Open AccessMineral soil carbon fluxes in forests and implications for carbon balance assessments
Author(s) -
Buchholz Thomas,
Friedland Andrew J.,
Hornig Claire E.,
Keeton William S.,
Zanchi Giuliana,
Nunery Jared
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
gcb bioenergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.378
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1757-1707
pISSN - 1757-1693
DOI - 10.1111/gcbb.12044
Subject(s) - environmental science , carbon sequestration , soil carbon , biomass (ecology) , forest management , carbon cycle , carbon flux , soil water , carbon fibers , forest floor , climate change , carbon accounting , forest ecology , agroforestry , environmental protection , forestry , soil science , ecology , ecosystem , carbon dioxide , geography , biology , materials science , composite number , composite material
Forest carbon cycles play an important role in efforts to understand and mitigate climate change. Large amounts of carbon ( C ) are stored in deep mineral forest soils, but are often not considered in accounting for global C fluxes because mineral soil C is commonly thought to be relatively stable. We explore C fluxes associated with forest management practices by examining existing data on forest C fluxes in the northeastern US . Our findings demonstrate that mineral soil C can play an important role in C emissions, especially when considering intensive forest management practices. Such practices are known to cause a high aboveground C flux to the atmosphere, but there is evidence that they can also promote comparably high and long‐term belowground C fluxes. If these additional fluxes are widespread in forests, recommendations for increased reliance on forest biomass may need to be reevaluated. Furthermore, existing protocols for the monitoring of forest C often ignore mineral soil C due to lack of data. Forest C analyses will be incomplete until this problem is resolved.