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Nave LE, DeLyser K, Domke GM, Holub SM, Janowiak MK, Keller AB, Peters MP, Solarik KA, Walters BF, Swanston CW. Land use change and forest management effects on soil carbon stocks in the Northeast U.S. CARBON BALANCE AND MANAGEMENT 2024; 19:5. [PMID: 38319455 PMCID: PMC10845599 DOI: 10.1186/s13021-024-00251-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In most regions and ecosystems, soils are the largest terrestrial carbon pool. Their potential vulnerability to climate and land use change, management, and other drivers, along with soils' ability to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration, makes them important to carbon balance and management. To date, most studies of soil carbon management have been based at either large or site-specific scales, resulting in either broad generalizations or narrow conclusions, respectively. Advancing the science and practice of soil carbon management requires scientific progress at intermediate scales. Here, we conducted the fifth in a series of ecoregional assessments of the effects of land use change and forest management on soil carbon stocks, this time addressing the Northeast U.S. We used synthesis approaches including (1) meta-analysis of published literature, (2) soil survey and (3) national forest inventory databases to examine overall effects and underlying drivers of deforestation, reforestation, and forest harvesting on soil carbon stocks. The three complementary data sources allowed us to quantify direction, magnitude, and uncertainty in trends. RESULTS Our meta-analysis findings revealed regionally consistent declines in soil carbon stocks due to deforestation, whether for agriculture or urban development. Conversely, reforestation led to significant increases in soil C stocks, with variation based on specific geographic factors. Forest harvesting showed no significant effect on soil carbon stocks, regardless of place-based or practice-specific factors. Observational soil survey and national forest inventory data generally supported meta-analytic harvest trends, and provided broader context by revealing the factors that act as baseline controls on soil carbon stocks in this ecoregion of carbon-dense soils. These factors include a range of soil physical, parent material, and topographic controls, with land use and climate factors also playing a role. CONCLUSIONS Forest harvesting has limited potential to alter forest soil C stocks in either direction, in contrast to the significant changes driven by land use shifts. These findings underscore the importance of understanding soil C changes at intermediate scales, and the need for an all-lands approach to managing soil carbon for climate change mitigation in the Northeast U.S.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas E Nave
- College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA.
- Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA.
| | | | - Grant M Domke
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | | | - Maria K Janowiak
- Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA
| | - Adrienne B Keller
- College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA
- Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA
| | - Matthew P Peters
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Delaware, OH, 43015, USA
| | - Kevin A Solarik
- National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc. (NCASI), Montréal, Québec, H3A 3H3, Canada
| | - Brian F Walters
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
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Duden AS, Verweij PA, Faaij APC, Abt RC, Junginger M, van der Hilst F. Spatially-explicit assessment of carbon stocks in the landscape in the southern US under different scenarios of industrial wood pellet demand. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 342:118148. [PMID: 37196622 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Whether the use of industrial wood pellets for bioenergy is part of the problem of climate change or part of the solution to climate change has been heavily debated in the academic and political arena. The uncertainty around this topic is impeded by contradicting scientific assessments of carbon impacts of wood pellet use. Spatially explicit quantification of the potential carbon impacts of increased industrial wood pellet demand, including both indirect market and land-use change effects, is required to understand potential negative impacts on carbon stored in the landscape. Studies that meet these requirements are scarce. This study assesses the impact of increased wood pellet demand on carbon stocks in the landscape in the Southern US spatially explicitly and includes the effects of demand for other wood products and land-use types. The analysis is based on IPCC calculations and highly detailed survey-based biomass data for different forest types. We compare a trend of increased wood pellet demand between 2010 and 2030 with a stable trend in wood pellet demand after 2010, thereby quantifying the impact of increased wood pellet demand on carbon stocks in the landscape. This study shows that modest increases in wood pellets demand (from 0.5 Mt in 2010 to 12.1 Mt in 2030), compared to a scenario without increase in wood pellet demand (stable demand at 0.5 Mt), may result in carbon stock gains of 103-229 Mt in the landscape in the Southern US. These carbon stock increases occur due to a reduction in natural forest loss and an increase in pine plantation area compared to a stable-demand scenario. Projected carbon impacts of changes in wood pellet demand were smaller than carbon effects of trends in the timber market. We introduce a new methodological framework to include both indirect market and land-use change effects into carbon calculations in the landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- A S Duden
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Group Energy & Resources, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584, CB, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - P A Verweij
