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Changes in ecosystem carbon and nitrogen in a loblolly pine plantation over the first 18 years

Journal Article · · Soil Science Society of America Journal
Eighteen years after the establishment of a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantation, ecosystem C content had approximately tripled (from 54 to 161 Mg C ha{sup -1}) primarily because of increases in tree biomass. Ninety-three percent of the net ecosystem C accumulated in biomass (100 Mg C ha{sup -1}) and 6% of net ecosystem C accumulated in the forest floor (13 Mg C ha{sup -1}). No statistically significant changes in soil C were found. Growth responses to fertilization noted in Year 4 were no longer statistically significant in Year 18. Nitrogen accumulation in aboveground biomass and forest floor were approximately equal (averaging approximately 270 kg N ha{sup -1} each) and could have come from a combination of atmospheric deposition, soil N mineralization, and, in the treated plots, fertilizer input. No statistically significant changes in soil N content were found. The results of this study are similar to those from a previous study in a loblolly pine plantation in South Carolina but contrast with those in nearby deciduous forests where substantial changes in soil C and N over similar time periods have been noted.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
978227
Journal Information:
Soil Science Society of America Journal, Journal Name: Soil Science Society of America Journal Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 67; ISSN 0361-5995; ISSN SSSJD4
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English