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Fine Root Dynamics and Forest Production Across a Calcium Gradient in Northern Hardwood and Conifer Ecosystems

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Abstract

Losses of soil base cations due to acid rain have been implicated in declines of red spruce and sugar maple in the northeastern USA. We studied fine root and aboveground biomass and production in five northern hardwood and three conifer stands differing in soil Ca status at Sleepers River, VT; Hubbard Brook, NH; and Cone Pond, NH. Neither aboveground biomass and production nor belowground biomass were related to soil Ca or Ca:Al ratios across this gradient. Hardwood stands had 37% higher aboveground biomass (P = 0.03) and 44% higher leaf litter production (P < 0.01) than the conifer stands, on average. Fine root biomass (<2 mm in diameter) in the upper 35 cm of the soil, including the forest floor, was very similar in hardwoods and conifers (5.92 and 5.93 Mg ha−1). The turnover coefficient (TC) of fine roots smaller than 1 mm ranged from 0.62 to 1.86 y−1 and increased significantly with soil exchangeable Ca (P = 0.03). As a result, calculated fine root production was clearly higher in sites with higher soil Ca (P = 0.02). Fine root production (biomass times turnover) ranged from 1.2 to 3.7 Mg ha−1 y−1 for hardwood stands and from 0.9 to 2.3 Mg ha−1 y−1 for conifer stands. The relationship we observed between soil Ca availability and root production suggests that cation depletion might lead to reduced carbon allocation to roots in these ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Amber Knowlden, Joo Sung Kim, Byung Kwon Park, Asuka Matsuzaki, and Mutsumi Nishii for many hours of sorting roots. This project was funded by the Northeastern States Research Cooperative, the National Science Foundation (DEB 0235650), the NSF Long-Term Ecological Research program (0423259), and the Korea Forest Service (S210606L0101104). This article is a contribution to the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study.

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  1. Byung Bae Park

    Present address: Division of Forest Ecology, Korea Forest Research Institute, Seoul, 130-172, South Korea

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest and Natural Resources Management, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 210 Marshall Hall, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, New York, 13210, USA

    Byung Bae Park & Ruth D. Yanai

  2. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA

    Timothy J. Fahey & Natalie L. Cleavitt

  3. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Campton, New Hampshire, 03223, USA

    Scott W. Bailey

  4. Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA

    Thomas G. Siccama

  5. Water Resources Discipline, US Geological Survey, Montpelier, Vermont, 05601, USA

    James B. Shanley

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  1. Byung Bae Park
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Correspondence to Ruth D. Yanai.

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Park, B.B., Yanai, R.D., Fahey, T.J. et al. Fine Root Dynamics and Forest Production Across a Calcium Gradient in Northern Hardwood and Conifer Ecosystems. Ecosystems 11, 325–341 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-008-9126-3

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