Contribution of understory species to total ecosystem aboveground and belowground biomass in temperate Pinus pinaster Ait. forests

► We quantified the contribution of understory species to forest ecosystem biomass. ► We tested effective tools for estimating above- and belowground biomass. ► We built allometric relationships to predict biomass for five understory species. ► Understory represented about 27.4% of belowground bioma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forest ecology and management Vol. 289; pp. 38 - 47
Main Authors: Gonzalez, Maya, Augusto, Laurent, Gallet-Budynek, Anne, Xue, Jianming, Yauschew-Raguenes, Nathalie, Guyon, Dominique, Trichet, Pierre, Delerue, Florian, Niollet, Sylvie, Andreasson, Frida, Achat, David L., Bakker, Mark R.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 01.02.2013
Elsevier
Subjects:
aboveground biomass
Allometry
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
belowground biomass
Biological and medical sciences
Biomass
Calluna vulgaris
Canopies
canopy gaps
Cytisus scoparius
Ecosystems
Environmental Sciences
Erica cinerea
forest ecosystems
forest plantations
Forestry
Forests
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Life Sciences
managers
Molinia caerulea
overstory
perennials
Phytovolume
Pine
Pine forest
Pinus pinaster
prediction
Pteridium aquilinum
researchers
Roots
Stands
Supports
Synecology
Terrestrial ecosystems
Understory
woody plants
France
Pine forest
Biomass
Phytovolume
Allometry
Understory
Roots
Pinus pinaster
Forest ecology
Hypogean
Ecosystem
Softwood forest tree
Gymnospermae
Forestry
Coniferales
Spermatophyta
Vegetation structure
Species
Coniferous forest
understory; biomass; roots; allometry; pine forest; phytovolume
ISSN:0378-1127, 1872-7042
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Summary:► We quantified the contribution of understory species to forest ecosystem biomass. ► We tested effective tools for estimating above- and belowground biomass. ► We built allometric relationships to predict biomass for five understory species. ► Understory represented about 27.4% of belowground biomass of ecosystem. ► We predicted aboveground (all species) and belowground biomass (three species). By overemphasizing the role of overstory trees in forest studies, researchers, managers and policy makers could well ignore an important functional component of the forest ecosystem: the understory. This could be particularly true in forests with relatively open canopies. In maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) plantation forests in the southwest of France, a considerable amount of the direct radiation is transmitted through the canopy and is available for the growth of understory species. This study focused on five dominant understory species, including three woody species (Calluna vulgaris L., Erica cinerea L. and Cytisus scoparius L.) and two herbaceous perennials species (Molinia caerulea L. (Moench) and Pteridium aquilinum L. Khun). For each species five pine stands with varying amounts of understory were selected to predict biomass for a wide range of values. The number of pine trees and their dimensions were recorded enabling us to estimate the aboveground and root biomass of the pines using allometric relationships. Biometrical measurements of the understory and destructive harvests were carried out in each stand to measure aboveground, coarse and fine root biomass. The results showed that the understory represented an average of 6.8% of total ecosystem aboveground biomass and 27.4% of total ecosystem root biomass, underlining the need for a broader view of this component of the forest ecosystem. Allometric relationships derived from the biometrical data enabled satisfactory predictions of aboveground biomass for all five understory species and for belowground biomass of three species (M. caerulea, P. aquilinum, C. scoparius); allometric relationships failed to predict root biomass for two woody understory species (E. cinerea and C. vulgaris).
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2012.10.026
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ISSN:0378-1127
1872-7042
DOI:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.10.026