Response of tree growth to nitrogen addition in a Larix gmelinii primitive forest

 氮沉降对树木生长的影响是全球变化研究的一个核心问题。该文通过设置4种氮添加水平(对照(0)、低氮(20 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1)、中氮(50 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1)和高氮(100 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1)), 研究了模拟氮沉降对落叶松(Larix gmelinii)原始林树木胸径生长的影响。结果表明: 中氮和高氮添加对落叶松胸径相对生长率有显著影响, 而且这种影响随施氮年限的增加而增强。不同高度的树木对氮添加的响应有很大差异, 较低树木(树高<16.5 m)的生长对氮添加无显著响应, 而较高(树高>16.5 m)的树木在中氮和高氮处理下胸径生长有显著加速(胸径相对生长率增幅>79.5%), 但随着树木高度的进一步增加, 这种加速作用明显下降。研究结果显示氮添加会促进落叶松胸径生长, 这种促进作用主要发生在较高的落叶松个体中。     

不同氮添加量和添加方式对南亚热带4个主要树种幼苗生长的影响

为阐明南亚热带4个主要树种——海南红豆(Ormosia pinnata)、马占相思(Acacia mangium)、木荷(Schima superba)和马尾松(Pinus massoniana)幼苗生长对不同氮添加量和添加方式的响应差异, 进行了幼苗模拟氮添加实验。实验设置3个氮添加水平(对照: 背景大气氮沉降量5.6 g N·m^-2·a^-1, 中氮: 15.6 g N·m^-2·a^-1, 高氮: 20.6 g N·m^-2·a^-1), 每个水平分两种添加方式(幼苗冠层施氮和土壤表层施氮), 共6个处理: (1)土壤对照(S-CK); (2)土壤中氮(S-MN); (3)土壤高氮(S-HN); (4)冠层对照(C-CK); (5)冠层中氮(C-MN); (6)冠层高氮(C-HN), 每个处理设置6个重复。研究结果表明: 不同氮添加量下, 土壤施氮和冠层施氮对植物幼苗生长的影响不同, 氮添加量、氮添加方式和物种3个因子之间存在显著的交互效应。与对照相比, S-MN增加了马占相思和木荷幼苗的生物量, 降低了马尾松的株高和生物量, 而C-MN仅增加了马占相思的生物量, 对其他3个树种没有影响; S-HN增加了马占相思的生物量, 显著降低了马尾松的基径、株高和生物量(p < 0.01), C-HN增加了马占相思、木荷和马尾松的基径、株高和生物量(p < 0.01)。不同氮添加量和氮添加方式对幼苗生长的影响因物种而异, 所有氮处理下海南红豆和马占相思的生长均明显快于木荷和马尾松; 木荷和马尾松幼苗的生长在两种氮添加方式间差异显著, 冠层施氮比土壤施氮对其幼苗生长的促进作用更大。由此可见: 在氮沉降背景下, 阔叶豆科植物(海南红豆、马占相思)比阔叶非豆科植物(木荷)生长快; 阔叶树种(海南红豆、马占相思和木荷)比针叶树种(马尾松)生长快。在长期氮沉降环境下, 不同物种生长的差异响应有可能导致亚热带森林物种组成发生变化。     

