Forest Litters as a Link in the Carbon Cycle in Coniferous–Broadleaved Forests of the Southern Far East of Russia

Abstract

Forest litter as a component of the carbon cycle in pine–broadleaved forests of different ages was characterized. Field studies of the forest site of the Primorskaya State Agricultural Academy in the south of the Sikhote Alin Range continued for three years. Multiple sampling of forest litter and plant litter fall and measurements of the CO2 emission from the litter and underlying soil horizons were performed on test plots. The maximum litter pool (14.44 ± 0.86 t/ha) was found in the mature stand of Pinus koraiensis; the minimum litter pool (11.52 ± 0.65 t/ha), in the 80-year-old stand. The carbon stock in the litters amounted to 3.7% of the phytomass carbon. The rate of carbon turnover in the forest litters was relatively low in comparison with that in other regions: the ratio of carbon pools in the litter horizons and annual plant falloff reached 3.5. The winter season provided about 10–25% of the annual plant litter fall. The data obtained in this study describe a part of the carbon cycle and contribute to our understanding of the ecosystem function of climate regulation by valuable forest massifs in the south of the Far East of Russia. In this region, the decomposition of forest litters generates the CO2 flux amounting up to 16% of the total CO2 emission from the soil.