Abstract
The biomass, nutrient content and decomposition rate of shoot sheaths remain unexplored in the study of Moso bamboo forests. The rapid growth of shoots means many bamboo sheaths are produced each year, and therefore should not be neglected in the study of the Moso bamboo ecosystem. In our study, we selected 160 bamboo shoots of different sizes in Yixing forest farm, Jiangsu Province. Our analysis was based on the allometric growth equation, using diameter at breast height (DBH), internode length of bamboo at breast height (IL), and bamboo height (H) as independent variables to establish the biomass model of shoot sheaths using all samples. In addition, we also measured the nutrient content of shoots and estimated the decomposition rate of shoots by setting up litter decomposition bags. Our results found that logarithmic regression should be used to fit the biomass model of shoot sheaths. From the perspective of practical application, model W3 fitting DBH and IL was determined. The order of the nutrient elements in the shoot sheath is C > N > K > P. Decomposition tests showed that it took 0.47 years for 50% of sheaths to decompose, and 3.15 years for all sheaths to decompose.
Highlights
China has about 6.41 million ha of bamboo forests, belonging to more than 534 species in 34 genera, which accounts for 20% of the world’s bamboo forest area [1]
The AICc of each model was calculated according to Equation (17), and the results are shown in Table 2, where the AICcnorm for shoot sheath biomass was higher than AICclgn, and the ∆AIC of six models was >2
It could be considered that the error structure of the Moso bamboo sheath biomass model was multiplicative, and that logarithmic transformation linear regression should be used for fitting analysis
Summary
China has about 6.41 million ha of bamboo forests, belonging to more than 534 species in 34 genera, which accounts for 20% of the world’s bamboo forest area [1]. Houz.) forest covers 4.67 million ha, accounting for 72.96% of the total bamboo forest area in China [2]. The Moso bamboo forest is characterized by high biomass productivity and a short rotation period [3]. As a result, it has become an economically important tree species in China that is widely used in various fields [4]. There are some concerns that long-term management practices may reduce forest productivity [6]
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