There has been effort worldwide to quantify how much carbon forests contain in order to designate appropriate offset credits to forest carbon climate mitigation. Carbon pools on or immediately below the soil surface are understood to be very active in response to environmental change but are not well understood. Our study focused on the effects of shelterwood regeneration harvests in New England on the carbon stored in litter, woody debris, and surface soil carbon. Results demonstrate significant difference in surface (0–10？cm) soil carbon between control (nonharvested) and harvested sites, with higher carbon percentage on control sites. Results showed a significant difference in coarse woody debris with higher amounts of carbon per area on harvested sites. No significant difference in litter mass was recorded between harvested and control sites. When coarse woody debris and litter are included with soil carbon, total carbon did not have a significant decline over 20 years following shelterwood treatment to the forest to secure regeneration, but there was considerable variability among sites. When taking all surface soil carbon measurements together, our results suggest that for accounting purposes the measurement of below-ground carbon after shelterwood harvests is not necessary for the southern New England region. 1. Introduction The terrestrial carbon cycle takes up a considerable amount of atmospheric carbon, especially CO2, [1, 2], the increase of which has been cited as the main driver of global climate change [3, 4]. Maintenance of forest cover and reduction of deforestation rates have been proposed by numerous studies and policy processes as a means to reduce the magnitude of climate change [5–7]. It is therefore important that below-ground carbon pools are well understood. Persistent lack of clarity surrounds much of the efforts to tabulate, quantify, and account for the amount of carbon that is stored by forest ecosystems and thus makes its inclusion in policy protocols and its accounting expensive and challenging [8–11]. There is ongoing debate about how management affects overall carbon, with some studies suggesting that old growth forests store more carbon [12–16] while other studies find that continuous timber harvests reduce atmospheric carbon levels more [7, 17]. However, the effects of anthropogenic disturbance, such as harvest, on belowground carbon quantity—belowground pools—is still largely unknown and thinly researched [18–22]. Only a handful of studies on soil carbon pools represent all tropical forests combined, with most studies
References
[1]
R. K. Dixon, S. Brown, R. A. Houghton, A. M. Solomon, M. C. Trexler, and J. Wisniewski, “Carbon pools and flux of global forest ecosystems,” Science, vol. 263, no. 5144, pp. 185–190, 1994.
[2]
Y. Pan, R. A. Birdsey, J. Fang et al., “A large and persistent carbon sink in the world's forests,” Science, vol. 333, no. 6045, pp. 988–993, 2011.
[3]
D. Eamus and P. G. Jarvis, “The direct effects of increase in the global atmospheric CO2 concentration on natural and commercial temperate trees and forests,” Advances in Ecological Research C, vol. 19, pp. 1–55, 1989.
[4]
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 2010, http://www.ipcc.ch/.
[5]
R. Bradley, B. Childs, T. Herzog, J. Pershing, and K. A. Baumert, Slicing the Pie: Sector-Based Approaches to International Climate Agreements, World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, USA, 2007.
[6]
G. R. van der Werf, D. C. Morton, R. S. Defries et al., “CO2 emissions from forest loss,” Nature Geoscience, vol. 2, no. 11, pp. 737–738, 2009.
[7]
T. J. Fahey, P. B. Woodbury, J. J. Battles et al., “Forest carbon storage: ecology, management, and policy,” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 245–252, 2010.
[8]
F. García-Oliva and O. R. Masera, “Assessment and measurement issues related to soil carbon sequestration in land-use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) projects under the Kyoto protocol,” Climatic Change, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 347–364, 2004.
[9]
R. A. Birdsey, “Carbon accounting rules and guidelines for the United States forest sector,” Journal of Environmental Quality, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 1518–1524, 2006.
[10]
A. Gershenson and J. Barsimantov, “Accounting for carbon in soils,” Climate Action Reserve White Paper, 2010.
[11]
J. S. Nunery and W. S. Keeton, “Forest carbon storage in the northeastern United States: net effects of harvesting frequency, post-harvest retention, and wood products,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 259, no. 8, pp. 1363–1375, 2010.
[12]
M. E. Harmon, W. K. Ferrell, and J. F. Franklin, “Effects on carbon storage of conversion of old-growth forests to young forests,” Science, vol. 247, no. 4943, pp. 699–702, 1990.
