Thinned northern German Scots pine forests have a low carbon storage and uptake potential in comparison to naturally developing beech forests

Förster, Agnes; Culmsee, Heike; Leuschner, Christoph

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118575

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…First, mature beech forests produce substantially more aboveground litter than pine plantations. Litter bucket measurements of leaf litter production in the stands of this study gave for the years 2015 and 2016 by 25 to 48% higher annual litter amounts in the beech stands than the pine stands (Förster et al 2021). Moreover, fine root biomass is much higher in beech than pine stands, indicating a higher C transfer from the beech root system to the SOC pool (A.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…It has been found that the net accumulation of new tree-derived C can be greater under a low-productive stand on loamy soil than under a high-productive stand on fertile sandy soil (Hagedorn et al 2004). According to biomass inventories in our stands, the pine forests stored only half of the aboveground biomass C that was recorded in the beech forests (Förster et al 2021). Summing up the C pools in aboveground biomass and in the soil (without roots) gives on average an about 15% higher ecosystem C storage in the beech than the pine forests (246 Mg C•ha − 1 vs. 213 Mg C•ha − 1 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Pine-dominated stands nowadays cover 52.1% of the current forest area in the northern German lowlands (deviating from the region defined as North German Plain Fig. 1), while the natural occurrence of Scots pine is only estimated at 2.1% of the area (Förster et al, 2021). In absolute terms, a rough calculation of the current pine forest area gives for Poland c. 6.5 Mio ha (1990), for Germany about 2.4 Mio ha (2012), and for the Netherlands c. 0.2 Mio ha (Kuusela 1994;Leuschner et al 2013;BMEL 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Soil carbon and nutrient stocks under Scots pine plantations in comparison to European beech forests: a paired-plot study across forests with different management history and precipitation regimes

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Organic carbon stored in forest soils (SOC) represents an important element of the global C cycle. It is thought that the C storage capacity of the stable pool can be enhanced by increasing forest productivity, but empirical evidence in support of this assumption from forests differing in tree species and productivity, while stocking on similar substrate, is scarce. Methods We determined the stocks of SOC and macro-nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, potassium and magnesium) in nine paired European beech/Scots pine stands on similar Pleistocene sandy substrates across a precipitation gradient (560–820 mm∙yr− 1) in northern Germany and explored the influence of tree species, forest history, climate, and soil pH on SOC and nutrient pools. Results While the organic layer stored on average about 80% more C under pine than beech, the pools of SOC and total N in the total profile (organic layer plus mineral soil measured to 60 cm and extrapolated to 100 cm) were greater under pine by about 40% and 20%, respectively. This contrasts with a higher annual production of foliar litter and a much higher fine root biomass in beech stands, indicating that soil C sequestration is unrelated to the production of leaf litter and fine roots in these stands on Pleistocene sandy soils. The pools of available P and basic cations tended to be higher under beech. Neither precipitation nor temperature influenced the SOC pool, whereas tree species was a key driver. An extended data set (which included additional pine stands established more recently on former agricultural soil) revealed that, besides tree species identity, forest continuity is an important factor determining the SOC and nutrient pools of these stands. Conclusion We conclude that tree species identity can exert a considerable influence on the stocks of SOC and macronutrients, which may be unrelated to productivity but closely linked to species-specific forest management histories, thus masking weaker climate and soil chemistry effects on pool sizes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Soil carbon and nutrient stocks under Scots pine plantations in comparison to European beech forests: a paired-plot study across forests with different management history and precipitation regimes

