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Biomass production, nutrient cycling and distribution in age-sequence Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolate) plantations in subtropical China

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Abstract

Biomass production and nutrient (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) accumulation, distribution and cycling were quantified in young, mature and over-mature (10-, 22-, and 34-year old) Chinese fir [Cunninghamia lanceolate (Lamb.) Hook] plantations in southern China. Total stand biomass of young, mature and over-mature stands was 38, 104 and 138 t ha−1 respectively. Biomass production increased significantly with age. Stem wood represented the highest percentage of stand biomass, accounting for 41, 55 and 63 % in the young, mature and over-mature plantations respectively. Nutrients concentration was highest in live needles and branches, and lowest in stem wood. The plantations accumulated more N, followed by K, Ca, Mg, and P. Nutrient return amount, nutrient utilization efficiency, nutrient turnover time, the ratio of nutrient return and uptake increased with stand age, which implies that young Chinese fir deplete soil nutrients to maintain growth, and efficiently utilize nutrients to decrease dependence on soil nutrients as they age. Harvesting young Chinese fir plantations would therefore lead to high nutrient loss, but prolonging the rotation length could improve soil recovery, and help sustain productivity in the long-term. Improved nutrient return through litterfall as stands get older may also be beneficial to nutrient pool recovery.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Xinkou Experimental Forest Farm to support this project. We would also thank Zongkai Jiang, Linlin He and Yayun Jia for assistant with fieldwork. Thanks also to Shanshan Zheng, Xuejiao Chen, Pan Wang and Wenhui Wang for their assistance in the laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forestry College, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, People’s Republic of China

    Lili Zhou, Pengfei Wu, Zongming He & Xiangqing Ma

  2. Chinese Fir Engineering Technology Research Center of the State Forestry Administration, Fuzhou, 350002, People’s Republic of China

    Lili Zhou, Pengfei Wu, Zongming He & Xiangqing Ma

  3. Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Addo-Danso Daniel Shalom

  4. Ecosystem Services and Climate Change Division, CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Box 63 KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana

    Addo-Danso Daniel Shalom

  5. Xinkou Experimental Forest Farm of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Sanming, 365002, People’s Republic of China

    Chunhua Liu

Authors
  1. Lili Zhou
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  2. Addo-Danso Daniel Shalom
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  3. Pengfei Wu
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  4. Zongming He
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  5. Chunhua Liu
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  6. Xiangqing Ma
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiangqing Ma.

Additional information

Project funding: This work was supported by the Forestry Public Benefit Research Projects of National Forestry Administration under Grant No. 201304303; National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 31370619; Science and Technology Project of the Fujian Province under Grant No. 2014N0002; and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation under Grant No. 132300148.

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Corresponding editor: Zhu Hong

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Zhou, L., Shalom, AD.D., Wu, P. et al. Biomass production, nutrient cycling and distribution in age-sequence Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolate) plantations in subtropical China. J. For. Res. 27, 357–368 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0167-0

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