[13]
J. H. M. Thornley and M. G. R. Cannell, “Managing forests for wood yield and carbon storage: a theoretical study,” Tree Physiology, vol. 20, no. 7, pp. 477–484, 2000.
[14]
B. E. Law, P. E. Thornton, J. Irvine, P. M. Anthoni, and S. Van Tuyl, “Carbon storage and fluxes in ponderosa pine forests at different developmental stages,” Global Change Biology, vol. 7, no. 7, pp. 755–777, 2001.
[15]
E. A. H. Smithwick, M. E. Harmon, S. M. Remillard, S. A. Acker, and J. F. Franklin, “Potential upper bounds of carbon stores in forests of the Pacific Northwest,” Ecological Applications, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 1303–1317, 2002.
[16]
S. Luyssaert, E.-D. Schulze, A. B？rner et al., “Old-growth forests as global carbon sinks,” Nature, vol. 455, no. 7210, pp. 213–215, 2008.
[17]
D. Markewitz, “Fossil fuel carbon emissions from silviculture: impacts on net carbon sequestration in forests,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 236, no. 2-3, pp. 153–161, 2006.
[18]
K. I. Paul, P. J. Polglase, J. G. Nyakuengama, and P. K. Khanna, “Change in soil carbon following afforestation,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 168, no. 1–3, pp. 241–257, 2002.
[19]
S. Schmid, B. Zierl, and H. Bugmann, “Analyzing the carbon dynamics of central European forests: comparison of Biome-BGC simulations with measurements,” Regional Environmental Change, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 167–180, 2006.
[20]
Z. Xu and G. Chen, “Fingerprinting global climate change and forest management within rhizosphere carbon and nutrient cycling processes,” Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 293–298, 2006.
[21]
R. Jandl, M. Lindner, L. Vesterdal et al., “How strongly can forest management influence soil carbon sequestration?” Geoderma, vol. 137, no. 3-4, pp. 253–268, 2007.
[22]
S. P. Price, M. A. Bradford, and M. S. Ashton, “Characterizing organic carbon stocks and flows in forest soils,” in Managing Forest Carbon in a Changing Climate, M. S. Ashton, M. L. Tyrrell, D. Spalding, and B. Gentry, Eds., pp. 7–30, Springer, New York, NY, USA, 2012.
[23]
W. M. Post, R. C. Izaurralde, L. K. Mann, and N. Bliss, “Monitoring and verifying changes of organic carbon in soil,” Climatic Change, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 73–99, 2001.
[24]
P. S. Homann, B. T. Bormann, and J. R. Boyle, “Detecting treatment differences in soil carbon and nitrogen resulting from forest manipulations,” Soil Science Society of America Journal, vol. 65, no. 2, pp. 463–469, 2001.
[25]
K. M. Carney, B. A. Hungate, B. G. Drake, and J. P. Megonigal, “Altered soil microbial community at elevated CO2 leads to loss of soil carbon,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 104, no. 12, pp. 4990–4995, 2007.
[26]
N. P. A. Saby, P. H. Bellamy, X. Morvan et al., “Will European soil-monitoring networks be able to detect changes in topsoil organic carbon content?” Global Change Biology, vol. 14, no. 10, pp. 2432–2442, 2008.
[27]
D. W. Johnson and P. S. Curtis, “Effects of forest management on soil C and N storage: meta analysis,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 140, no. 2-3, pp. 227–238, 2001.
[28]
C. L. Goodale, M. J. Apps, R. A. Birdsey et al., “Forest carbon sinks in the Northern Hemisphere,” Ecological Applications, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 891–899, 2002.
[29]
C. C. Barford, S. C. Wofsy, J. W. Munger et al., “Factors controlling long- and short-term sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in a mid-latitude forest,” Science, vol. 294, no. 5547, pp. 1688–1691, 2001.
[30]
W. W. Covington, “Changes in forest floor organic-matter and nutrient content following clear cutting in northern hardwoods,” Ecology, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 41–48, 1981.
[31]
K. G. Harrison, W. M. Post, and D. D. Richter, “Soil carbon turnover in a recovering temperate forest,” Global Biogeochemical Cycles, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 449–454, 1995.
