Organic Carbon Storage in Evergreen Oak Forest Ecosystems of the Middle and High Moroccan Atlas Areas

Boulmane, Mohamed; Santa-Regina, María del Carmen; Halim, Mohammed; Khia, Abderrahim; Oubrahim, Hayat; Abbassi, H.; Santa‐Regina, Ignacio

doi:10.4236/ojf.2015.53023

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…This supports our statement of a well-watered site based on the observed plasticity of this functional trait according to drought [61,62]. From this first observation, we then conclude that the carbon assimilated by trees is preferentially allocated to the aboveground biomass (leaf and stems), and the measured stem biomass is actually in the highest range of referenced forest sites in the Mediterranean basin [57,63,64], with impressive twig elongations (up to 28.5 cm) compared to [65] where apical twig elongations usually vary between 3.3 cm and 19.6 cm. However, this high aboveground biomass did not lead to a particularly high LAI (1.68 for MS and 1.88 for YS) that we could expect according to the ecohydrological equilibrium theory where, in water limited environments, ecosystems adjust their leaf area to maximize biomass and minimize drought stress [66] and this is usually valid for Mediterranean forests [67].…”

Section: Bellif Ecosystem Peculiar Fertile Conditions Within the Medisupporting

confidence: 86%

Warm and Fertile Sub-Humid Conditions Enhance Litterfall to Sustain High Soil Respiration Fluxes in a Mediterranean Cork Oak Forest

Zribi

Mouillot

Gharbi

et al. 2015

Forests

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Soil respiration is a major component of the global carbon budget and Mediterranean ecosystems have usually been studied in locations with shallow soils, mild temperatures, and a prolonged dry season. This study investigates seasonal soil respiration rates and underlying mechanisms under wetter, warmer, and more fertile conditions in a Mediterranean cork oak forest of Northern Tunisia (Africa), acknowledged as one of the most productive forests in the Mediterranean basin. We applied a soil respiration model based on soil temperature and relative water content and investigated how ecosystem functioning under these favorable conditions affected soil carbon storage through carbon inputs to the soil litter. Annual soil respiration rates varied between 1774 gC m −2 year −1 and 2227 gC m −2 year −1 , which is on the highest range of observations under Mediterranean climate conditions. We attributed this high soil carbon flux as a response to favorable temperatures and soil water content, but this could be sustained only by a small carbon allocation to roots (root/shoot ratio = 0.31-0.41) leading to a large allocation to leaves OPEN ACCESSForests 2015, 6 2919 with a multiannual leaf production, enhanced annual twig elongation (11.5-28.5 cm) with a reduced leaf life span (<1 year) maintaining a low LAI (1.68-1.88) and generating a high litterfall (386-636 gC m −2 year −1 ). Thus, the favorable climatic and edaphic conditions experienced by these Mediterranean cork oak forests drove high soil respiration fluxes which balanced the high carbon assimilation leading to a relatively small overall contribution (10.96-14.79 kgC m −2 ) to soil carbon storage.

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Section: Bellif Ecosystem Peculiar Fertile Conditions Within the Medisupporting

confidence: 86%

Warm and Fertile Sub-Humid Conditions Enhance Litterfall to Sustain High Soil Respiration Fluxes in a Mediterranean Cork Oak Forest

Zribi

Mouillot

Gharbi

et al. 2015

Forests

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“…iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry from the middle Atlas Mountains in Morocco the stock of organic carbon in litter and soils represents between 40 and 55% of the total organic carbon stocks (Boulmane 2010, Boulmane et al 2014. Such distribution over pools depends apparently on the biome.…”

Section: Total Carbon Storage Of the Cork Oak Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon storage in degraded cork oak (Quercus suber) forests on flat lowlands in Morocco

Oubrahim¹,

Boulmane²,

Bakker³

et al. 2016

iForest

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The present study aims to quantify the carbon stored in a degraded cork oak (Quercus suber L.) ecosystem in the north west of Morocco, in view of potential management implications. To this end, carbon stocks were evaluated in the first 100 cm of the soil, the cork oak trees, and the understorey species (both above-and belowground). Results show that the total carbon stocks in the cork oak ecosystem ranges from 65 to 237 Mg ha -1 with a mean value of 121 Mg ha -1 . The first 100 cm of the soil (including the forest floor) represents the largest carbon pool (~51% of the total organic carbon) of the ecosystem. Tree biomass (above-and belowground tissues of cork oak) represents the second largest pool (47%), whereas the contribution of the understorey is less than 2%. Within the first 100 cm of the soil, over 87% of all the soil organic carbon is situated in the first 40 cm of the soil depth. The amount of carbon stored here ranges from 30 to 110 Mg ha -1 and these organic carbon stocks vary considerably with the stand basal area of the cork oak (R 2 = 0.82). In practice, the carbon stocks of the different pools considered are strongly correlated with the stand density of the cork oak stands. In the semi-arid forest ecosystems of our study, management prescriptions aiming at increasing the standing biomass of the cork oak should thus considerably contribute, both directly through tree biomass and indirectly through increased soil organic matter, to efficient carbon sequestration.

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Forest stand and soil types determine soil organic carbon storage in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco using machine learning models

El Mderssa,

Elmalki,

Whalen

et al. 2024

All Earth

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Organic Carbon Storage in Evergreen Oak Forest Ecosystems of the Middle and High Moroccan Atlas Areas

Cited by 3 publications

References 28 publications

Warm and Fertile Sub-Humid Conditions Enhance Litterfall to Sustain High Soil Respiration Fluxes in a Mediterranean Cork Oak Forest

Warm and Fertile Sub-Humid Conditions Enhance Litterfall to Sustain High Soil Respiration Fluxes in a Mediterranean Cork Oak Forest

Carbon storage in degraded cork oak (Quercus suber) forests on flat lowlands in Morocco

Forest stand and soil types determine soil organic carbon storage in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco using machine learning models

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