Carbon stock of beech trees at canopy gaps in temperate Hyrcanian forest (Case study: Alandan forest,Mazandaran)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture Natural Resources, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

2 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture Natural Resources, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Diverse gap sizes have formed in temperate Hyrcanian forests as a result of different silvicultural operations. Understanding the consequences of these practices on forest stand dynamics can help in deciding the choice of silvicultural methods. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of canopy gaps on the carbon stock of beech trees and compare it with the adjacent stand and also the interaction between tree attributes and their carbon stock.
Material and methods: The created gaps from single-tree cutting were classified in three classes of small, medium and large area with five replicates for each. Trees were also identified in the adjacent forest to each gap at a distance of 20 m from four directions of them. Tree height, DBH, surface area, volume, length, diameter of crown and carbon stock of trees were measured. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the average carbon stock index of beech trees in canopy gaps and in different situations as well as for large diameter trees. Independent t-test was applied to compare the average carbon storage in the height classes of the trees and also between the adjacent forest stands with the canopy edges. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the correlation between the index of carbon stock amount with some structural features of beech trees in the edge of the canopy gaps and the adjacent forest stand.
Results and discussion: The findings revealed that the carbon stock of beech trees along the gaps' edges differed significantly (p≤0.05). No significant difference in carbon stock was observed for beech trees among different directions at the edge of the gaps (p≤0.05). There was no significant difference between the mean value carbon storage of trees at the edge of the gaps and the adjacent forest (p≤0.05). The highest mean of carbon was observed in the large-sized trees (3725.28 ± 584.49) at the large gaps. The results of correlation showed that with increasing DBH, height, length and diameter of the crown and the volume of the crown, the amount of carbon storage of trees increased at the edge of the gaps and also in the adjacent forest (p≤0.01).
 
Conclusion: Findings indicate the effect of canopy gap area resulting from the implementation of single-tree selection method in beech forest. The correlation between the structural characteristics of beech trees such as DBH, height and crown area with carbon stock shows that when applying silvicultural methods (tending and logging) in Hyrcanian forests, structural characteristics Beech trees, especially the abundance of large-sized trees, should be considered with more carbon stocks in them.

Keywords


  1.  Ali, A. and Li-Oiu, W., 2021. Big-sized trees and forest functioning: Current knowledge and future perspectives. Ecological Indicators. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107760.

    Agodziński, A.M., Dyderski, M.K., Gęsikiewicz, K.  and Horodecki, P., 2019. Tree and stand level estimations of Abies alba Mill. aboveground biomass. Annals of Forest Science.https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-019-0842-y

    Amolikondori, A., Abrari Vajari ,K. and Feizian, M.,2021. Assessing the effects of forest gaps on beech (Fagus orientalis L.) trees traits in the logged temperate broad-leaf forest, Ecological Indicators. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107689.

    Baishya, R. and Barik, S.K., 2011. Estimation of tree biomass, carbon pool and net primary production of an old-growth Pinus kesiya Royle ex. Gordon forest in north-eastern India. Annals of Forest Science. doi:10.1007/s13595-011-0089-8.

    Blackburn, G.A., Abd Latif, Z. and Sandra Boyd, D., 2014. Forest disturbance and regeneration: a mosaic of discrete gap dynamics and open matrix regimes?. Journal of Vegetation Science.Doi: 10.1111/jvs.12201.

         Bordin, K.M., Esquivel-Muelbert, A., Bergamin, R.S., Klipel, J., Picolotto, R.C., Frangipani, M. A. and Müller, S.C.,

    1. Climate and large-sized trees, but not diversity, drive above-ground biomass in subtropical forests. Forest Ecology

    and Management. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2021.11912.

    de Lima, R.A. F., cio Prado, P.I.,   Martini, A.M.Z., Fonseca, L.J., Gandolfi, S. and Rodrigues, R.R.,2013. Improving methods in gap ecology: revisiting size and shape distributions using a model selection approach. Journal of Vegetation Science. 24, 484–495.

