Limited sink but large storage: Biomass dynamics in naturally developing beech (Fagus sylvatica) and oak (Quercus robur,Quercus petraea) forests of north‐western Germany

Abstract

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Tracking tree history to understand better natural dynamics of old-growth forest stands

“…Nevertheless, the dynamics of living and dead trees are usually investigated and assessed separately (e.g. Lorimer et al 2004;Holzwarth et al 2013;Vrška et al 2015;Huber et al 2020;Meyer et al 2021;Woods et al 2021), contrary to the fact that population dynamics of living and dead trees are rmly interconnected by mortality events and rates according to Eq-1 and Eq-2. The suggested tree history framework is an appropriate approach to ll this gap.…”

“…Most of the tree population dynamic investigations focus on the balance of ingrowth regeneration and mortality (i.e. Meyer et al 2021;Ward et al 2021) with no wider scope to incorporate dead wood dynamics. Our framework and methodology are formulated comprehensively for the rst time in this paper.…”

“…Old-growth forests and forest reserves left for free development are unique objects to study natural stand dynamics shaped by small-scale disturbances and the population biology of trees (Leibundgut 1982;Meyer 1997;Burrascano et al 2008;Bauhus et al 2009;Nagel et al 2014;Sabatini et al 2015). Long term monitoring of these forests can provide basic datasets for a better understanding of background processes (Vrška et al 2015;Meyer et al 2021), and advance the development of forest dynamics models (Bugmann 2001;Fontes et al 2010;Heiri et al 2009a) and to the improvement of nature-based solutions of sustainable and conservation-oriented forest management (Bauhus et al 2009;Bobiec 2002;Boncina 2011;EEA 2021;Hahn and Christensen 2004;Nagel et al 2013).…”

“…Differentiation of the age and diameter distribution of trees begins slowly, species composition and dominance relations change, and the number of large and standing dead trees increases (Demeter et al 2020;Lábusová et al 2019). After some decades, a conspicuous accumulation of dead trees shapes the formerly managed stands looking like ancient ones (Vandekerkhove et al 2009;Aszalós et al 2017;Meyer and Schmidt 2011;Meyer et al 2021).…”

“…A further knowledge gap, according to relevant literature sources, is that the structure and dynamics of the living trees and deadwood are usually studied separately (e.g. Bugmann 2001;Bobiec 2002;Bütler et al 2007;Heiri et al 2009b;Lorimer et al 2004;Holzwarth et al 2013;Burrille et al 2018;Hararuk et al 2020;Huber et al 2020;Meyer et al 2021;Woods et al 2021), even though these two groups of phenomena are closely connected by tree mortality.…”