Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Wood Biomass and Carbon Pools within a Floodplain Forest of the Congaree River, South Carolina, USA

  • General Wetland Science
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Riverine forests support high rates of plant productivity, yet total wood carbon (C) stocks in these systems remain understudied. We measured C concentrations and dry mass of live and dead detrital wood to understand their importance relative to total ecosystem C storage across an elevation gradient on the floodplain of the Congaree River. Our study sites included a low elevation bald cypress swamp and three higher elevation mature mixed bottomland hardwood communities. Average wood C concentration was 45.9 ± 0.07% and estimated cumulative C pools (sum of downed and standing dead wood plus live tree, sapling, and shrub wood) ranged from 6850 to 17,200 g C/m2 for bottomland hardwood forests and 17,700 g C/m2 for the bald cypress swamp. Most of the aboveground C was stored in living wood (83.1–90.5% total aboveground pools). Our results indicate that the mass and C stored in live and dead wood are at the high end of both measured and modeled ranges reported in the literature for temperate zone forests. As such, the mature bottomland forests of the Congaree River represent a substantial and important store of sequestered C.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Allen BP, Sharitz RR, Goebel PC (2005) Twelve years post-hurricane liana dynamics in an old-growth southeastern floodplain forest. Forest Ecology and Management 218:259–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bates LJ, Garton EO, Wisdom MJ, Torgersen TR (2009) Biased estimation of forest log characteristics using intersect diameters. Forest Ecology and Management 258:635–640

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behnke, LD (2014) Influence of microtopography and nutrient limitation on belowground productivity in an old-growth floodplain forest at Congaree National Park, SC, USA. Thesis, Auburn University

  • Blosser, GD (2018) Assessment of aboveground net primary productivity and carbon pools, detrital biomass, community structure, and species composition across a floodplain forest of the Congaree River. Dissertation, Clemson University

  • Bradford J, Weishampel P, Smith M, Kolka R, Birdsey RA, Ollinger SV, Ryan MG (2009) Detrital carbon pools in temperate forests: magnitude and potential for landscape-scale assessment. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 39:802–813

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brown JK (1974) Handbook for inventorying downed woody material. General Technical Report INT-16, United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, Utah

  • Burton ML, Samuelson LJ (2008) Influence of urbanization of riparian forest diversity and structure in the Georgia piedmont, US. Plant Ecology 195:99–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark III A, Phillips DR, Frederick DJ (1985) Weight, volume, and physical properties of major hardwood species in the Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains. USDA Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Research Paper SE-250, Asheville, North Carolina

  • Conner WH, Mihalia I, Wolfe J (2002) Tree community structure and changes from 1987 to 1999 in three Louisiana and three South Carolina forested wetlands. Wetlands 22:58–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fahey TJ, Siccama TG, Driscoll CT, Likens GE, Campbell J, Johnson CE, Battles JJ, Aber JD, Cole JJ, Fisk MC, Groffman PM, Hamburg SP, Holmes RT, Schwarz PA, Yanai RD (2005) The biogeochemistry of carbon at Hubbard Brook. Biogeochemistry 75:109–176

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fasth BG, Harmon ME, Sexton J (2011) Decomposition of fine woody debris in a deciduous forest in North Carolina. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 138:192–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaddy LL, Kohlsaat TS, Laurent EA, Stansell KB (1975) A vegetation analysis of preserve alternatives involving the Beidler Tract of the Congaree Swamp. Division of Natural Area Acquisition and Resources Planning, SC Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Columbia, South Carolina

  • Harmon ME, Franklin JF, Swanson FJ, Sollins P, Gregory SV, Lattin JD, Anderson NH, Cline SP, Aumen NG, Sedell JR, Lienkaemper GW, Cromack K Jr, Cummins KW (1986) Ecology of coarse woody debris in temperate ecosystems. Advances in Ecological Research 15:133–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins JC, Chojnacky DC, Heath LS, Birdsey RA (2003) National-scale biomass estimators for United States tree species. Forest Science 49:12–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins MA, Webster CR, Parker GR, Spetich MA (2004) Coarse woody debris in managed central hardwood forests of Indiana, USA. Forest Science 50:781–792