氮添加对杉木苗期磷转化和分解类真菌的影响

持续增加的氮沉降加剧了森林土壤氮磷养分失衡, 并且已成为当前生态学领域关注的热点。真菌作为土壤中主要的微生物, 在维持养分平衡, 促进植物生长过程中发挥着不可忽视的作用。该研究以杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)土壤为研究对象, 通过施加硝酸铵模拟大气氮沉降, 设置对照(CK, 0 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1)、低氮(LN, 40 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1)和高氮(HN, 80 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1) 3个处理, 利用高通量测序并结合FUNGuild真菌功能预测, 研究亚热带地区杉木土壤真菌群落结构和功能对氮沉降的响应。结果表明: 氮添加降低了杉木幼苗的生物量和叶片磷含量。在杉木土壤中, 子囊菌门(Ascomycota)、担子菌门(Basidiomycota)和被孢霉门(Mortierellomycota)是真菌群落在门水平上的优势类群, 三者的相对丰度约占整个真菌群落的76.71%-86.72%。短期氮添加对真菌门水平物种组成的影响不显著, 但LN处理较对照处理显著提高了球囊菌门(Glomeromycota)的相对丰度。在目水平上, 与对照相比, LN处理也显著提高被孢霉目(Mortierellales)的相对丰度, HN处理显著增加银耳目(Tremellales)的相对丰度, 但显著降低粪壳菌纲(Sordariales)的相对丰度。并且LN处理显著提高了土壤有效磷含量, 且与被孢霉目和球囊菌门的相对丰度呈显著正相关关系, 表明氮添加可能通过改变与磷转化相关的真菌类群来维持杉木生长的磷有效性。此外, LN处理显著降低了腐生营养型真菌的相对丰度, 但是显著增加了丛枝菌根真菌的相对丰度。总之, 土壤真菌功能类群可以通过改变不同功能类群相对丰度来参与土壤养分循环。     

不同施氮水平对冬小麦生长期土壤呼吸的影响

在目前全球氮沉降不断增加的背景下, 研究农田土壤呼吸对氮沉降的响应有助于理解未来生态系统碳循环对全球变暖的潜在影响。为探讨不同施氮浓度对华东地区冬小麦(Triticum aestivum)生长期土壤呼吸的影响, 该实验设计了对照组(不施加氮肥)和3种浓度施氮处理组(低浓度施氮15 g·m^-2·a^-1, 中等浓度施氮30 g·m^-2·a^-1, 高浓度施氮45 g·m^-2·a^-1)。使用便携式土壤CO₂通量观测仪LI-8100测定不同施氮浓度处理下冬小麦生长期(2013年12月至2014年5月)的土壤呼吸速率, 并探讨土壤呼吸与土壤温度、湿度等环境因素的关系。结果表明: 低、中、高3种浓度施氮处理的土壤呼吸速率平均值分别为5.29、6.17和6.75 μmol·m^-2 ·s^-1, 与对照组(土壤呼吸速率平均值为4.90 μmol·m^-2·s^-1)相比, 分别增加了7.8%、23.6%和37.8%; 地上生物量分别增加39.9%、104.4%和200.2%, 并与冬小麦生长季的总土壤呼吸正相关。5 cm深度土壤的温度与土壤呼吸速率呈指数关系(p < 0.05), 土壤呼吸季节变化的65%-75%由土壤温度引起, 其温度敏感性为2.09-2.32。结果表明, 添加氮肥促进了植物的生长, 增加了生物量, 从而增加了冬小麦农田的土壤呼吸速率。     

氮素添加对内蒙古草甸草原生态系统CO2交换的影响

氮沉降增加将影响草原生态系统固碳, 但如何影响草原生态系统CO₂交换目前为止还没有定论。同时, 不同类型和剂量氮素对生态系统CO₂交换影响的差异也不明确。选取内蒙古额尔古纳草甸草原, 开展了不同类型氮肥和不同剂量氮素添加条件下生态系统CO₂交换的野外测定。实验设置尿素和缓释尿素2种类型氮肥各5个剂量水平(0、5.0、10.0、20.0和50.0 g N·m^-2·a^-1)。结果显示, 生长季初期及中期降雨量低时, 氮素添加抑制生态系统CO₂交换; 而生长季末期降雨量较高时促进生态系统CO₂交换。随着氮素添加水平的提高, NEE和GEP均显著增加, 当氮素添加量达到10 g N·m^-2·a^-1时, NEE和GEP的响应趋于饱和。2种氮肥(尿素和缓释尿素)仅在施氮量为5 g N·m^-2·a^-1时, 缓释尿素对生态系统CO₂交换的促进作用显著大于尿素, 在其它添加剂量时差异不显著。研究结果表明: 氮素是该草甸草原生态系统的重要限制因子, 但氮沉降增加对生态系统CO₂交换的影响强烈地受降雨量与降雨季节分配的限制, 不同氮肥(尿素和缓释尿素)对生态系统CO₂交换作用存在差异。     

