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Biometric Based Carbon Flux Measurements and Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) in a Temperate Deciduous Broad-Leaved Forest Beneath a Flux Tower

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Abstract

Biometric based carbon flux measurements were conducted over 5 years (1999–2003) in a temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest of the AsiaFlux network to estimate net ecosystem production (NEP). Biometric based NEP, as measured by the balance between net primary production (including NPP of canopy trees and of forest floor dwarf bamboo) and heterotrophic respiration (RH), clarified the contribution of various biological processes to the ecosystem carbon budget, and also showed where and how the forest is storing C. The mean NPP of the trees was 5.4 ± 1.07 t C ha−1 y−1, including biomass increment (0.3 ± 0.82 t C ha−1 y−1), tree mortality (1.0 ± 0.61 t C ha−1 y−1), aboveground detritus production (2.3 ± 0.39 t C ha−1 y−1) and belowground fine root production (1.8 ± 0.31 t C ha−1 y−1). Annual biomass increment was rather small because of high tree mortality during the 5 years. Total NPP at the site was 6.5 ± 1.07 t C ha−1 y−1, including the NPP of the forest floor community (1.1 ± 0.06 t C ha−1 y−1). The soil surface CO2 efflux (RS) was averaged across the 5 years of record using open-flow chambers. The mean estimated annual RS amounted to 7.1 ± 0.44 t C ha−1, and the decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) was estimated at 3.9 ± 0.24 t C ha−1. RH was estimated at 4.4 ± 0.32 t C ha−1 y−1, which included decomposition of coarse woody debris. Biometric NEP in the forest was estimated at 2.1 ± 1.15 t C ha−1 y−1, which agreed well with the eddy-covariance based net ecosystem exchange (NEE). The contribution of woody increment (Δbiomass + mortality) of the canopy trees to NEP was rather small, and thus the SOM pool played an important role in carbon storage in the temperate forest. These results suggested that the dense forest floor of dwarf bamboo might have a critical role in soil carbon sequestration in temperate East Asian deciduous forests.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the members of the Takayama Forest Research Station, Institute for Basin Ecosystem Studies, Gifu University, especially Mr. K. Kurumado, for their kind cooperation in the field survey. The 5 year records of the eddy-covariance based NEE was provided by Dr. N. Saigusa of National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. This research was supported by a Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan, and by the Global Environment Research Fund from the Ministry of Environment (S-1 Integrated Study for terrestrial Carbon Management of Asia in the 21st Century Based on Scientific Advancement).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Ibaraki University, 2-1-1 Bunkyo, Mito, Ibaraki, 310-8512, Japan

    Toshiyuki Ohtsuka

  2. Agro-Meteorology Division, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Ibaraki, 305-8604, Japan

    Wenhong Mo

  3. Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0809, Japan

    Takami Satomura

  4. Frontier Research Center for Global Change, Japanese Agency for Marine–Earth Science and Technology, Kanagawa, 236-0001, Japan

    Motoko Inatomi

  5. Institute for Basin Ecosystem Studies, Gifu University, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan

    Hiroshi Koizumi

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  1. Toshiyuki Ohtsuka
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Correspondence to Toshiyuki Ohtsuka.

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Ohtsuka, T., Mo, W., Satomura, T. et al. Biometric Based Carbon Flux Measurements and Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) in a Temperate Deciduous Broad-Leaved Forest Beneath a Flux Tower. Ecosystems 10, 324–334 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-007-9017-z

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