    Google Scholar 

  • Jobbágy EG, Jackson RB (2000) The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon and its relation to climate and vegetation. Ecological Applications 10:423–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jolley RL, Lockaby BG, Cavalcanti GG (2010) Changes in riparian forest composition along a sedimentation rate gradient. Plant Ecology 210:317–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones RH, Sharitz RR, Dixon PM, Segal DS, Scheider RL (1994) Woody plant regeneration in four floodplain forests. Ecological Monographs 64:345–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lininger KB, Wohl E, Sutfin NA, Rose JR (2017) Floodplain downed wood volumes: a comparison across three biomes. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 42:1248–1261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mather PM (1976) Computational methods of multivariate analysis in physical geography. John Wiley & Sons Inc., London, United Kingdom

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer JJ, Nelson EA, Wike LD (2000) Selective depredation of planted hardwood seedlings by wild pigs in a wetland restoration area. Ecological Engineering 15(Supplement 1):S79–S85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCune B, Grace JB (2002) Analysis of ecological communities. MjM software design, Gleneden Beach, Oregon

    Google Scholar 

  • Megonigal JP, Conner WH, Kroeger S, Sharitz RR (1997) Aboveground production in southeastern floodplain forests: a test of the stress - subsidy hypothesis. Ecology 78:370–384

    Google Scholar 

  • Meitzen KM (2009) Lateral channel migration effects on riparian forest structure and composition, Congaree River, South Carolina, USA. Wetlands 29:465–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell JD, Lockaby BG, Brantley EF (2011) Influence of Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) on decomposition and nutrient availability in riparian forests. Invasive Plant Science and Management 4:437–447

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Bernal B, Nahlik AM, Mander U, Zhang L, Anderson CJ, Jorgensen SE, Brix H (2013) Wetlands, carbon, and climate change. Landscape Ecology 28:583–597

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moerschbaecher MK, Keim RF, Day JW (2016) Estimating carbon stocks in uneven-aged bottomland hardwood forest stands in south Louisiana. In: Schweitzer CJ, Clatterbuck WK, Oswalt CM (eds) Proceedings of the 18th biennial southern silvicultural research conference, General Technical Report SRS–212. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Asheville, North Carolina, pp 589–595

  • Muller RN (2003) Landscape patterns of change in coarse woody debris accumulation in an old-growth deciduous forest on the Cumberland plateau, southeastern Kentucky. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 33:763–769

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips D (1981) Predicted total-tree biomass of understory hardwoods. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Research Paper SE-223, Asheville, North Carolina

  • Polit JI, Brown S (1996) Mass and nutrient content of dead wood in a Central Illinois floodplain forest. Wetlands 16:488–494

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putz FE, Sharitz RR (1991) Hurricane damage to old-growth forest in Congaree swamp National Monument, South Carolina, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 21:1765–1770

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radford AE, Ahles HE, Bell CR (1968) Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

  • Rice MD, Lockaby BG, Stanturf JA, Keeland BD (1997) Woody debris decomposition in the Atchafalaya River Basin of Louisiana following hurricane disturbance. Soil Science Society of America Journal 61:1264–1274

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ricker MC, Lockaby BG (2015) Soil organic carbon stocks in a large eutrophic floodplain forest of the southeastern Atlantic coastal plain, USA. Wetlands 35:291–301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricker MC, Lockaby BG, Blosser GD, Conner WH (2016) Rapid wood decay and nutrient mineralization in an old-growth bottomland forest. Biogeochemistry 127:323–338

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sain JD, Schilling EB, Aust WM (2012) Evaluation of coarse woody debris and forest litter based on harvest treatment in a tupelo-cypress wetland. Forest Ecology and Management 280:2–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute Inc. 2015. JMP® pro, version 12.2.0. Cary, North Carolina