氮添加对山西太岳山天然油松林主要植物叶片性状的影响

为探讨植物性状对大气氮沉降的响应与适应机制, 该文以中国特有的、在北方温性针叶林中广泛分布的天然油松(Pinus tabuliformis)林为研究对象, 在2009-2013年开展了氮添加对植物叶片性状影响的野外控制试验, 4个氮添加浓度分别为0 kg·hm^-2·a^-1 (CK)、50 kg·hm^-2·a^-1 (低氮)、100 kg·hm^-2·a^-1 (中氮)和150 kg·hm^-2·a^-1 (高氮)。试验过程中分别测定了油松、蒙古栎(Quercus mongolica)、茶条槭(Acer ginnala)、毛榛(Corylus mandshurica)、沙梾(Cornus bretschneideri)、绣线菊(Spiraea salicifolia)、金银忍冬(Lonicera maackii)、羊须草(Carex callitrichos)、龙常草(Diarrhena mandshurica)、大火草(Anemone tomentosa)和玉竹(Polygonatum odoratum)等11种主要植物的9种叶片性状, 包括叶厚度(LT)、比叶面积(SLA)、干物质含量(LDMC)、叶氮含量(LNC)、叶磷含量(LPC)等。结果表明: 1)在氮添加影响下, 玉竹等个别物种的LT和SLA、绣线菊等部分物种的叶面积(LA)和LDMC差异显著, 上述所有物种的LNC与大多数物种的叶绿素含量(CC)、LPC显著增加, 油松等9种植物叶片N:P发生显著变化, 不同年龄、不同类型的植物叶片对氮添加的响应不同。2)叶性状之间普遍存在显著相关性, 如SLA与LNC和LPC极显著正相关, LT与LNC和LPC极显著负相关, 且相关性随氮添加强度变化。3) 11种植物的叶片特征空间分布规律与叶经济谱的描述一致, 氮添加使植物在特征空间中的位置向叶片薄、生长快、叶寿命短的“快速投资-收益型”一端发生移动; 在垂直方向上, 阔叶乔木、灌木及草本的位置与针叶乔木的移动方向相反。当环境改变时, 植物会改变生存策略, 调整资源分配, 从而保证物种间相对位置和群落整体结构的稳定性。叶经济谱的形成不依赖于环境的变化, 而是植物一种固有的属性。     

青藏高原高寒区阔叶林植被固碳现状、速率和潜力

为明晰青藏高原高寒区阔叶林植被碳储量现状及其动态变化特征, 利用森林资源清查数据和标准样地实测数据, 估算了青藏高原高寒区(青海和西藏两省区)阔叶林植被的碳储量、固碳速率和固碳潜力。结果表明: 2011年青藏高原高寒区阔叶林植被碳储量为310.70 Tg, 碳密度为89.04 Mg·hm^-2。六类阔叶林型(栎(Quercus)林、桦木(Betula)林、杨树(Populus)林、其他硬阔林、其他软阔林和阔叶混交林)中, 阔叶混交林的碳储量最大, 杨树林碳储量最小; 其他硬阔林碳密度最大, 其他软阔林碳密度最小。空间分配上碳储量和碳密度表现为: 乔木层>灌木层>凋落物层>草本层>枯死木层。不同龄级碳储量和碳密度总体表现为随林龄增加逐渐增大的趋势。阔叶林碳储量从2001年的304.26 Tg增加到2011年的310.70 Tg, 平均年固碳量为0.64 Tg·a^-1, 固碳速率为0.19 Mg·hm^-2·a^-1。不同林型固碳速率表现为其他软阔林最大, 其他硬阔林最小; 不同龄级表现为成熟林最大, 幼龄林最小。阔叶林乔木层固碳潜力为19.09 Mg·hm^-2, 且不同林型固碳潜力表现为栎林最大, 桦树林最小。三次调查期间阔叶林碳储量逐渐增加, 主要原因是近年来森林保护工程的开展使阔叶林生长健康良好。     