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Group Energy & Resources, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584, CB, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - A P C Faaij
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Group Energy & Resources, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584, CB, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Energy Transition Studies, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - R C Abt
- College of Natural Resources, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - M Junginger
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Group Energy & Resources, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584, CB, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - F van der Hilst
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Group Energy & Resources, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584, CB, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Wanlong S, Yowhan S, Baishuo H, Xuehua L. An individual tree-based model for estimating regional and temporal carbon storage of Abies chensiensis forest ecosystem in the Qinling Mountains, China. Ecol Modell 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2023.110305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
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Impacts of the US southeast wood pellet industry on local forest carbon stocks. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19449. [PMID: 36376484 PMCID: PMC9663713 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23870-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We assessed the net impacts of a wood-dependent pellet industry of global importance on contemporaneous local forest carbon component pools (live trees, standing-dead trees, soils) and total stocks. We conducted post-matched difference-in-differences analyses of forest inventory data between 2000 and 2019 to infer industrial concurrent and lagged effects in the US coastal southeast. Results point to contemporaneous carbon neutrality. We found net incremental effects on carbon pools within live trees, and no net effects on standing-dead tree nor soil pools. However, we found concurrent lower carbon levels in soils, mixed effects associated with increased procurement pressures and large mill pelletization capacity, and possible spillover effects on standing-dead tree carbon pools beyond commercial procurement distances. There is robust evidence that although some trade-offs between carbon pools exist, the wood pellet industry in this particular context and period has met the overall condition of forest carbon neutrality.
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Smith EM, Vargas R, Guevara M, Tarin T, Pouyat RV. Spatial variability and uncertainty of soil nitrogen across the conterminous United States at different depths. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M. Smith
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware Newark Delaware USA
| | - Rodrigo Vargas
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware Newark Delaware USA
| | - Mario Guevara
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware Newark Delaware USA
| | - Tonantzin Tarin
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware Newark Delaware USA
| | - Richard V. Pouyat
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware Newark Delaware USA
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, NRS‐08 Newark Delaware USA
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Smith JE, Domke GM, Woodall CW. Predicting downed woody material carbon stocks in forests of the conterminous United States. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 803:150061. [PMID: 34525705 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Downed woody material (DWM) is a unique part of the forest carbon cycle serving as a pool between living biomass and subsequent atmospheric emission or transference to other forest pools. Thus, DWM is an individually defined pool in national greenhouse gas inventories. The diversity of DWM carbon drivers (e.g., decay, tree mortality, or wildfire) and associated high spatial variability make this a difficult-to-predict component of forest ecosystems. Using the now fully established nationwide inventory of DWM across the United States (US), we developed models, which substantially improved predictions of stand-level DWM carbon density relative to the current national-reporting model ('previous' model, here). The previous model was developed from published DWM carbon densities prior to the NFI DWM inventory. Those predictions were tested using NFI DWM carbon densities resulting in a poor fit to the data (coefficient of determination, or R2 = 0.03). We present new random forest (RF) and stochastic gradient boosted (SGB) regression models to prediction DWM carbon density on all NFI plots and spatially on all forest land pixels. We evaluated various biotic and abiotic regression predictors, and the most important were standing dead trees, long-term annual precipitation, and long-term maximum summer temperature. A RF model scored best for expanding predictions to NFI plots (R2 = 0.31), while an SGB model was identified for DWM carbon predictions based on purely spatial data (i.e., NFI-plot-independent, with R2 = 0.23). The new RF model predicts conterminous US DWM carbon stocks to be 15% lower than the previous model and 2% higher than NFI data expanded according to inventory design-based inference. The new NFI data-driven models not only improve the predictions of DWM carbon density on all plots, they also provide flexibility in extending these predictions beyond the NFI to make spatially explicit and spatially continuous estimates of DWM carbon on all forest land in the US.
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Affiliation(s)
- James E Smith
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 271 Mast Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA.
| | - Grant M Domke
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 1992 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
| | - Christopher W Woodall
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 271 Mast Road, Durham, NH 03824, USA.
