The role of disturbance severity and canopy closure on standing crop of understory plant species in ponderosa pine stands in northern Arizona, USA

Sabo, Kyla E.; Sieg, Carolyn Hull; Hart, Stephen C.; Bailey, John D.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2009.01.006

Cited by 53 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The understorey was reported to represent between 1-7% on average of the total ecosystem aboveground biomass for temperate forests (Dupouey et al 2000, Peichl & Arain 2006, Gonzalez et al 2013. Under high light conditions due to low stand density or more canopy openings, understorey biomass would be expected to be higher (Sabo et al 2009, Ares et al 2010, as more light and more resources such as water and nutrients are available for understorey primary productivity (Gonzalez et al 2013). For our cork oak stands, despite a low stand density and the presence of openings throughout the stands, the part of understorey vegetation in the total aboveground ecosystem biomass varied on average between only 0.4 to 2.3% of total stand aboveground biomass for stand densities over 200 stems ha -1 and below 100 stems ha -1 , respectively.…”

Section: Iforest -Biogeosciences and Forestrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon storage in degraded cork oak (Quercus suber) forests on flat lowlands in Morocco

Oubrahim¹,

Boulmane²,

Bakker³

et al. 2016

iForest

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The present study aims to quantify the carbon stored in a degraded cork oak (Quercus suber L.) ecosystem in the north west of Morocco, in view of potential management implications. To this end, carbon stocks were evaluated in the first 100 cm of the soil, the cork oak trees, and the understorey species (both above-and belowground). Results show that the total carbon stocks in the cork oak ecosystem ranges from 65 to 237 Mg ha -1 with a mean value of 121 Mg ha -1 . The first 100 cm of the soil (including the forest floor) represents the largest carbon pool (~51% of the total organic carbon) of the ecosystem. Tree biomass (above-and belowground tissues of cork oak) represents the second largest pool (47%), whereas the contribution of the understorey is less than 2%. Within the first 100 cm of the soil, over 87% of all the soil organic carbon is situated in the first 40 cm of the soil depth. The amount of carbon stored here ranges from 30 to 110 Mg ha -1 and these organic carbon stocks vary considerably with the stand basal area of the cork oak (R 2 = 0.82). In practice, the carbon stocks of the different pools considered are strongly correlated with the stand density of the cork oak stands. In the semi-arid forest ecosystems of our study, management prescriptions aiming at increasing the standing biomass of the cork oak should thus considerably contribute, both directly through tree biomass and indirectly through increased soil organic matter, to efficient carbon sequestration.

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Section: Iforest -Biogeosciences and Forestrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon storage in degraded cork oak (Quercus suber) forests on flat lowlands in Morocco

Oubrahim¹,

Boulmane²,

Bakker³

et al. 2016

iForest

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“…In P. ponderosa Dougl. (ponderosa pine) forest perennial grass cover decreased and invasive species increased as fire intensity and litter consumption increased (Armour et al 1984;Griffis et al 2001;Bataineh et al 2006;Sabo et al 2009). …”

Section: Herbaceous and Ground Cover Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Sagebrush steppe recovery after fire varies by development phase of Juniperus occidentalis woodland

Bates

Sharp

Davies

2014

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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Abstract. Woodland ecosystems of the world have been changed by land use demands, altered fire regimes, invasive species and climate change. Reduced fire frequency is recognised as a main causative agent for Pinus-Juniperus L.(piñon-juniper) expansion in North American woodlands. Piñon-juniper control measures, including prescribed fire, are increasingly employed to restore sagebrush steppe communities. We compared vegetation recovery following prescribed fire on Phase 2 (mid-succession) and Phase 3 (late-succession) Juniperus occidentalis Hook. (western juniper) woodlands in Oregon. The herbaceous layer on Phase 2 sites was comprised of native perennial and annual vegetation before and after fire. On Phase 3 sites the herbaceous layer shifted from native species to dominance by invasive Bromus tectorum L. (cheatgrass). After fire, shrubs on Phase 2 sites were comprised of sprouting species and Ceanothus velutinus Dougl. (snowbrush). On Phase 3 woodland sites the shrub layer was dominated by C. velutinus. The results suggest that Phase 2 sites have a greater likelihood of recovery to native vegetation after fire and indicate that sites transitioning from Phase 2 to Phase 3 woodlands cross a recovery threshold where there is a greater potential for invasive weeds, rather than native vegetation, to dominate after fire.

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“…In conifer plantations, thinning usually increases species diversity, particularly during younger stages (Thomas et al, 1999;Ito et al, 2006;Lindgren et al, 2006;Utsugi et al, 2006;Wilson and Puettmann, 2007;Ishii et al, 2008;Widenfalk and Weslien, 2009;Ares et al, 2010). Furthermore, several thinning experiments have demonstrated that species diversity usually increases monotonically with the level of thinning (Thomas et al, 1999;Parker et al, 2001;Moya et al, 2009; but see Ares et al (2010)); however, intensive thinning or clear cutting occasionally facilitates the dominance of one or a few understorey species, due to the dominance of herbs and shrubs that strongly inhibit the regeneration of hardwoods, thereby reducing understorey diversity (Alaback and Herman, 1991;Ito et al, 2006;Nagai and Yoshida, 2006;Sabo et al, 2009). Together, these studies suggest that an optimal thinning intensity exists for maximising species diversity in conifer plantations (see Jobidon et al, 2004), although the mechanism by which diversity is maximised has not yet been fully elucidated, primarily due to the lack of monitoring during the process of hardwood recruitment at different thinning intensities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roles of thinning intensity in hardwood recruitment and diversity in a conifer, Criptomeria japonica plantation: A 5-year demographic study

Seiwa

Etoh

Hisita

et al. 2012

Forest Ecology and Management

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The role of disturbance severity and canopy closure on standing crop of understory plant species in ponderosa pine stands in northern Arizona, USA

Cited by 53 publications

References 36 publications

Carbon storage in degraded cork oak (Quercus suber) forests on flat lowlands in Morocco

Carbon storage in degraded cork oak (Quercus suber) forests on flat lowlands in Morocco

Sagebrush steppe recovery after fire varies by development phase of Juniperus occidentalis woodland

Roles of thinning intensity in hardwood recruitment and diversity in a conifer, Criptomeria japonica plantation: A 5-year demographic study

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