Living and Dead Aboveground Biomass in Mediterranean Forests: Evidence of Old-Growth Traits in a Quercus pubescens Willd. s.l. Stand

Badalamenti, Emilio; Mantia, Tommaso La; Mantia, Giovanni La; Cairone, Antonino; Veca, Donato Salvatore La Mela

doi:10.3390/f8060187

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…As observed by Badalamenti et al [44] in similar conditions, the amount of CWD in the evergreen oak forest was more equally distributed between categories in each decay class and, conversely, the snags prevailed in DC 1 and DC 2. In the other cases, log frequency was higher and consisted of woody debris that had naturally fallen and never been removed.…”

Section: Deadwood Volume By Component Species Diameter Classes Andsupporting

confidence: 75%

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Structure and Dynamics of Deadwood in Pine and Oak Stands and their Role in CO2 Sequestration in Lowland Forests of Central Italy

Monaco

Luziatelli

Latterini

et al. 2020

Forests

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There are many data values describing deadwood in primary forests, however, there is much less information concerning managed forests, particularly in the Mediterranean area. Whole non-living woody biomass (deadwood) is the main component of forest types that plays a vital role in improving and maintaining biodiversity. The dynamics of deadwood and CO2 sequestration by deadwood were examined in three Mediterranean lowland forests: pine forest Pinus pinea L.), evergreen oak forest (Quercus ilex and Quercus suber L.), and deciduous oak forest (Quercus cerris L.). The aim of this study was to carry out a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the deadwood to gather useful information for the Mediterranean forest management, and to provide some useful data that can be integrated into the methods of estimation for carbon stored in dead components of Mediterranean forest types. The investigations focused on the characterization of the deadwood, to determine which traits are dominant and their potentially functionality within the forest type. Results indicated the deciduous oak type had the highest amount of stand volume (379 m3/ha), deadwood volume (161.8 m3/ha), and C storage (31.43 t/ha). The major component of dead wood was the standing dead trees or snags. There was a higher volume of deadwood in the deciduous oak forest than in the pine and evergreen oak forests. In addition, the deciduous oak forest had a higher snag creation index, a higher fallen log creation index, and a higher past management index compared to pine and evergreen oak forest types. Deadwood volume increased as the decay class in the deciduous oak forest increased, while this trend decreased in the evergreen oak and pine forests. The amount of deadwood was affected by the forest type and forest management regime. Dynamic and past management of deadwood indices indicated that their structure was still in the initial phase of creation and decay in the pine and evergreen oak forests. A comparison with other studies on similar forest types brought out that the variation range of the main parameters for the management of deadwood fell within the variation of the parameters studied. However, the values of these parameters cover a broad range. The population of each forest type is extremely sensitive to the different evolutionary periods of the forest dynamics.

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Section: Deadwood Volume By Component Species Diameter Classes Andsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…Figure 6. Deadwood presence (log m 3 /ha) for decay classes in the three forest types studied compared with reference [44]. Figure 6.…”

Section: Deadwood Volume By Component Species Diameter Classes Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and Dynamics of Deadwood in Pine and Oak Stands and their Role in CO2 Sequestration in Lowland Forests of Central Italy

Monaco

Luziatelli

Latterini

et al. 2020

Forests

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“…s.l.) OGF in Sicily (363.9 m 3 ha -1 ) [12] and in a holm oak OGF in Campania (379.0 m 3 ha -1 ) [13], under cooler and wetter climatic conditions. Furthermore, as according to ISPRA [38] the holm oak woods have a 1:1 root/shoot biomass ratio, the belowground carbon pool in the OGF in our study may be as large as 100 Mg ha -1 , determining a carbon stock in total living woody biomass (aboveground plus belowground) of about 200 Mg ha -1 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, although the classical theory by Odum [9] would provide that OGFs are carbon neutral, recent evidence has shown otherwise that they can continue to accumulate carbon in plant biomass and in soils for many centuries before reaching a dynamic steady state [7,10]. Very few studies have been carried out in potentially old-growth Mediterranean oak forests [11,12], including Italy, where the identified OGFs, mostly beech stands, are estimated to cover about 160,000 ha [13]. Although they are likely to be rare, some oak OGF has been reported and investigated in the last few years [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon stock increases up to old growth forest along a secondary succession in Mediterranean island ecosystems