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7
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Folkard‐Tapp H, Banks‐Leite C, Cavan EL. Nature‐based Solutions to tackle climate change and restore biodiversity. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Emma L. Cavan
- Silwood Park Department of Life Sciences Imperial College London Ascot UK
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8
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Nave LE, DeLyser K, Domke GM, Janowiak MK, Ontl TA, Sprague E, Walters BF, Swanston CW. Land use and management effects on soil carbon in U.S. Lake States, with emphasis on forestry, fire, and reforestation. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 31:e02356. [PMID: 33870604 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
There is growing need to quantify and communicate how land use and management activities influence soil organic carbon (SOC) at scales relevant to, and in the tangible control of landowners and forest managers. The continued proliferation of publications and growth of data sets, data synthesis and meta-analysis approaches allows the application of powerful tools to such questions at ever finer scales. In this analysis, we combined a literature review and effect-size meta-analysis with two large, independent, observational databases to assess how land use and management impact SOC stocks, primarily with regards to forest land uses. We performed this work for the (Great Lakes) U.S. Lake States, which comprise 6% of the land area, but 7% of the forest and 9% of the forest SOC in the United States, as the second in a series of ecoregional SOC assessments. Most importantly, our analysis indicates that natural factors, such as soil texture and parent material, exert more control over SOC stocks than land use or management. With that for context, our analysis also indicates which natural factors most influence management impacts on SOC storage. We report an overall trend of significantly diminished topsoil SOC stocks with harvesting, consistent across all three data sets, while also demonstrating how certain sites and soils diverge from this pattern, including some that show opposite trends. Impacts of fire grossly mirror those of harvesting, with declines near the top of the profile, but potential gains at depth and no net change when considering the whole profile. Land use changes showing significant SOC impacts are limited to reforestation on barren mining substrates (large and variable gains) and conversion of native forest to cultivation (losses). We describe patterns within the observational data that reveal the physical basis for preferential land use, e.g., cultivation of soils with the most favorable physical properties, and forest plantation establishment on the most marginal soils, and use these patterns to identify management opportunities and considerations. We also qualify our results with ratings of confidence, based on their degree of support across approaches, and offer concise, defensible tactics for adapting management operations to site-specific criteria and SOC vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- L E Nave
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Biological Station, University of Michigan, Pellston, Michigan, 49769, USA
- Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, 49905, USA
| | - K DeLyser
- American Forests, Washington, DC, 20005, USA
| | - G M Domke
- USDA-Forest Service, Northern Research Station, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA
| | - M K Janowiak
- Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, 49905, USA
- USDA-Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Houghton, Michigan, 49905, USA
| | - T A Ontl
- Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, 49905, USA
| | - E Sprague
- American Forests, Washington, DC, 20005, USA
| | - B F Walters
- USDA-Forest Service, Northern Research Station, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA
| | - C W Swanston
- Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, 49905, USA
- USDA-Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Houghton, Michigan, 49905, USA
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9
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Fusaro C, Sarria-Guzmán Y, Chávez-Romero YA, Luna-Guido M, Muñoz-Arenas LC, Dendooven L, Estrada-Torres A, Navarro-Noya YE. Land use is the main driver of soil organic carbon spatial distribution in a high mountain ecosystem. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7897. [PMID: 31741782 PMCID: PMC6858984 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Terrestrial ecosystems play a significant role in carbon (C) storage. Human activities, such as urbanization, infrastructure, and land use change, can reduce significantly the C stored in the soil. The aim of this research was to measure the spatial variability of soil organic C (SOC) in the national park La Malinche (NPLM) in the central highlands of Mexico as an example of highland ecosystems and to determine the impact of land use change on the SOC stocks through deterministic and geostatistical geographic information system (GIS) based methods. Methods The soil was collected from different landscapes, that is, pine, fir, oak and mixed forests, natural grassland, moor and arable land, and organic C content determined. Different GIS-based deterministic (inverse distance weighting, local polynomial interpolation and radial basis function) and geostatistical interpolation techniques (ordinary kriging, cokriging and empirical Bayes kriging) were used to map the SOC stocks and other environmental variables of the top soil layer. Results All interpolation GIS-based methods described the spatial distribution of SOC of the NPLM satisfactorily. The total SOC stock of the NPLM was 2.45 Tg C with 85.3% in the forest (1.26 Tg C in the A horizon and 0.83 Tg C in the O horizon), 11.4% in the arable soil (0.23 Tg in the A horizon and only 0.05 Tg C in the O horizon) and 3.3% in the high moor (0.07 Tg C in the A horizon and <0.01 Tg C in the O horizon). The estimated total SOC stock in a preserved part of the forest in NPLM was 4.98 Tg C in 1938 and has nearly halved since then. Continuing this trend of converting all the remaining forest to arable land will decrease the total SOC stock to 0.52 Tg C. Discussion Different factors explain the large variations in SOC stocks found in this study but the change in land use (conversion of forests into agricultural lands) was the major reason for the reduction of the SOC stocks in the high mountain ecosystem of the NPLM. Large amounts of C, however, could be stored potentially in this ecosystem if the area was used more sustainable. The information derived from this study could be used to recommend strategies to reverse the SOC loss in NPLM and other high-altitude temperate forests and sequester larger quantities of C. This research can serve as a reference for the analysis of SOC distribution in similar mountain ecosystems in central part of Mexico and in other parts of the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmine Fusaro
- Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas, Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Yohanna Sarria-Guzmán
- Grupo de Investigación en Nutrición y Dietética, Universidad del Sinú, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
| | - Yosef A Chávez-Romero
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Marco Luna-Guido
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Ligia C Muñoz-Arenas
- Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas, Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Luc Dendooven
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Arturo Estrada-Torres
- Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico
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10
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Smith JE, Domke GM, Nichols MC, Walters BF. Carbon stocks and stock change on federal forest lands of the United States. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- James E. Smith
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station Durham New Hampshire USA
| | - Grant M. Domke
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station St. Paul Minnesota USA
| | | | - Brian F. Walters
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station St. Paul Minnesota USA
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11
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Cao B, Domke GM, Russell MB, Walters BF. Spatial modeling of litter and soil carbon stocks on forest land in the conterminous United States. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 654:94-106. [PMID: 30439697 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2018] [Revised: 10/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/27/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Forest ecosystems contribute substantially to carbon (C) storage. The dynamics of litter decomposition, translocation and stabilization into soil layers are essential processes in the functioning of forest ecosystems, as these processes control the cycling of soil organic matter and the accumulation and release of C to the atmosphere. Therefore, the spatial distribution of litter and soil C stocks are important in greenhouse gas estimation and reporting and inform land management decisions, policy, and climate change mitigation strategies. Here we explored the effects of spatial aggregation of climatic, biotic, topographic and soil variables on national estimates of litter and soil C stocks and characterized the spatial distribution of litter and soil C stocks in the conterminous United States (CONUS). Litter and soil variables were measured on permanent sample plots (n = 3303) from the National Forest Inventory (NFI) within the United States from 2000 to 2011. These data were used with vegetation phenology data estimated from LANDSAT imagery (30 m) and raster data describing environmental variables for the entire CONUS to predict litter and soil C stocks. The total estimated litter C stock was 2.07 ± 0.97 Pg with an average density of 10.45 ± 2.38 Mg ha-1, and the soil C stock at 0-20 cm depth was 14.68 ± 3.50 Pg with an average density of 62.68 ± 8.98 Mg ha-1. This study extends NFI data from points to pixels providing spatially explicit and continuous predictions of litter and soil C stocks on forest land in the CONUS. The approaches described illustrate the utility of harmonizing field measurements with remotely sensed data to facilitate modeling and prediction across spatial scales in support of inventory, monitoring, and reporting activities, particularly in countries with ready access to remotely sensed data but with limited observations of litter and soil variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baijing Cao
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Grant M Domke
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA; USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
| | - Matthew B Russell
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Brian F Walters
- USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
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12
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A Forest Model Intercomparison Framework and Application at Two Temperate Forests Along the East Coast of the United States. FORESTS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/f10020180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
State-of-the-art forest models are often complex, analytically intractable, and computationally expensive, due to the explicit representation of detailed biogeochemical and ecological processes. Different models often produce distinct results while predictions from the same model vary with parameter values. In this project, we developed a rigorous quantitative approach for conducting model intercomparisons and assessing model performance. We have applied our original methodology to compare two forest biogeochemistry models, the Perfect Plasticity Approximation with Simple Biogeochemistry (PPA-SiBGC) and Landscape Disturbance and Succession with Net Ecosystem Carbon and Nitrogen (LANDIS-II NECN). We simulated past-decade conditions at flux tower sites located within Harvard Forest, MA, USA (HF-EMS) and Jones Ecological Research Center, GA, USA (JERC-RD). We mined field data available from both sites to perform model parameterization, validation, and intercomparison. We assessed model performance using the following time-series metrics: Net ecosystem exchange, aboveground net primary production, aboveground biomass, C, and N, belowground biomass, C, and N, soil respiration, and species total biomass and relative abundance. We also assessed static observations of soil organic C and N, and concluded with an assessment of general model usability, performance, and transferability. Despite substantial differences in design, both models achieved good accuracy across the range of pool metrics. While LANDIS-II NECN showed better fidelity to interannual NEE fluxes, PPA-SiBGC indicated better overall performance for both sites across the 11 temporal and two static metrics tested (HF-EMS R 2 ¯ = 0.73 , + 0.07 , R M S E ¯ = 4.68 , − 9.96 ; JERC-RD R 2 ¯ = 0.73 , + 0.01 , R M S E ¯ = 2.18 , − 1.64 ). To facilitate further testing of forest models at the two sites, we provide pre-processed datasets and original software written in the R language of statistical computing. In addition to model intercomparisons, our approach may be employed to test modifications to forest models and their sensitivity to different parameterizations.