北京东灵山3种温带森林土壤呼吸及其20年的变化

土壤呼吸是陆地生态系统最主要的碳释放过程。为了探讨温带森林土壤呼吸在长时间尺度的变化, 利用北京东灵山地区的白桦(Betula platyphylla)林、辽东栎(Quercus wutaishanica)林和油松(Pinus tabuliformis)林3种温带森林永久样地, 于2012-2015年对其土壤呼吸进行测定, 并与1994-1995年的测定结果进行了比较。结果显示: 2012-2015年, 白桦林的平均年土壤呼吸量为(574 ± 21) g C·m^-2·a^-1, 显著高于辽东栎林(455 ± 31) g C·m^-2·a^-1和油松林(414 ± 35) g C·m^-2·a^-1, 比20年前(1994-1995年)的估测值分别增加了85%、17%和73%。这些结果表明, 近20年来这3种生态系统的碳周转速率明显加快。     

氮素添加对内蒙古退化草原生产力的短期影响

不合理的土地利用方式以及气候变化导致我国草原生态系统普遍退化, 主要表现在土壤养分降低、植被覆盖度减少、生产力下降。外源氮素添加是促进退化草原尽快恢复的一项重要措施, 尤其是对那些退化较为严重的草原。该研究选取内蒙古东乌珠穆沁旗不同退化程度(轻度、中度和重度)的草原群落, 于2014-2015年开展连续两年的氮素添加实验, 设置对照(不添加)、低水平(5.0 g N·m^-2·a^-1)、中水平(10.0 g N·m^-2·a^-1)和高水平(20.0 g N·m^-2·a^-1) 4种氮素添加处理, 探讨退化草原群落生产力在恢复过程中对不同水平氮素添加的响应。结果显示: (1)高、中水平氮素添加显著提高了轻度退化群落的地上生物量, 分别比对照增加了53.1%、51.6%, 氮素各水平添加对中度、重度群落地上生物量无显著影响; (2)高、中水平氮素添加显著提高了轻度退化群落中多年生根茎型禾草地上生物量, 分别比对照增加了45.1%、47.7%, 而多年生杂类草地上生物量分别比对照减少了37.4%、42.1%, 但中度和重度退化群落各功能群生物量的响应不显著; (3)三种水平氮素添加对轻、中、重度退化群落物种丰富度在试验期间均没有显著影响。研究结果表明氮素添加有助于提高轻度退化草原中多年生根茎型禾草的生物量, 进而提高群落的生物量, 但多年生杂类草会被逐渐替代, 导致生物量降低, 可见施氮对草原恢复的影响取决于草原退化 程度。     

小兴安岭7种典型林型林分生物量碳密度与固碳能力

森林生物碳储量作为森林生态系统碳库的重要组成部分, 在全球碳循环中发挥着重要作用。以小兴安岭7种典型林型为研究对象, 通过外业样地调查与室内实验分析相结合的方法, 从林分尺度对林分生物量与碳密度进行计量, 分析了林分生物碳储量的空间分配格局, 并对林分年固碳能力与碳汇潜力进行了探讨。结果表明: 小兴安岭不同林型从幼龄林到成熟林的乔木层碳密度增长速率为: 蒙古栎(Quercus mongolica)林>兴安落叶松(Larix gmelinii)林>云冷杉(Picea-Abies)林>樟子松(Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica)林>山杨(Populus davidiana)林>红松(Pinus koraiensis)林>白桦(Betula platyphylla)林。7种典型林型不同龄组(幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林和成熟林)林分生物量碳密度分别为: 红松林31.4、74.7、118.4和130.2 t·hm^-2; 兴安落叶松林28.9、44.3、74.2和113.3 t·hm^-2; 樟子松林22.8、52.0、71.1和92.6 t·hm^-2; 云冷杉林23.1、44.1、77.6和130.3 t·hm^-2; 白桦林18.8、35.3、66.6和88.5 t·hm^-2; 蒙古栎林25.0、20.0、47.5和68.9 t·hm^-2; 山杨林19.8、28.7、43.7和76.6 t·hm^-2。红松林、兴安落叶松林、樟子松林和蒙古栎林在幼龄林时林分年固碳量较高, 其他林型在成熟林时林分年固碳量较高。7种典型林型不同龄组的林分生物量碳密度均随林龄增长而增加, 但不同林型的碳汇功能存在差异, 同一林型不同林龄的生物量碳密度增幅差异也较大。林分年固碳量在0.4-2.8 t·hm^-2之间, 碳汇能力较强、碳汇潜力较大。尤其是小兴安岭目前林分质量较差, 幼龄林和中龄林所占的比重较大, 具有较大的碳汇潜力。研究结果可为森林经营管理及碳汇功能评价提供参考。     

