Plant Biomass, Primary Production and Distribution of Chemical Elements in a Beech and a Planted Spruce Forest in South Sweden

Abstract

Plant biomass, primary production and distribution of chemical elements within a beech forest and a 55-year old planted spruce forest at Kongalund, South Sweden, are described and discussed. The stands are situated side by side on soil with the same mineral composition and with the spruce forest growing on a former beech forest area. The figures for biomass and productivity are about equal in the two stands. 60 per cent of the production of the beech forest is concentrated in the branches, while in the spruce forest about 60 per cent is concentrated in the stem production. Compared with the beech forest the distribution of water in the spruce forest is relatively more concentrated to the live plant material than to the soil. Some elements, Ca, Mg and N, have decreased in the spruce forest soil compared with the beech forest soil, while S and MWI have increased. Correlated changes are found in the plant material and in the exchangeable fraction of the soil. Concerning chemical elements, it is shown that the circulation rate, the change in elemental concentration with age, and the addition of elements from aerosols varies greatly for different elements.