[32]
R. D. Yanai, M. A. Arthur, T. G. Siccama, and C. A. Federer, “Challenges of measuring forest floor organic matter dynamics: repeated measures from a chronosequence,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 138, no. 1–3, pp. 273–283, 2000.
[33]
T. A. Black and J. W. Harden, “Effect of timber harvest on soil carbon storage at Blodgett experimental forest, California,” Canadian Journal of Forest Research, vol. 25, no. 8, pp. 1385–1396, 1995.
[34]
J. Shan, L. A. Morris, and R. L. Hendrick, “The effects of management on soil and plant carbon sequestration in slash pine plantations,” Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 932–941, 2001.
[35]
R. Lal, “Forest soils and carbon sequestration,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 220, no. 1–3, pp. 242–258, 2005.
[36]
K. G. Mattson and W. T. Swank, “Soil and detrital carbon dynamics following forest cutting in the Southern Appalachians,” Biology and Fertility of Soils, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 247–253, 1989.
[37]
R. D. Yanai, S. V. Stehman, M. A. Arthur et al., “Detecting change in forest floor carbon,” Soil Science Society of America Journal, vol. 67, no. 5, pp. 1583–1593, 2003.
[38]
K. Johnson, F. N. Scatena, and Y. Pan, “Short- and long-term responses of total soil organic carbon to harvesting in a northern hardwood forest,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 259, no. 7, pp. 1262–1267, 2010.
[39]
D. D. Richter, D. Markewitz, S. E. Trumbore, and C. G. Wells, “Rapid accumulation and turnover of soil carbon in a re-establishing forest,” Nature, vol. 400, no. 6739, pp. 56–58, 1999.
[40]
R. A. Houghton, “Revised estimates of the annual net flux of carbon to the atmosphere from changes in land use and land management 1850-2000,” Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 378–390, 2003.
[41]
L. E. Nave, E. D. Vance, C. W. Swanston, and P. S. Curtis, “Harvest impacts on soil carbon storage in temperate forests,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 259, no. 5, pp. 857–866, 2010.
[42]
P. J. Hanson, N. T. Edwards, C. T. Garten, and J. A. Andrews, “Separating root and soil microbial contributions to soil respiration: a review of methods and observations,” Biogeochemistry, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 115–146, 2000.
[43]
T. W. Berger, E. Inselsbacher, and S. Zechmeister-Boltenstern, “Carbon dioxide emissions of soils under pure and mixed stands of beech and spruce, affected by decomposing foliage litter mixtures,” Soil Biology and Biochemistry, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 986–997, 2010.
[44]
E. A. Davidson, K. Savage, P. Bolstad et al., “Belowground carbon allocation in forests estimated from litterfall and IRGA-based soil respiration measurements,” Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, vol. 113, no. 1–4, pp. 39–51, 2002.
[45]
G. D. Mroz, M. J. Jurgensen, and D. J. Frederick, “Soil nutrient changes following whole tree harvesting on three northern hardwood sites,” Soil Science Society of America Journal, vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 1552–1557, 1985.
[46]
W. H. Schlesinger and J. Lichter, “Limited carbon storage in soil and litter of experimental forest plots under increased atmospheric CO2,” Nature, vol. 411, no. 6836, pp. 466–469, 2001.
[47]
C. Hoover and S. Stout, “The carbon consequences of thinning techniques: stand structure makes a difference,” Journal of Forestry, vol. 105, no. 5, pp. 266–270, 2007.
[48]
N. A. Scott, D. Y. Hollinger, E. A. Davidson, C. A. Rodrigues, and D. B. Dail, “Impact of a shelterwood harvest on the net carbon balance of a spruce/hemlock dominated forest in Maine,” in Proceedings of the New England Society of American Foresters 85th Winter Meeting, L. S. T. Kenefic and J. Mark, Eds., U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Newtown Square, Pa, USA, 2005.
[49]
J. E. Smith, L. S. Heath, K. E. Skog, and R. A. Birdsey, “Methods for calculating forest ecosystem and harvested carbon with standard estimates for forest types in the United States,” General Technical Report NE-343, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Newtown Square, Pa, USA, 2006.
[50]
J. A. Gore and W. A. Patterson, “Mass of downed wood in northern hardwood forests in New Hampshire: potential effects of forest management,” Canadian Journal of Forest Research, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 335–339, 1986.