模拟大气氮沉降对中国森林生态系统影响的研究进展

人类活动加剧了活性氮的生产和排放,并导致氮沉降日益增加并全球化。目前,人类活动对全球氮循环的干扰已经超出了地球系统安全运行的界限。中国已成为全球氮沉降的高发区域,高氮沉降已经威胁到生态系统的健康和安全,并成为生态文明建设过程中亟待理清和解决的热点问题。对国际上和中国森林生态系统模拟氮沉降研究的概况进行了综述,并从生物学和非生物学两大过程重点阐述模拟氮沉降增加对中国主要森林生态系统影响的研究进展。中国自2000年以后才开始重视大气氮沉降产生的生态环境问题,中国科学院华南植物园在国内森林生态系统模拟氮沉降试验研究上做出了开创性的贡献。模拟氮沉降研究表明,持续高氮输入将会显著改变森林生态系统的结构和功能,并威胁生态系统的健康发展,特别是处于氮沉降热点区域的中国中南部。森林生态系统的氮沉降效应依赖于系统的氮状态、土地利用历史、气候特征、林型和林龄等。最后,对未来的研究提出了一些建议,包括加强长期跟踪研究和不同气候带站点之间的联网研究,特别是在森林生态系统对长期氮沉降响应与适应的过程机制、地下碳氮吸存潜力研究、以及与其他全球变化因子的耦合研究等方面,以期为森林生态系统的可持续发展提供理论基础和管理依据。     

The effect of nitrogen deposition on forest carbon sequestration: a model‐based analysis

The perturbation of the global nitrogen (N) cycle due to the increase in N deposition over the last 150 years will likely have important effects on carbon (C) cycling, particularly via impacts on forest C sequestration. To investigate this effect, and the relative importance of different mechanisms involved, we used the Generic Decomposition And Yield (G'DAY) forest C–N cycling model, introducing some new assumptions which focus on N deposition. Specifically, we (i) considered the effect of forest management, (ii) assumed that belowground C allocation was a function of net primary production, (iii) assumed that foliar litterfall and specific leaf area were functions of leaf N concentration, (iv) assumed that forest canopies can directly take up N, and (v) modified the model such that leaching occurred only for nitrate N. We applied the model with and without each of these modifications to estimate forest C sequestration for different N deposition levels. Our analysis showed that N deposition can have a large effect on forest C storage at ecosystem level. Assumptions (i), (ii) and (iv) were the most important, each giving rise to a markedly higher level of forest C sequestration than in their absence. On the contrary assumptions (iii) and (v) had a negligible effect on simulated net ecosystem production (NEP). With all five model modifications in place, we estimated that the C storage capacity of a generic European forest ecosystem was at most 121 kg C kg^?1 N deposited. This estimate is four times higher than that obtained with the original version of G'DAY (27.8 kg C kg^?1 N). Thus, depending on model assumptions, the G'DAY ecosystem model can reproduce the range of dC : dN_dep values found in the literature. We conclude that effects of historic N deposition must be taken into account when estimating the C storage capacity of a forest ecosystem.     

Nonlinear responses of ecosystem carbon fluxes to nitrogen deposition in an old-growth boreal forest

Nitrogen (N) deposition is known to increase carbon (C) sequestration in N-limited boreal forests. However, the long-term effects of N deposition on ecosystem carbon fluxes have been rarely investigated in old-growth boreal forests. Here we show that decade-long experimental N additions significantly stimulated net primary production (NPP) but the effect decreased with increasing N loads. The effect on soil heterotrophic respiration (Rh) shifted from a stimulation at low-level N additions to an inhibition at higher levels of N additions. Consequently, low-level N additions resulted in a neutral effect on net ecosystem productivity (NEP), due to a comparable stimulating effect on NPP and Rh, while NEP was increased by high-level N additions. Moreover, we found nonlinear temporal responses of NPP, Rh and NEP to low-level N additions. Our findings imply that actual N deposition in boreal forests likely exerts a minor contribution to their soil C storage.     

Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition enhances carbon sequestration in boreal soils

It is proposed that carbon (C) sequestration in response to reactive nitrogen (N_r) deposition in boreal forests accounts for a large portion of the terrestrial sink for anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. While studies have helped clarify the magnitude by which N_r deposition enhances C sequestration by forest vegetation, there remains a paucity of long‐term experimental studies evaluating how soil C pools respond. We conducted a long‐term experiment, maintained since 1996, consisting of three N addition levels (0, 12.5, and 50 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1) in the boreal zone of northern Sweden to understand how atmospheric N_r deposition affects soil C accumulation, soil microbial communities, and soil respiration. We hypothesized that soil C sequestration will increase, and soil microbial biomass and soil respiration will decrease, with disproportionately large changes expected compared to low levels of N addition. Our data showed that the low N addition treatment caused a non‐significant increase in the organic horizon C pool of ~15% and a significant increase of ~30% in response to the high N treatment relative to the control. The relationship between C sequestration and N addition in the organic horizon was linear, with a slope of 10 kg C kg^?1 N. We also found a concomitant decrease in total microbial and fungal biomasses and a ~11% reduction in soil respiration in response to the high N treatment. Our data complement previous data from the same study system describing aboveground C sequestration, indicating a total ecosystem sequestration rate of 26 kg C kg^?1 N. These estimates are far lower than suggested by some previous modeling studies, and thus will help improve and validate current modeling efforts aimed at separating the effect of multiple global change factors on the C balance of the boreal region.     

Structural equation modelling reveals plant-community drivers of carbon storage in boreal forest ecosystems

Boreal forest ecosystems are important drivers of the global carbon (C) cycle by acting as both sinks and sources of atmospheric CO₂. While several factors have been proposed as determining the ability of boreal forest to function as C sinks, little is known about their relative importance. In this study, we applied structural equation modelling to a previously published dataset involving 30 boreal-forested islands that vary greatly in their historic fire regime, in order to explore the simultaneous influence of several factors believed to be important in influencing above-ground, below-ground and total ecosystem C accumulation. We found that wildfire was a major driver of ecosystem C sequestration, and exerted direct effects on below-ground C storage (presumably through humus combustion) and indirect effects on both above-ground and below-ground C storage through altering plant-community composition. By contrast, plant diversity influenced only below-ground C storage (and even then only weakly), while net primary productivity and decomposition had no detectable effect. Our results suggest that while boreal forests have great potential for storing significant amounts of C, traits of dominant plant species that promote below-ground C accumulation and the absence of wildfire are the most important drivers of C sequestration in these ecosystems.     

Global‐scale impacts of nitrogen deposition on tree carbon sequestration in tropical,temperate, and boreal forests: A meta‐analysis

Elevated nitrogen (N) deposition may increase net primary productivity in N‐limited terrestrial ecosystems and thus enhance the terrestrial carbon (C) sink. To assess the magnitude of this N‐induced C sink, we performed a meta‐analysis on data from forest fertilization experiments to estimate N‐induced C sequestration in aboveground tree woody biomass, a stable C pool with long turnover times. Our results show that boreal and temperate forests responded strongly to N addition and sequestered on average an additional 14 and 13 kg C per kg N in aboveground woody biomass, respectively. Tropical forests, however, did not respond significantly to N addition. The common hypothesis that tropical forests do not respond to N because they are phosphorus‐limited could not be confirmed, as we found no significant response to phosphorus addition in tropical forests. Across climate zones, we found that young forests responded more strongly to N addition, which is important as many previous meta‐analyses of N addition experiments rely heavily on data from experiments on seedlings and young trees. Furthermore, the C–N response (defined as additional mass unit of C sequestered per additional mass unit of N addition) was affected by forest productivity, experimental N addition rate, and rate of ambient N deposition. The estimated C–N responses from our meta‐analysis were generally lower that those derived with stoichiometric scaling, dynamic global vegetation models, and forest growth inventories along N deposition gradients. We estimated N‐induced global C sequestration in tree aboveground woody biomass by multiplying the C–N responses obtained from the meta‐analysis with N deposition estimates per biome. We thus derived an N‐induced global C sink of about 177 (112–243) Tg C/year in aboveground and belowground woody biomass, which would account for about 12% of the forest biomass C sink (1,400 Tg C/year).     