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Generally, the C storage in German forests is reported to be 120-190 Mg ha −1 , depending on age class and tree species [48]. Quercus petraea forests in Northern Germany have an estimated C stock of 107.82 ± 7.27 Mg ha −1 in aboveground live tree biomass and 9.35 ± 6.51 Mg ha −1 in deadwood [49]. We estimated a C stock in aboveground tree biomass of 33 ± 17.9 SE Mg ha −1 for young plantations, 83.6 ± 15.1 SE Mg ha −1 for old dense forests, and 107.6 ± 25.5 SE Mg ha −1 for old sparse forests.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, a major setback in making accurate comparisons between studies reporting on C stocks of forests is the absence of a universally applied field inventory and C calculation method. There are proposed guidelines, such as the UNFCCC methods [37]; however, there are various national inventories [51] as well as research papers [17,[48][49][50]52,53], which use different field measurements and computational methods to estimate C stocks. Various allometric equations are available, and the choice of the equations can greatly impact the estimated C stock values.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Stocks of Hardwood Floodplain Forests along the Middle Elbe: The Influence of Forest Age, Structure, Species, and Hydrological Conditions

Shupe

Hartmann

Scholz

et al. 2021

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hardwood floodplain (HF) forests can store a considerable amount of carbon (C), and floodplains may be good candidates for reforestation to provide natural C sinks. In this study, we use nondestructive inventory methods to estimate the C stocks of different tree species and C pools within HF forests of varying age and structure and located at sites differing in hydrological conditions (low and high active floodplain, seepage water zone, tributaries). The study was carried out along the Elbe river (Germany). Average C stocks for young plantations in the active floodplain were significantly lower (50.2 ± 10.8 SE Mg ha−1) than those of old dense (140.6 ± 11.6 SE Mg ha−1) and old sparse forests (180.4 ± 26.6 SE Mg ha−1) with comparable hydrological conditions. C stocks of old dense forests did not significantly vary from old sparse forests. Additionally, C stocks of old forests did not significantly vary according to hydrological conditions. The highest amount of C was stored in Quercus robur for all hydrological conditions. Ulmus laevis stored the second-highest amount of C on the active floodplain. We conclude that sparse and dense forests as well as forests under different hydrological conditions provide the same C storage function.

show abstract

Both climate sensitivity and growth trend of European beech decrease in the North German Lowlands, while Scots pine still thrives, despite growing sensitivity

Diers

Weigel

Leuschner

2022

Trees

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Key message Beech and pine respond differently to climate change. June precipitation is of particular influence for beech, and February/March temperature for pine. Abstract Climate warming exposes forests to increasing abiotic stress, demanding for difficult silvicultural decisions about the right choice of future timber species. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica) are major timber species in the North German Lowlands, which have suffered from recent hot droughts, thus raising concern about their suitability for future production forests in the region. We investigated the climate sensitivity of tree growth and long-term growth trends of ten paired beech and pine forests along a precipitation gradient in the North German Lowlands with the aim to compare the species’ climate sensitivity and to search for species-specific climatic thresholds. In the majority of beech stands, basal area increment (BAI) has lost its positive trend since the 1980s or growth declined since then, while the BAI of pine has continually increased. Long-term change in June precipitation is in the study region a more important determinant of beech growth trends than the amount of MAP, while pine growth is largely dependent on the warmth of February/March. Yet, pine growth is also sensitive to dry mid summers, with sensitivity increasing toward low MAP. Climate sensitivity of growth has significantly declined since the 1980s in beech, while the dominant drought signal of June persisted in pine. We conclude that recent climate change is affecting radial growth of beech and pine differently with both species revealing signs of vulnerability to hot droughts, suggesting for the drier part of the study region the preference of more drought-tolerant hardwood timber species over beech and pine.

show abstract

Thinned northern German Scots pine forests have a low carbon storage and uptake potential in comparison to naturally developing beech forests

Cited by 21 publications

References 50 publications

Soil carbon and nutrient stocks under Scots pine plantations in comparison to European beech forests: a paired-plot study across forests with different management history and precipitation regimes

Soil carbon and nutrient stocks under Scots pine plantations in comparison to European beech forests: a paired-plot study across forests with different management history and precipitation regimes

Carbon Stocks of Hardwood Floodplain Forests along the Middle Elbe: The Influence of Forest Age, Structure, Species, and Hydrological Conditions

Both climate sensitivity and growth trend of European beech decrease in the North German Lowlands, while Scots pine still thrives, despite growing sensitivity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About