et al. 2019

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The occurrence of old-growth forests is quite limited in Mediterranean islands, which have been subject to particularly pronounced human impacts. Little is known about the carbon stocks of such peculiar ecosystems compared with different stages of secondary succession. We investigated the carbon variation in aboveground woody biomass, in litter and soil, and the nitrogen variation in litter and soil, in a 100 years long secondary succession in Mediterranean ecosystems. A vineyard, three stages of plant succession (high maquis, maquis-forest, and forest-maquis), and an old growth forest were compared. Soil samples at two soil depths (0–15 and 15–30 cm), and two litter types, relatively undecomposed and partly decomposed, were collected. Carbon stock in aboveground woody biomass increased from 6 Mg ha -1 in the vineyard to 105 Mg ha -1 in old growth forest. Along the secondary succession, soil carbon considerably increased from about 33 Mg ha -1 in the vineyard to about 69 Mg ha -1 in old growth forest. Soil nitrogen has more than doubled, ranging from 4.1 Mg ha -1 in the vineyard to 8.8 Mg ha -1 in old growth forest. Both soil parameters were found to be affected by successional stage and soil depth but not by their interaction. While the C/N ratio in the soil remained relatively constant during the succession, the C/N ratio of the litter strongly decreased, probably following the progressive increase in the holm oak contribution. While carbon content in litter decreased along the succession, nitrogen content slightly increased. Overall, carbon stock in aboveground woody biomass, litter and soil increased from about 48 Mg ha -1 in the vineyard to about 198 Mg ha -1 in old growth forest. The results of this study indicate that, even in Mediterranean environments, considerable amounts of carbon may be stored through secondary succession processes up to old growth forest.

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“…However, the role of forests as a carbon pool is only ensured if the proportion of living biomass exceeds the loss of carbon due to dying biomass, forest fires, and harvest. In the context of climate change, Mediterranean forests are consid-ered vulnerable to the loss of biodiversity and carbon storage services (Fischlin et al 2007, Badalamenti et al 2017. Moreover, the projections of the effects of climate change in Mediterranean basin may lead to reduced productivity and lower resilience of forests (Sferlazza et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of traditional forest management on carbon storage in a Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppice

Sferlazza¹,

Maetzke²,

Iovino³

et al. 2018

iForest

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In the last decade, there has been increased interest in measuring and modeling storage in the five forest carbon pools: the aboveground and belowground biomass (living biomass), the deadwood and litter (dead biomass), and the soil (soil organic matter). In this paper, we examined carbon storage in a holm oak coppice stand in the Madonie Mountains in Sicily (Italy), which is a typical case of managed coppice stands. Today, traditional coppice practices are only applied to a small number of forested areas in Sicily, such as the selected site, because of the decline in demand for wood and charcoal. The dendrometric parameters of the stands were recorded, and silvicultural indices were calculated immediately after cutting as well as during and at the end of the rotation period; they showed the trends typical of coppices. The carbon stocks in the five carbon pools were quantified to investigate the effects of coppicing on carbon storage in this Mediterranean area. Results showed that the lowest living biomass values were observed in the first years following coppicing, except for litter carbon. Belowground biomass and the soil carbon stock did not vary significantly with coppicing. During the rotation period, the aboveground biomass was completely restored, and the balance of the carbon stocks indicates that coppicing is a sustainable forest management choice from the point of view of the carbon balance, given that the logged trees are generally used for bioenergy production.Citation: Sferlazza S, Maetzke FG, Iovino M, Baiamonte G, Palmeri V, La Mela Veca DS (2018). Effects of traditional forest management on carbon storage in a Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppice.

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Living and Dead Aboveground Biomass in Mediterranean Forests: Evidence of Old-Growth Traits in a Quercus pubescens Willd. s.l. Stand

Cited by 21 publications

References 52 publications

Structure and Dynamics of Deadwood in Pine and Oak Stands and their Role in CO2 Sequestration in Lowland Forests of Central Italy

Structure and Dynamics of Deadwood in Pine and Oak Stands and their Role in CO2 Sequestration in Lowland Forests of Central Italy

Carbon stock increases up to old growth forest along a secondary succession in Mediterranean island ecosystems

Effects of traditional forest management on carbon storage in a Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppice

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