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Forest Floors in Douglas‐Fir Forests: I. Dry Weight and Chemical Properties
Author(s) -
Youngberg C. T.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1966.03615995003000030030x
Subject(s) - forest floor , dry weight , understory , zoology , chemistry , acre , dry matter , soil water , environmental chemistry , environmental science , forestry , botany , soil science , biology , agroforestry , geography , canopy
Various types of understory plant communities occur in association with Douglas‐fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii [ Mirb ] Franco ) forest in western Oregon. Dry weight and chemical properties were determined for 9 forest floor types from the Oregon Coast Range. Dry weight of forest floors varied considerably within stands. Between‐stands values ranged from 20,000 to 76,000 lb/acre. Volatile matter ranged from 69 to 86%. Ranges in values for other factors were: pH, 4.0–6.0; available P, 36–146 ppm; exchangeable K, 1.5–5.4 meq/100g; Ca, 6.5–23.5 meq/100g; Mg, 5–12.8 meq/100g; CEC, 54–76 meq/100g; total N, 0.71–1.52%; total P, 0.089–0.211%; total K, 0.115–0.323%; total Ca, 0.325–1.05%; total Mg, 0.157–0.334%; and total S, 0.081–0.163%. The types having the lowest content of metallic cations were from areas of high precipitation and soils with low base saturation. There was no apparent relationship between levels of exchangeable cations and percentage of these elements in the forest floor.