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Changes in Ecosystem Carbon and Nitrogen in a Loblolly Pine Plantation over the First 18 Years
Author(s) -
Johnson D. W.,
Todd D. E.,
Tolbert V. R.
Publication year - 2003
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/sssaj2003.1594
Subject(s) - loblolly pine , ecosystem , environmental science , deciduous , biomass (ecology) , forest floor , agronomy , nitrogen , forest ecology , mineralization (soil science) , fertilizer , forestry , soil water , pinus <genus> , ecology , botany , biology , chemistry , geography , soil science , organic chemistry
Eighteen years after the establishment of a loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) plantation, ecosystem C content had approximately tripled (from 54 to 161 Mg C ha −1 ) primarily because of increases in tree biomass. Ninety‐three percent of the net ecosystem C accumulated in biomass (100 Mg C ha −1 ) and 6% of net ecosystem C accumulated in the forest floor (13 Mg C ha −1 ). No statistically significant changes in soil C were found. Growth responses to fertilization noted in Year 4 were no longer statistically significant in Year 18. Nitrogen accumulation in aboveground biomass and forest floor were approximately equal (averaging approximately 270 kg N ha −1 each) and could have come from a combination of atmospheric deposition, soil N mineralization, and, in the treated plots, fertilizer input. No statistically significant changes in soil N content were found. The results of this study are similar to those from a previous study in a loblolly pine plantation in South Carolina but contrast with those in nearby deciduous forests where substantial changes in soil C and N over similar time periods have been noted.