  • Shelley DC, Cohen AD (2010) Geologic constraints on the platform geometry of the Congaree River, South Carolina. Carolina Geology 47:19–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Song X, Tian H, Xu X, Hui D, Chen G, Sommers G, Marzen L, Liu M (2013) Projecting terrestrial carbon sequestration of the southeastern United States in the 21st century. Ecosphere 4:88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spetich MA, Shifley SR, Parker GR (1999) Regional distribution and dynamics of coarse woody debris in midwestern old-growth forests. Forest Science 45:302–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutfin NA, Wohl EE, Dwire KA (2016) Banking carbon: a review of organic carbon storage and physical factors influencing retention in floodplains and riparian ecosystems. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 41:38–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner DP, Koerper GJ, Harmon ME, Lee JJ (1995) A carbon budget for forests of the conterminous United States. Ecological Applications 5:421–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veit J (2017) Invasive beetle that kills ash trees found in three Upstate counties. Media Release August 10, 2017; Clemson University, Clemson SC. Available: www.newsstand.clemson.edu/mediarelations/invasive-beetle-that-kills-ash-trees-found-in-three-upstate-counties/. Accessed 27 April 2018

  • Waddell KL (2002) Sampling coarse woody debris for multiple attributes in extensive resource inventories. Ecological Indicators 1:139–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walls RL, Wardrop DH, Brooks RP (2005) The impact of experimental sedimentation and flooding on the growth and germination of floodplain trees. Plant Ecology 176:203–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wohl E, Polvi LE, Cadol D (2011) Wood distribution along streams draining old-growth floodplain forests in Congaree National Park, South Carolina, USA. Geomorphology 126:108–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woldendorp G, Keenan RJ, Barry S, Spencer RD (2004) Analysis of sampling methods for coarse woody debris. Forest Ecology and Management 198:133–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodall CW, Liknes GC (2008) Relationships between forest fine and coarse woody debris carbon stocks across latitudinal gradients in the United States as an indicator of climate change effects. Ecological Indicators 8:686–690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodall CW, Nagel LM (2006) Coarse woody type: a new method for analyzing coarse woody debris and forest change. Forest Ecology and Management 227:115–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodall CW, Williams MS (2005) Sampling protocol, estimation, and analysis procedures for down woody materials indicator of the FIA program. General Technical Report NC-256. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station, St. Paul, Minnesota

  • Woodall CW, Westfall JA, Lutes DC, Oswalt SN (2008) End-point diameter and total length coarse woody debris models for the United States. Forest Ecology and Management 255:3700–3706

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman JB, Mihelcic JR, Smith J (2008) Global stressors on water quality and quantity. Environmental Science and Technology 42:4247–4254

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Steven Hutchinson, Jamie Duberstein, Brian Williams, Lauren Behnke, Robin Governo, Andrew Parsons, and Robert Price for their assistance in the field and laboratory. The authors are grateful to Dr. William Bridges, Jr. for statistical guidance as well as Drs. Alex Chow and Bo Song for editing initial versions of this manuscript. Special thanks to Cliff Hupp and Ed Schenk with the United States Geological Survey for quantifying plot elevations and all personnel at Congaree National Park that supported this research. The project described in this publication was supported by Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number G10 AC00157 from the United States Geological Survey administered through the Piedmont South-Atlantic Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) and by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)/USDA, under Project No. SCZ-1700531. Technical Contribution No. 6711 of the Clemson University Experimental Station.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA

    Matthew C. Ricker

  2. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Clemson University, Georgetown, SC, 29440, USA

    Gavin D. Blosser & William H. Conner

  3. School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    B. Graeme Lockaby

Authors
  1. Matthew C. Ricker
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gavin D. Blosser
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. William H. Conner
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. B. Graeme Lockaby
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew C. Ricker.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 17 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ricker, M.C., Blosser, G.D., Conner, W.H. et al. Wood Biomass and Carbon Pools within a Floodplain Forest of the Congaree River, South Carolina, USA. Wetlands 39, 1003–1013 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-019-01150-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-019-01150-1

Keywords