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Structural drivers of biomass dynamics in two temperate forests in China

Chunyu Zhang,Yanxia Cheng,Huaijiang He,Lushuang Gao,Jingjing Liang,Xiu-hai Zhao

Published 2017 in Ecosphere

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the effects of forest attributes on the dynamics of aboveground coarse woody biomass (AWB) and belowground coarse root biomass (BRB) based on two large stem-mapped field plots: a secondary conifer and broadleaved mixed forest (near-mature forest) and an old-growth Korean pine and broadleaved mixed forest. In 2015, the kernel densities of both AWB and BRB had a lower mass in the left tail and a greater mass in the right tail than those in 2010. Both AWB and BRB changed especially at the right end of the biomass distribution and less at the left end. The counterfactual decomposition approach, used to identify the sources of kernel density changes in the biomass distributions from 2010 to 2015, revealed that forest attributes contributed jointly to the observed biomass dynamics. The change in species richness (SR), accounting for less than 10% of overall changes in biomass at all estimated quantiles, has only a minor effect on the AWB and BRB dynamics in two studied forests. But the decrease in tree density (TD) and the increase in stand density (SD) from 2010 to 2015 contributed positively toward the observed density changes in AWB and BRB. Therefore, the changes in TD (measured in terms of the number of trees per ha) and SD (measured in terms of the basal area per ha) were identified as important drivers of biomass dynamics in the two studied forests. Overall, diameter skewness and diameter inequality exert greater influence at the highest quantiles of biomass distribution than at the lowest. It indicates that the changes in diameter structures will further increase biomass dispersion. The results support the assumption that specific methods of selective thinning may be effective to improve the biomass production in the natural forests. Further studies are needed to explore relevant details.

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