Mountain forest biomass dynamics and its drivers in southwestern China between 1979 and 2017
Reforested areas can act as important carbon (C) sinks. In China, extensive reforestation has been carried out in mountainous regions, with resulting C storage affected by forest age, forest type and environmental settings. Evaluations of forest C sequestration therefore require a detailed spatio-te...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22007610 |
| _version_ | 1811340196285775872 |
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| author | Ting Li Yi Zou Yang Liu Peng Luo Qinli Xiong Heng Lu Changhong Lai Jan C. Axmacher |
| author_facet | Ting Li Yi Zou Yang Liu Peng Luo Qinli Xiong Heng Lu Changhong Lai Jan C. Axmacher |
| author_sort | Ting Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reforested areas can act as important carbon (C) sinks. In China, extensive reforestation has been carried out in mountainous regions, with resulting C storage affected by forest age, forest type and environmental settings. Evaluations of forest C sequestration therefore require a detailed spatio-temporal analysis of C storage dynamics. Here, we used aboveground biomass (AGB) of trees as a proxy for overall forest C storage to investigate spatiotemporal patterns and changes in AGB of 136,988 individual trees distributed over 1399 permanent plots in the forests of Sichuan province, China. Mean AGB of young plantation forests increased more rapidly at 5.25 ± 1.15 Mg ha−1 year−1 than that of natural forest (2.56 ± 0.38 Mg ha−1 year−1). Forest stand age, tree species diversity and tree density were superior predictors of AGB when compared to environmental and climatic factors. Linear Mixed Effect models accounting for stand age showed significant AGB storage increases with increasing soil depth as well as with decreasing longitude and altitude. Stocks in plantation forests also increased with southerly exposition and decreasing slope steepness, while in natural forests, slope steepness showed positive correlations. Warming temperatures depressed AGB increases across all forests, while decreasing annual precipitation negatively affected AGB increases in natural forest, only. Our study highlights that, to sustain forest AGB gains into the future, management especially of forest plantations needs to promote species-rich, unevenly-aged, climate-adapted forests stands. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:38:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d156852b5c0049ac9c191e2b7a1f02dc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:38:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-d156852b5c0049ac9c191e2b7a1f02dc2022-12-22T02:34:49ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2022-09-01142109289Mountain forest biomass dynamics and its drivers in southwestern China between 1979 and 2017Ting Li0Yi Zou1Yang Liu2Peng Luo3Qinli Xiong4Heng Lu5Changhong Lai6Jan C. Axmacher7Key Laboratory of the Evaluation and Monitoring of Southwest Land Resources (Ministry of Education), Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610068, China; The Faculty Geography Resource Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610068, China; Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of the Evaluation and Monitoring of Southwest Land Resources (Ministry of Education), Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610068, China.Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, ChinaSichuan Forestry and Grassland Research and Planning Institute, Chengdu 610041, ChinaKey Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, ChinaKey Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, ChinaThe Faculty Geography Resource Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610068, ChinaSichuan Forestry and Grassland Research and Planning Institute, Chengdu 610041, ChinaUCL Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Agricultural University of Iceland, Keldnaholt, Reykjavik, IcelandReforested areas can act as important carbon (C) sinks. In China, extensive reforestation has been carried out in mountainous regions, with resulting C storage affected by forest age, forest type and environmental settings. Evaluations of forest C sequestration therefore require a detailed spatio-temporal analysis of C storage dynamics. Here, we used aboveground biomass (AGB) of trees as a proxy for overall forest C storage to investigate spatiotemporal patterns and changes in AGB of 136,988 individual trees distributed over 1399 permanent plots in the forests of Sichuan province, China. Mean AGB of young plantation forests increased more rapidly at 5.25 ± 1.15 Mg ha−1 year−1 than that of natural forest (2.56 ± 0.38 Mg ha−1 year−1). Forest stand age, tree species diversity and tree density were superior predictors of AGB when compared to environmental and climatic factors. Linear Mixed Effect models accounting for stand age showed significant AGB storage increases with increasing soil depth as well as with decreasing longitude and altitude. Stocks in plantation forests also increased with southerly exposition and decreasing slope steepness, while in natural forests, slope steepness showed positive correlations. Warming temperatures depressed AGB increases across all forests, while decreasing annual precipitation negatively affected AGB increases in natural forest, only. Our study highlights that, to sustain forest AGB gains into the future, management especially of forest plantations needs to promote species-rich, unevenly-aged, climate-adapted forests stands.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22007610Aboveground biomassCarbon sequestrationClimate changeForest stand structureMountain forest |
| spellingShingle | Ting Li Yi Zou Yang Liu Peng Luo Qinli Xiong Heng Lu Changhong Lai Jan C. Axmacher Mountain forest biomass dynamics and its drivers in southwestern China between 1979 and 2017 Ecological Indicators Aboveground biomass Carbon sequestration Climate change Forest stand structure Mountain forest |
| title | Mountain forest biomass dynamics and its drivers in southwestern China between 1979 and 2017 |
| title_full | Mountain forest biomass dynamics and its drivers in southwestern China between 1979 and 2017 |
| title_fullStr | Mountain forest biomass dynamics and its drivers in southwestern China between 1979 and 2017 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mountain forest biomass dynamics and its drivers in southwestern China between 1979 and 2017 |
| title_short | Mountain forest biomass dynamics and its drivers in southwestern China between 1979 and 2017 |
| title_sort | mountain forest biomass dynamics and its drivers in southwestern china between 1979 and 2017 |
| topic | Aboveground biomass Carbon sequestration Climate change Forest stand structure Mountain forest |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22007610 |
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