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Net Primary Production and Canopy Nitrogen in a Temperate Forest Landscape: An Analysis Using Imaging Spectroscopy, Modeling and Field Data

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Abstract

Understanding spatial patterns of net primary production (NPP) is central to the study of terrestrial ecosystems, but efforts are frequently hampered by a lack of spatial information regarding factors such as nitrogen availability and site history. Here, we examined the degree to which canopy nitrogen can serve as an indicator of patterns of NPP at the Bartlett Experimental Forest in New Hampshire by linking canopy nitrogen estimates from two high spectral resolution remote sensing instruments with field measurements and an ecosystem model. Predicted NPP across the study area ranged from less than 700 g m−2 year−1 to greater than 1300 g m−2 year−1 with a mean of 951 g m−2 year−1. Spatial patterns corresponded with elevation, species composition and historical forest management, all of which were reflected in patterns of canopy nitrogen. The relationship between production and elevation was nonlinear, with an increase from low- to mid-elevation deciduous stands, followed by a decline in upper-elevation areas dominated by evergreens. This pattern was also evident in field measurements and mirrored an elevational trend in foliar N concentrations. The increase in production from low-to mid-elevation deciduous stands runs counter to the generally accepted pattern for the northeastern U.S. region, and suggests an importance of moisture limitations in lower-elevation forests.

Field measurements of foliar N, wood production and leaf litterfall were also used to evaluate sources of error in model estimates and to determine how predictions are affected by different methods of acquiring foliar N input data. The accuracy of predictions generated from remotely sensed foliar N approached that of predictions driven by field-measured foliar N. Predictions based on the more common approach of using aggregated foliar N for individual cover types showed reasonable agreement in terms of the overall mean, but were in poor agreement on a plot-by-plot basis. Collectively, these results suggest that variation in foliar N exerts an important control on landscape-level spatial patterns and can serve as an integrator of other underlying factors that influence forest growth rates.

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted with supported from the NASA Carbon Cycle Science Program (CARBON-0000-1234), and the National Institute for Global Environmental Change (UNH/901214-02). We also received support from the USDA Forest Service Northeastern Research Station (NE-4155) and the USDA Forest Service Southern Global Change Program. We thank Mary Martin, Julian Jenkins, Lucie Plourde and Rita Freuder for assistance with image processing and ecosystem modeling and we thank Shannon Cromley, Rich Hallett, Alison Magill, Jim Muckenhoupt and Gloria Quigley for assistance with field data collection and laboratory analysis. Finally, we are grateful to John Aber and John Pastor for their thoughtful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

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  1. Complex Systems Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, 03820, USA

    Scott V. Ollinger

  2. USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, P.O. Box 640, Durham, New Hampshire, 03824, USA

    Marie-Louise Smith

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Correspondence to Scott V. Ollinger.

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Ollinger, S.V., Smith, ML. Net Primary Production and Canopy Nitrogen in a Temperate Forest Landscape: An Analysis Using Imaging Spectroscopy, Modeling and Field Data. Ecosystems 8, 760–778 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-005-0079-5

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