Abstract
Cycling of soil carbon was measured synthetically and quantitatively throughout a year in two Japanese red pine forest stands on mid- and foot-slopes at Mt. Takao, Hiroshima Prefecture, west Japan. There was no distinct difference of soil temperature along the slopes, but the soil water content was higher on the foot-slope than on the midslope. The carbon flow (litterfall, soil respiration, etc.) rates were larger on the foot-slope than on the mid-slope, but there was no significant difference of the accumulation of soil carbon (A0 layer or human in mineral soil) between the areas. The results of the analysis of soil carbon cycling based on a compartment model show that the relative decomposition rate of A0 layer and humaus in mineral soil increased 1.4–1.5 fold from the mid- to the foot-slopes, corresponding to the soil moisture condition. The relative decomposition rate of A0 layer was, however, about one-third of that in a evergreen oak forest. This fact suggests that the great resistance of needle litter to decomposition is one of the main limiting factors of the cycling of soil carbon and prevents the fertilization of mineral soil in the pine forest, which was also proven by the simulation of dynamics of soil carbon cycling.
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Abbreviations
- ton (kg, g):
-
metric ton (kg, g) organic matter
- t.(kg) C:
-
metric ton (kg) carbon
- ϕ:
-
diameter
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Nakane, K., Tsubota, H. & Yamamoto, M. Cycling of soil carbon in a Japanese red pine forest I. Before a clear-felling. Bot. Mag. Tokyo 97, 39–60 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02488146
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02488146