[51]
W. H. Liu, D. M. Bryant, L. R. Hutyra et al., “Woody debris contribution to the carbon budget of selectively logged and maturing mid-latitude forests,” Oecologia, vol. 148, no. 1, pp. 108–117, 2006.
[52]
W. S. Keeton, “Managing for late-successional/old-growth characteristics in northern hardwood-conifer forests,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 235, no. 1–3, pp. 129–142, 2006.
[53]
D. M. Smith, B. C. Larson, M. J. Kelty, and P. M. S. Ashton, The Practice of Silviculture: Applied Forest Ecology, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, USA, 1997.
[54]
B. R. Frey, M. S. Ashton, J. J. McKenna, D. Ellum, and A. Finkral, “Topographic and temporal patterns in tree seedling establishment, growth, and survival among masting species of southern New England mixed-deciduous forests,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 245, no. 1–3, pp. 54–63, 2007.
[55]
W. H. Meyer and B. Plusnin, “The Yale forest in tolland and Windham counties,” Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Bulletin 55, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, Conn, USA, 1945.
[56]
M. S. Ashton and B. C. Larson, “Germination and seedling growth of Quercus (section Erythrobalanus) across openings in a mixed-deciduous forest of southern New England, USA,” Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 80, no. 1–3, pp. 81–94, 1996.
[57]
A. Roberts, Soil Survey of Windham County, United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Connecticut, Conn, USA, 1981.
[58]
A. Kulmatiski, D. J. Vogt, T. G. Siccama, and K. H. Beard, “Detecting nutrient pool changes in rocky forest soils,” Soil Science Society of America Journal, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 1282–1286, 2003.
[59]
J. S. Bhatti, M. J. Apps, and C. Tarnocai, “Estimates of soil organic carbon stocks in central Canada using three different approaches,” Canadian Journal of Forest Research, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 805–812, 2002.
[60]
R. Lenth, “Power and sample-size page,” University of Iowa Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, 2010, http://www.stat.uiowa.edu/~rlenth/Power/.
[61]
M. S. Strickland, J. L. Devore, J. C. Maerz, and M. A. Bradford, “Grass invasion of a hardwood forest is associated with declines in belowground carbon pools,” Global Change Biology, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 1338–1350, 2010.
[62]
T. E. Avery and H. E. Burkhart, Forest Measurements, McGraw Hill, New York, NY, USA, 4th edition, 1994.
[63]
P. H. Bellamy, P. J. Loveland, R. I. Bradley, R. M. Lark, and G. J. D. Kirk, “Carbon losses from all soils across England and Wales 1978-2003,” Nature, vol. 437, no. 7056, pp. 245–248, 2005.
[64]
M. A. Bradford, N. Fierer, and J. F. Reynolds, “Soil carbon stocks in experimental mesocosms are dependent on the rate of labile carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to soils,” Functional Ecology, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 964–974, 2008.
[65]
S. Brown, D. Shoch, T. Pearson, and M. Delaney, Methods for Measuring and Monitoring Forestry Carbon Projects in California, Winrock International, Arlington, Va, USA, 2004.
[66]
K. G. MacDicken, A Guide to Monitoring Carbon Storage in Forestry and Agroforestry Projects, Winrock International, Arlington, Va, USA, 1997.
[67]
R. A. Birdsey, Carbon Storage and Accumulation in United States Forest Ecosystems, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, DC, USA, 1992.
[68]
J. E. Smith, L. S. Heath, and P. B. Woodbury, “How to estimate forest carbon for large areas from inventory data,” Journal of Forestry, vol. 102, no. 5, pp. 25–31, 2004.
[69]
K. L. Waddell, “Sampling coarse woody debris for multiple attributes in extensive resource inventories,” Ecological Indicators, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 139–153, 2001.
[70]
The R Development Core Team, R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing, The R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, 2011, http://www.R-project.org/.
[71]
A. Kulmatiski, D. J. Vogt, T. G. Siccama et al., “Landscape determinants of soil carbon and nitrogen storage in southern New England,” Soil Science Society of America Journal, vol. 68, no. 6, pp. 2014–2022, 2004.
[72]
C. Périé and R. Ouimet, “Organic carbon, organic matter and bulk density relationships in boreal forest soils,” Canadian Journal of Soil Science, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 315–325, 2008.
