Abstract
This study describes the amount and the spatial distribution of the above- and below-ground tree skeleton—defined as the woody structure of stem, branches and roots—in a mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand in Belgium. Tree skeleton data were linked to the respective needle area, and as such, this work provides the background framework for modeling the tree hydraulic architecture and the carbon balance of the forest stand. Using validated allometric equations, we were able to calculate the amount of the volume, of the biomass and of the corresponding surface areas of individual trees in the stand. Total woody biomass of the 66-year-old forest stand was 155 Mg ha−1, i.e., 126 Mg ha−1 above ground and 29 Mg ha−1 below ground. The total bio-volume of the woody mass of the stand was 314 m3 ha−1. The highest fraction of this value was the stem bio-volume, i.e., 236 m3 ha−1 or 75 % of the total. The total volume of all roots was 57 m3 ha−1 (18 % of the total volume), and the volume of branches was 20 m3 ha−1 (7 % of the total volume). The surface area of the roots ranged from 38,000 m2 ha−1 in the winter to 68,000 m2 ha−1 in the spring. The surface area of the stems was 2,700 m2 ha−1, and the surface area of all branches reached 4,400 m2 ha−1. The total above-ground water storage in the xylem was 94 m3 ha−1 (or 9.4 mm), while the accessible stored water was 2 mm of that quantity. A comparative analysis of the biometric parameters showed the balance between the different functionally connected, operational surface areas of the trees. The needle surface area was similar to the root surface area and in the same order of magnitude as the surface area of woody cambium. The results allow to link water uptake with transpiration and assimilation with respiration.
Highlights
Forests contain about 90 % of the carbon stored in the terrestrial vegetation and account for 40 % of the carbon exchange between the atmosphere and the terrestrial biome (Schlesinger 1997)
This study describes the amount and the spatial distribution of the above- and below-ground tree skeleton— defined as the woody structure of stem, branches and roots— in a mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand in Belgium
The aims of the current study were as follows: (1) to describe the amount and the spatial distribution—vertical, radial as well as within individual trees—of the skeleton of a mature Scots pine stand in terms of their biomass, volume, surface area and water storage; (2) to describe the overall crown and canopy architecture, as well as the root geometry; (3) to provide and evaluate the necessary scaling-up tools and allometric relations so that these can be applied to various parameters and processes of main interest to canopy carbon and water fluxes; and (4) to describe the ecological consequences of the skeleton parameters linked to the other functional tree organs
Summary
Forests contain about 90 % of the carbon stored in the terrestrial vegetation and account for 40 % of the carbon exchange between the atmosphere and the terrestrial biome (Schlesinger 1997). Forest stands are the principal pools of the stored carbon. It is of interest to quantify tree biomass and its increment to enable the quantification of the carbon pool size. Forest trees exchange carbon with the atmosphere, through the uptake of carbon in photosynthesis, and through the release of carbon dioxide via the respiration of living cells. The amount of carbon released by the woody skeleton (stem and branches) is usually quantified on a surface area basis (Edwards and Hanson 1996; Damesin et al 2002; Kim et al 2007; Acosta et al 2008). For a proper extrapolation to the tree and the stand levels, the tree surface area should be known. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is the most widely spread pine
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