Respiratory costs of woody tissues in a Quercus pyrenaica coppice
Long-term coppicing leads to the development of massive root systems. A disproportionate carbon investment in root maintenance has been pointed as a cause of the widespread decline of abandoned coppices. We aimed at assessing how coppicing has influenced root and shoot development and related carbon...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF)
2018-06-01
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| Series: | iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://iforest.sisef.org/contents/?id=ifor2599-011 |
| _version_ | 1819075718198329344 |
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| author | Salomón RL Rodríguez-Calcerrada J Gil L Valbuena-Carabaña M |
| author_facet | Salomón RL Rodríguez-Calcerrada J Gil L Valbuena-Carabaña M |
| author_sort | Salomón RL |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Long-term coppicing leads to the development of massive root systems. A disproportionate carbon investment in root maintenance has been pointed as a cause of the widespread decline of abandoned coppices. We aimed at assessing how coppicing has influenced root and shoot development and related carbon loss ascribed to maintenance of woody tissues in Quercus pyrenaica. For this goal, results from published studies on root dynamics, woody biomass and respired CO2 fluxes in an abandoned Q. pyrenaica coppice were integrated and extended to quantify overall respiratory expenditures of above- and below-ground woody organs. Internal and external CO2 fluxes together with soil CO2 efflux were monitored in eight stems from one clone across a growing season. Stems and roots were later harvested to quantify the functional biomass and scale up root and stem respiration (RR and RS, respectively) to the clone and stand levels. Below- and above-ground biomass was roughly equal. However, the root-to-shoot ratio of respiration (RR/RS) was generally below one. Relatively higher RS suggests enhanced metabolic activity aboveground during the growing season, and highlights an unexpected but substantial contribution of RS to respiratory carbon losses. Moreover, soil and stem CO2 efflux to the atmosphere in Q. pyrenaica fell in the upper range of reported rates for various forest stands distributed worldwide. We conclude that both RS and RR represent an important carbon sink in this Q. pyrenaica abandoned coppice. Comparatively high energetic costs in maintaining multiple stems per tree and centennial root systems might constrain aboveground performance and contribute to coppice stagnation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T18:29:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d85a8c5d1feb449ebf485779ea2e44d5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1971-7458 1971-7458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T18:29:52Z |
| publishDate | 2018-06-01 |
| publisher | Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry |
| spelling | doaj.art-d85a8c5d1feb449ebf485779ea2e44d52022-12-21T18:54:19ZengItalian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF)iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry1971-74581971-74582018-06-0111143744110.3832/ifor2599-0112599Respiratory costs of woody tissues in a Quercus pyrenaica coppiceSalomón RL0Rodríguez-Calcerrada J1Gil L2Valbuena-Carabaña M3Forest Genetics and Ecophysiology Research Group, E.T.S. Forestry Engineering, Technical University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid (Spain)Forest Genetics and Ecophysiology Research Group, E.T.S. Forestry Engineering, Technical University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid (Spain)Forest Genetics and Ecophysiology Research Group, E.T.S. Forestry Engineering, Technical University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid (Spain)Forest Genetics and Ecophysiology Research Group, E.T.S. Forestry Engineering, Technical University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid (Spain)Long-term coppicing leads to the development of massive root systems. A disproportionate carbon investment in root maintenance has been pointed as a cause of the widespread decline of abandoned coppices. We aimed at assessing how coppicing has influenced root and shoot development and related carbon loss ascribed to maintenance of woody tissues in Quercus pyrenaica. For this goal, results from published studies on root dynamics, woody biomass and respired CO2 fluxes in an abandoned Q. pyrenaica coppice were integrated and extended to quantify overall respiratory expenditures of above- and below-ground woody organs. Internal and external CO2 fluxes together with soil CO2 efflux were monitored in eight stems from one clone across a growing season. Stems and roots were later harvested to quantify the functional biomass and scale up root and stem respiration (RR and RS, respectively) to the clone and stand levels. Below- and above-ground biomass was roughly equal. However, the root-to-shoot ratio of respiration (RR/RS) was generally below one. Relatively higher RS suggests enhanced metabolic activity aboveground during the growing season, and highlights an unexpected but substantial contribution of RS to respiratory carbon losses. Moreover, soil and stem CO2 efflux to the atmosphere in Q. pyrenaica fell in the upper range of reported rates for various forest stands distributed worldwide. We conclude that both RS and RR represent an important carbon sink in this Q. pyrenaica abandoned coppice. Comparatively high energetic costs in maintaining multiple stems per tree and centennial root systems might constrain aboveground performance and contribute to coppice stagnation.https://iforest.sisef.org/contents/?id=ifor2599-011Carbon LossCO2 FluxesCoppice StagnationOakResprouting SpeciesRoot RespirationStem Respiration |
| spellingShingle | Salomón RL Rodríguez-Calcerrada J Gil L Valbuena-Carabaña M Respiratory costs of woody tissues in a Quercus pyrenaica coppice iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry Carbon Loss CO2 Fluxes Coppice Stagnation Oak Resprouting Species Root Respiration Stem Respiration |
| title | Respiratory costs of woody tissues in a Quercus pyrenaica coppice |
| title_full | Respiratory costs of woody tissues in a Quercus pyrenaica coppice |
| title_fullStr | Respiratory costs of woody tissues in a Quercus pyrenaica coppice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Respiratory costs of woody tissues in a Quercus pyrenaica coppice |
| title_short | Respiratory costs of woody tissues in a Quercus pyrenaica coppice |
| title_sort | respiratory costs of woody tissues in a quercus pyrenaica coppice |
| topic | Carbon Loss CO2 Fluxes Coppice Stagnation Oak Resprouting Species Root Respiration Stem Respiration |
| url | https://iforest.sisef.org/contents/?id=ifor2599-011 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT salomonrl respiratorycostsofwoodytissuesinaquercuspyrenaicacoppice AT rodriguezcalcerradaj respiratorycostsofwoodytissuesinaquercuspyrenaicacoppice AT gill respiratorycostsofwoodytissuesinaquercuspyrenaicacoppice AT valbuenacarabanam respiratorycostsofwoodytissuesinaquercuspyrenaicacoppice |