Premium
Biomass and Nutrient Accumulation During Stand Development in Wyoming Lodgepole Pine Forests
Author(s) -
Pearson John A.,
Knight Dennis H.,
Fahey Timothy J.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1939887
Subject(s) - pinus contorta , biomass (ecology) , nutrient , detritus , stand development , forest floor , ecology , environmental science , nutrient cycle , vegetation (pathology) , agronomy , biology , ecosystem , forestry , geography , medicine , pathology
Accumulation rates of biomass and nutrients during stand development in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta ssp. latifolia [Engelm. ex Wats.] Critchfield) forests were calculated using dendrochronological reconstructions of biomass in conjunction with information on detrital immobilization of nutrients. Dead wood, forest floor, and live tree Including root) biomass were examined. Maximum total biomass accumulation rates of 2.5—3.2 Mg°ha — 1 °yr — 1 were reached between ages 40 and 60 yr in even—aged stands, but an uneven—aged stand did not achieve a maximum accumulation rate (1.5 Mg°ha — 1 °yr — 1 ) until after 80 yr of development. The results suggest (1) a major role for forest floor detritus in the retention of N, P, Ca, and Mg; (2) the importance of living vegetation for K retention; and (3) the fundamental differences in biomass and nutrient dynamics between even—aged stands that develop after fire and stands that develop through gradual invasion of a meadow.