, DJM, STG, SF, AWD, DLL and MKC conceived and designed the experiment; JAF, DLL, and NJB performed the experiment; JAF and MKC analyzed the data; JAF wrote the manuscript, other authors provided editorial advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    J. A. Forrester & D. J. Mladenoff

  2. Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    A. W. D’Amato

  3. School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    S. Fraver

  4. USDA Forest Service, Center for Forest Mycology Research, Madison, WI, 53726, USA

    D. L. Lindner

  5. Center for Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01002, USA

    N. J. Brazee

  6. Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    M. K. Clayton

  7. Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA

    S. T. Gower

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  1. J. A. Forrester
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  2. D. J. Mladenoff
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  8. S. T. Gower
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Correspondence to J. A. Forrester.

Additional information

Communicated by Hakan Wallander.

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Forrester, J.A., Mladenoff, D.J., D’Amato, A.W. et al. Temporal trends and sources of variation in carbon flux from coarse woody debris in experimental forest canopy openings. Oecologia 179, 889–900 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3393-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3393-4

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