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Old-Growth Forests pp 141–158Cite as

Biosphere–Atmosphere Exchange of Old-Growth Forests: Processes and Pattern

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

Abstract

Old growth forests are a substantial part of the global forested area, but differ in age, structure and composition from younger or managed forests. In this chapter we review how these characteristics lead to differences in the biosphere–atmosphere exchange of carbon, water, and energy of old-growth forests compared to younger and managed forests. A global compilation of net ecosystem exchange data from eddy covariance measurements reveals that – in contrast to classical theory – most of the old-growth forests being studied remain net carbon sinks, and suggests that, rather than age, other factors such as tree structure and resource competition limits growth in forests. Water fluxes exhibit an ambiguous response to age with some old forests showing reduced water fluxes due to hydraulic limitation, while others show higher water fluxes due to better groundwater access and lower surface reflectance (albedo) in old and tall forests.

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Acknowledgement

The authors are thankful to Annett Börner for support and artwork in the figures. A.K. is currently funded by a Marie Curie fellowship from the European Commission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ETH Zürich, Institute of Plant Sciences, Universitätstr. 2, LFW C38, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland

    Alexander Knohl

  2. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany

    Ernst-Detlef Schulze

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

    Christian Wirth

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  1. Alexander Knohl
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Correspondence to Alexander Knohl .

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    Knohl, A., Schulze, ED., Wirth, C. (2009). Biosphere–Atmosphere Exchange of Old-Growth Forests: Processes and Pattern. 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_7

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