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13
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Harden JW, Hugelius G, Ahlström A, Blankinship JC, Bond-Lamberty B, Lawrence CR, Loisel J, Malhotra A, Jackson RB, Ogle S, Phillips C, Ryals R, Todd-Brown K, Vargas R, Vergara SE, Cotrufo MF, Keiluweit M, Heckman KA, Crow SE, Silver WL, DeLonge M, Nave LE. Networking our science to characterize the state, vulnerabilities, and management opportunities of soil organic matter. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:e705-e718. [PMID: 28981192 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/17/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Soil organic matter (SOM) supports the Earth's ability to sustain terrestrial ecosystems, provide food and fiber, and retains the largest pool of actively cycling carbon. Over 75% of the soil organic carbon (SOC) in the top meter of soil is directly affected by human land use. Large land areas have lost SOC as a result of land use practices, yet there are compensatory opportunities to enhance productivity and SOC storage in degraded lands through improved management practices. Large areas with and without intentional management are also being subjected to rapid changes in climate, making many SOC stocks vulnerable to losses by decomposition or disturbance. In order to quantify potential SOC losses or sequestration at field, regional, and global scales, measurements for detecting changes in SOC are needed. Such measurements and soil-management best practices should be based on well established and emerging scientific understanding of processes of C stabilization and destabilization over various timescales, soil types, and spatial scales. As newly engaged members of the International Soil Carbon Network, we have identified gaps in data, modeling, and communication that underscore the need for an open, shared network to frame and guide the study of SOM and SOC and their management for sustained production and climate regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer W Harden
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA
| | - Gustaf Hugelius
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Physical Geography and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anders Ahlström
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund, Sweden
| | - Joseph C Blankinship
- Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Ben Bond-Lamberty
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Joint Global Change Research Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | | | - Julie Loisel
- Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Avni Malhotra
- Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Robert B Jackson
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Woods Institute for the Environment and Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Stephen Ogle
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory and Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Claire Phillips
- USDA-ARS Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Rebecca Ryals
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | | | - Rodrigo Vargas
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Sintana E Vergara
- Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - M Francesca Cotrufo
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory and Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Marco Keiluweit
- School of Earth and Sustainability, Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | | | - Susan E Crow
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Whendee L Silver
- Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Marcia DeLonge
- Food and Environment Program, Union of Concerned Scientists, DC, USA
| | - Lucas E Nave
- Biological Station and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Pellston, MI, USA
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14
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Jo I, Potter KM, Domke GM, Fei S. Dominant forest tree mycorrhizal type mediates understory plant invasions. Ecol Lett 2017; 21:217-224. [PMID: 29194909 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2017] [Revised: 07/23/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Forest mycorrhizal type mediates nutrient dynamics, which in turn can influence forest community structure and processes. Using forest inventory data, we explored how dominant forest tree mycorrhizal type affects understory plant invasions with consideration of forest structure and soil properties. We found that arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) dominant forests, which are characterised by thin forest floors and low soil C : N ratio, were invaded to a greater extent by non-native invasive species than ectomycorrhizal (ECM) dominant forests. Understory native species cover and richness had no strong associations with AM tree dominance. We also found no difference in the mycorrhizal type composition of understory invaders between AM and ECM dominant forests. Our results indicate that dominant forest tree mycorrhizal type is closely linked with understory invasions. The increased invader abundance in AM dominant forests can further facilitate nutrient cycling, leading to the alteration of ecosystem structure and functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Insu Jo
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Kevin M Potter
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA
| | - Grant M Domke
- Northern Research Station, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Songlin Fei
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
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