Disturbance, complexity, and succession of net ecosystem production in North America's temperate deciduous forests

Journal Article · Mon Jun 27 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Ecosphere

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1375· OSTI ID:1259576

Gough, Christopher M. ^[1]; Curtis, Peter S. ^[2]; Hardiman, Brady S. ^[3]; Scheuermann, Cynthia M. ^[1]; Bond‐Lamberty, Ben ^[4]

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1. Department of Biology Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond Virginia 23284 USA
2. Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology Ohio State University Columbus Ohio 43210 USA
3. Forestry and Natural Resources and Environmental and Ecological Engineering Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana 47907 USA
4. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Joint Global Change Research Institute College Park Maryland 20740 USA

Abstract

Century‐old forests in the U.S. upper Midwest and Northeast power much of North America's terrestrial carbon (C) sink, but these forests' production and C sequestration capacity are expected to soon decline as fast‐growing early successional species die and are replaced by slower growing late successional species. But will this really happen? Here we marshal empirical data and ecological theory to argue that substantial declines in net ecosystem production ( NEP ) owing to reduced forest growth, or net primary production ( NPP ), are not imminent in regrown temperate deciduous forests over the next several decades. Forest age and production data for temperate deciduous forests, synthesized from published literature, suggest slight declines in NEP and increasing or stable NPP during middle successional stages. We revisit long‐held hypotheses by EP Odum and others that suggest low‐severity, high‐frequency disturbances occurring in the region's aging forests will, against intuition, maintain NEP at higher‐than‐expected rates by increasing ecosystem complexity, sustaining or enhancing NPP to a level that largely offsets rising C losses as heterotrophic respiration increases. This theoretical model is also supported by biological evidence and observations from the Forest Accelerated Succession Experiment in Michigan, USA . Ecosystems that experience high‐severity disturbances that simplify ecosystem complexity can exhibit substantial declines in production during middle stages of succession. However, observations from these ecosystems have exerted a disproportionate influence on assumptions regarding the trajectory and magnitude of age‐related declines in forest production. We conclude that there is a wide ecological space for forests to maintain NPP and, in doing so, lessens the declines in NEP , with significant implications for the future of the North American carbon sink. Our intellectual frameworks for understanding forest C cycle dynamics and resilience need to catch up to our more complex and nuanced understanding of ecological succession.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0006708
• OSTI ID: 1259576
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1260853; OSTI ID: 1290382
• Journal Information: Ecosphere, Journal Name: Ecosphere Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 7; ISSN 2150-8925
• Publisher: Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English