Landscape-variability of the carbon balance across managed boreal forests

Boreal forests are important global carbon (C) sinks and, therefore, considered as a key element in climate change mitigation policies. However, their actual C sink strength is uncertain and under debate, particularly for the actively managed forests in the boreal regions of Fennoscandia. In this study, we use an extensive set of biometric- and chamber-based C flux data collected in 50 forest stands (ranging from 5 to 211 years) over 3 years (2016–2018) with the aim to explore the variations of the annual net ecosystem production (NEP; i.e., the ecosystem C balance) across a 68 km² managed boreal forest landscape in northern Sweden. Our results demonstrate that net primary production rather than heterotrophic respiration regulated the spatio-temporal variations of NEP across the heterogeneous mosaic of the managed boreal forest landscape. We further find divergent successional patterns of NEP in our managed forests relative to naturally regenerating boreal forests, including (i) a fast recovery of the C sink function within the first decade after harvest due to the rapid establishment of a productive understory layer and (ii) a sustained C sink in old stands (131–211 years). We estimate that the rotation period for optimum C sequestration extends to 138 years, which over multiple rotations results in a long-term C sequestration rate of 86.5 t C ha⁻¹ per rotation. Our study highlights the potential of forest management to maximize C sequestration of boreal forest landscapes and associate climate change mitigation effects by developing strategies that optimize tree biomass production rather than heterotrophic soil C emissions.     

Plant Community Composition as a Predictor of Regional Soil Carbon Storage in Alaskan Boreal Black Spruce Ecosystems

The boreal forest is the largest terrestrial biome in North America and holds a large portion of the world’s reactive soil carbon. Therefore, understanding soil carbon accumulation on a landscape or regional scale across the boreal forest is useful for predicting future soil carbon storage. Here, we examined the relationship between floristic composition and ecosystem parameters, such as soil carbon pools, the carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio of live black spruce needles, and normalized basal area increment (NBAI) of trees in black spruce communities, the most widespread forest type in the boreal forest of Alaska. Variability in ecosystem properties among black spruce stands was as large as that which had previously been documented among all forest types in the central interior of Alaska; we found an eightfold range in NBAI and fivefold range in mineral soil carbon and nitrogen pools. Acidic black spruce communities had significantly more carbon in the organic soil horizon than did nonacidic black spruce communities, but did not differ in any other measured ecosystem parameter. We explained 48% of the variation in total soil carbon with a combination of plant community indices and abiotic and biotic factors. Plant community composition was at least as effective as any single environmental factor or stand characteristic in predicting soil C pools in Alaskan black spruce ecosystems. We conclude that among the community properties analyzed, the presence of key groups of species, overall species composition, and diversity of certain functional types, especially Sphagnum moss species, are important predictors of soil carbon sequestration in the black spruce forest type.     

Slowing of nitrogen cycling and increasing nitrogen use efficiency following afforestation of semi-arid shrubland

Nitrogen (N) and water availability are important factors affecting ecosystem productivity that can be influenced by land-use change. We hypothesized that the observed increase in carbon (C) sequestration associated with afforestation of semi-arid sparse shrubland must also be associated with an increase in N input. We tested this hypothesis by reconstructing the ecosystem N budget of two ecosystems, a semi-arid shrubland and a nearby planted pine forest, using measurements augmented with literature-based estimates. Our findings demonstrate that, contrary to our hypothesis, massive C sequestration by the pine forest could be accounted for without a change in the net N budget (i.e., neither elevated N inputs nor reduced N losses). However, in comparison to the shrubland, the forest showed an almost tripling in aboveground N use efficiency (NUE; 235 vs. 83 kg dry mass kg⁻¹ N) and a doubling in ecosystem level C/N ratio (16 vs. 8, for the forest and shrubland, respectively). Nitrogen cycling slowed in the forest compared to the shrubland: net N mineralization rates in soils decreased by approximately 50%, decomposition rates decreased by approximately 20%, and NO_x loss decreased by approximately 64%. These adjustments in N cycling provide a possible basis for increased NUE and subsequent C sequestration without net change in the overall N budget, which should be addressed in future investigations.