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Old-Growth Forests pp 81–113Cite as

The Imprint of Species Turnover on Old-Growth Forest Carbon Balances - Insights From a Trait-Based Model of Forest Dynamics

Part of the Ecological Studies book series (ECOLSTUD,volume 207)

Abstract

This chapter presents a modelling approach to quantify and understand successional patterns in aboveground carbon stock changes, with a focus on the old-growth stage. The model integrates extensive datasets on tree traits and species composition in different United States forest types to explore the carbon-balance imprint of successional changes in traits (maximum height, longevity, wood density, and woody-detritus decay-rates). The model was validated with old-growth biomass data from the literature. Traits differed more between conifers and hardwoods than between successional guilds within these phylogenetic groups. Conifers have, on average, greater maximum height and longevity than hardwoods. Within conifers, maximum height increases and wood density decreases with successional status. The model suggests that successions progressing towards late-successional conifers tend to accumulate carbon during the old-growth stage. In contrast, successions progressing from pioneer conifers to late-successional hardwoods tend to lose carbon. Overall, however, carbon stock declines were rare among the 106 successions analysed, with the majority exhibiting constant or increasing old-growth carbon stocks. This result is consistent with data from forest chronosequences.

Keywords

  • Carbon Stock
  • Wood Density
  • Shade Tolerance
  • Aboveground Carbon
  • Biomass Expansion Factor

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Fig.5.1a–d
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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Hans Dähring for setting up the model runs and members of the FET database team (Dorothea Frank, Steffi Nöllert, Gerhard Bönisch, Jens Kattge, Kiona Ogle, and Anja Fankhänel) for invaluable help with parameter acquisition. We are also indebted to Thomas Wutzler for providing the yield table database and to Beverly Law for allowing us to present her unpublished biomass data of the Andrews chronosequence in Fig. 5.8, panel 9.

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  1. Organismic Biogeochemistry Group, Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Straβe 10, 07745, Jena, Germany

    Christian Wirth

  2. Princeton University, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, Princeton, NJ, NJ 08544, USA

    Jeremy W. Lichstein

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    Wirth, C., Lichstein, J.W. (2009). The Imprint of Species Turnover on Old-Growth Forest Carbon Balances - Insights From a Trait-Based Model of Forest Dynamics. In: Wirth, C., Gleixner, G., Heimann, M. (eds) Old-Growth Forests. Ecological Studies, vol 207. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92706-8_5

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