A chronosequence of wood decomposition in the boreal forests of Russia

Yatskov, Mikhail; Harmon, Mark E.; Krankina, Olga N.

doi:10.1139/x03-033

Cited by 213 publications

(214 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…It must be noted that snags show a decay rate lower than logs [70][71][72]. Decaying wood retains moisture and has an important role in forest regeneration and in microhabitat preservation [73,74].…”

Section: Decay Class Of Cwdmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Decaying wood retains moisture and has an important role in forest regeneration and in microhabitat preservation [73,74]. Numerous wildlife functions depend on decaying wood as a source of food, nutrients and protection for organisms at diverse trophic levels [72,[75][76][77][78]. Suitable density and different decay stages of snags are critical for the preservation of biodiversity and the constant functionality of forest ecosystems [40,79].…”

Section: Decay Class Of Cwdmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coarse Woody Debris Variability Due to Human Accessibility to Forest

Behjou

Monaco

Tavankar

et al. 2018

Forests

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Coarse woody debris (CWD) plays an important role in supporting biodiversity and assisting ecological processes. Sometimes local people intervene modifying the expected distribution of CWD components, harvested as fuel wood. The effect of the human accessibility (HA) on the volume and characteristics of CWD (snag, downed log and stump) was investigated in the natural uneven-age mixed hardwood stands of the Hyrcanian forests of Iran to quantify the impact on CWD. The HA was classified into three classes (easy, medium and difficult) on the basis of slope class, slope direction to the nearest road and road type. As expected, a negative relationship between the degree of accessibility was found with respect to the main qualitative and quantitative indices referring to CWD. The results showed that the volume of CWD decreased with an increase in human accessibility class (HAC), thus the mean volume of CWD in the difficult, medium and easy accessibility classes were 14.87 m 3 ha −1 , 8.84 m 3 ha −1 and 4.03 m 3 ha −1 , respectively. The decrease in CWD volume was more associated with the decreasing volume of small diameter of low decayed downed logs. The ratio of snag volume to standing volume, the ratio of downed log volume to the volume of trees and the ratio of CWD volume to standing volume increased with a decrease in HAC, while the ratio of downed log volume to snag volume decreased with a decrease in HAC. No selective behaviour on the botanical species of CWD was recorded. For ecological forest management, the effect of HAC on CWD should be considered. A constant supply of snags and downed logs must be preserved to assure a high level of biodiversity. To balance social needs and biodiversity requirements, an increased level of CWD retention might be needed in areas with easy accessibility. The obtained results may be useful when ecological and socio-economical needs have to be taken into consideration in future policy-making decisions.

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Section: Decay Class Of Cwdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Decay Class Of Cwdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coarse Woody Debris Variability Due to Human Accessibility to Forest

Behjou

Monaco

Tavankar

et al. 2018

Forests

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“…Using mass losses instead of density losses to estimate the decay rates may result in higher values, because the losses for fragmentation are added to the mineralisation losses (Yin, 1999). This might explain why our decay rate constants were lower than those in some other studies (Rock et al, 2008;Herrmann et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Standing dead trees, i.e. snags, can remain upright for several years and decay much more slowly than fallen dead trees (Yatskov et al, 2003). Such an effect overshadows a clear age trend in decay.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time since death and decay rate constants of Norway spruce and European larch deadwood in subalpine forests determined using dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Due to the large size (e.g. sections of tree trunks) and highly heterogeneous spatial distribution of deadwood, the timescales involved in the coarse woody debris (CWD) decay of Picea abies (L.) Karst. and Larix decidua Mill. in Alpine forests are largely unknown. We investigated the CWD decay dynamics in an Alpine valley in Italy using the chronosequence approach and the five-decay class system that is based on a macromorphological assessment. For the decay classes 1-3, most of the dendrochronological samples were cross-dated to assess the time that had elapsed since tree death, but for decay classes 4 and 5 (poorly preserved tree rings) radiocarbon dating was used. In addition, density, cellulose, and lignin data were measured for the dated CWD. The decay rate constants for spruce and larch were estimated on the basis of the density loss using a single negative exponential model, a regression approach, and the stagebased matrix model. In the decay classes 1-3, the ages of the CWD were similar and varied between 1 and 54 years for spruce and 3 and 40 years for larch, with no significant differences between the classes; classes 1-3 are therefore not indicative of deadwood age. This seems to be due to a time lag between the death of a standing tree and its contact with the soil. We found distinct tree-species-specific differences in decay classes 4 and 5, with larch CWD reaching an average age of 210 years in class 5 and spruce only 77 years. The mean CWD rate constants were estimated to be in the range 0.018 to 0.022 y −1 for spruce and to about 0.012 y −1 for larch. Snapshot sampling (chronosequences) may overestimate the age and mean residence time of CWD. No sampling bias was, however, detectable using the stage-based matrix model. Cellulose and lignin time trends could be derived on the basis of the ages of the CWD. The half-lives for cellulose were 21 years for spruce and 50 years for larch. The half-life of lignin is considerably higher and may be more than 100 years in larch CWD. Consequently, the decay of Picea abies and Larix decidua is very low. Several uncertainties, however, remain: 14 C dating of CWD from decay classes 4 and 5 and having a pre-bomb age is often difficult (large age range due to methodological constraints) and fall rates of both European larch and Norway spruce are missing.

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“…Logs with a larger diameter also retain more humidity, which is especially beneficial for the colonization of microbial fungi during drought periods [4,63] and thus accelerates decomposition [64]. Another explanation lies in the phenomenon known as "case-hardening", which refers to solar radiation heating and hardening the outer wood layers [65,66], so that a larger surface-to-volume ratio would induce a greater loss of moisture rather than enhanced decomposer colonization [64]. Under Mediterranean climate, characterized by a long, hot, and dry summer, the retention of moisture inside large logs may represent an important factor speeding up wood decomposition.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deadwood Decay in a Burnt Mediterranean Pine Reforestation

Molinas-González

Castro

Leverkus

2017

Forests

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Dead wood remaining after wildfires represents a biological legacy for forest regeneration, and its decay is both cause and consequence of a large set of ecological processes. However, the rate of wood decomposition after fires is still poorly understood, particularly for Mediterranean-type ecosystems. In this study, we analyzed deadwood decomposition following a wildfire in a Mediterranean pine plantation in the Sierra Nevada Natural and National Park (southeast Spain). Three plots were established over an elevational/species gradient spanning from 1477 to 2053 m above sea level, in which burnt logs of three species of pines were experimentally laid out and wood densities were estimated five times over ten years. The logs lost an overall 23% of their density, although this value ranged from an average 11% at the highest-elevation plot (dominated by Pinus sylvestris) to 32% at an intermediate elevation (with P. nigra). Contrary to studies in other climates, large-diameter logs decomposed faster than small-diameter logs. Our results provide one of the longest time series for wood decomposition in Mediterranean ecosystems and suggest that this process provides spatial variability in the post-fire ecosystem at the scale of stands due to variable speeds of decay. Common management practices such as salvage logging diminish burnt wood and influence the rich ecological processes related to its decay.

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A chronosequence of wood decomposition in the boreal forests of Russia

Cited by 213 publications

References 34 publications

Coarse Woody Debris Variability Due to Human Accessibility to Forest

Coarse Woody Debris Variability Due to Human Accessibility to Forest

Time since death and decay rate constants of Norway spruce and European larch deadwood in subalpine forests determined using dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating

Deadwood Decay in a Burnt Mediterranean Pine Reforestation

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