Aboveground and belowground biomass allocation patterns in two Mediterranean oaks with contrasting leaf habit: an insight into carbon stock in young oak coppices

Abstract

In the last decades, the global interest in the role of forests as carbon sinks has grown, and thus, studies aimed at estimating tree biomass have progressively increased. However, few surveys have focused on young coppices, although they are abundant worldwide in areas regenerating after disturbance (e.g. wildfire, clearcutting). In the Mediterranean Basin, young coppices are very frequent, and most of them are formed by evergreen and deciduous oaks (Quercus spp.). In this survey, we have studied the biomass allocation patterns of two oaks coexisting in coppices, the evergreen Quercus ilex and the deciduous Quercus cerrioides, comparing them in the light of their different leaf habit, which may influence their physiological performance in the context of climate change. We have also obtained allometric equations for each species and its components, which we have used to calculate the carbon stock in the sampled area, as an insight into the potential of young oak coppices to sequester carbon. The results indicate a higher biomass investment of Q. ilex in the stump and a higher leafiness and allocation to roots in Q. cerrioides. In the light of these differences, the evergreen Q. ilex could be defined as a “resource-saving” species in comparison with the more “resource-demanding” Q. cerrioides. The allometric equations were able to predict from 78 to 99 % of the variation in biomass using diameter as predictor variable for all the tree components aside of the stump. Overall carbon stock estimation in the young coppice of our study area was 43.2 Mg ha−1, of which 62 % is stored belowground. These results highlight the importance of biomass allocation in the belowground compartment in Mediterranean young oak coppices as a temporal carbon sink. Moreover, they provide evidence that these forests may store a relevant amount of carbon, often ignored in forest inventories.