    Forrester, D.I., 2020. Does individual-tree biomass growth increase continuously with tree size? Forest Ecology and Management.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118717.

    Iida, Y., Poorter, L., Sterck, F.J., Kassim, A.R., Kubo, T., Potts, M.D. and Kohyama, T.S., 2012. Wood density explains architectural differentiation across 145 co-occurring tropical tree species. Functional Ecology. 26, 274–282.

    Krejza, J., Světlík, J. and Bednář, P., 2017. Allometric relationship and biomass expansion factors (BEFs) for above- and below-ground biomass prediction and stem volume estimation for ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) and oak (Quercus robur L.). Trees. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-017-1549-z.

    Kunwar, S., Wang, L.Q., Chaudhary, R., Raj Joshi, P. and Ali, A.,2021. Stand density of co-existing species regulates above-ground biomass along a local-scale elevational gradient in tropical forests. Applied Vegetation Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12577.

    Lin, D., Anderson-Teixeira, K.J., Lai, J., Mi, X., Ren, H. and Ma, K.,2016. Traits of dominant tree species predict local scale variation in forest aboveground and topsoil carbon stocks. Plant and  Soil. DOI 10.1007/s11104-016-2976-0.

    Lu, D., Zhu, J., Wu, D., Chen, Q., Yu, Y., Wang, J., Zhu, C., Liu, H., Gao, T. and Wang, G.,2020. Detecting dynamics and variations of crown asymmetry induced by natural gaps in a temperate secondary forest using terrestrial laser scanning. Forest Ecology and Management..https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118289.

    Lu, D., Wang, G.G., Yan, Q., Gao, T. and Zhu, J., 2018. Effects of gap size and within-gap position on seedling growth and biomass allocation: Is the gap partitioning hypothesis applicable to the temperate secondary forest ecosystems in Northeast China? Forest Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.07.031.

    Lu, D., Zhua, J., Wu, D., Chen, Q., Yu, Y.  Wang, J., Zhu, C., Liua, H., Gao, T. and Wang, G.G.,2020. Detecting dynamics and variations of crown asymmetry induced by natural gaps in a temperate secondary forest using terrestrial laser scanning. Forest Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118289.

    Lu, D., Zhu, J., Wang, X, Hao, G. and Wang, G.G.,2021. A systematic evaluation of gap size and within-gap position effects on seedling regeneration in a temperate secondary forest, Northeast China. Forest Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119140.

    Luo, Y., Wang, X., Zhang, X. Ren,Y. and Poorter,H., 2013. Variation in biomass expansion factors for China’s forests in relation to forest type, climate, and stand development. Annals of Forest Science. 70, 589–599.

    Maren, I.E. and Sharma, L.N.,2021. Seeing the wood for the trees: Carbon storage and conservation in temperate forests of the Himalayas. Forest Ecology and Management. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119010

    Martin, M., Woodbury, D., Glogower, Y., Duguid, M., Frey, B. and Mark Ashton, M.,2021. Within-gap position shapes fifty years of forest dynamics in a temperate hardwood forest in Connecticut, USA. Forest Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119311.

    Matala, J., Kärkkäinen, L., Härkönen, K., Kellomäki, S. and  Nuutinen, T., 2009. Carbon sequestration in the growing stock of trees in Finland under diverent cutting and climate scenarios. European Journal of Forest Research. 128, 493–504. DOI 10.1007/s10342-009-0299-x.

    Menendez‑Miguelez, M., Ruiz‑Peinado, R.,    Del Rio, M. and   Calama, R., 2021. Improving tree biomass models through crown ratio patterns and incomplete data sources. European Journal of Forest Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-021-01354-3.

    Mensah, S., Noulekoun, F. and Ago, E., 2020. Aboveground tree carbon stocks in West African semi-arid ecosystems: Dominance patterns, size class allocation and structural drivers. Global Ecology and Conservation.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01331.

    Mohan, K.C., Mason, E.G. and Bown, H.E., 2020. Linking above-ground biomass production to below-ground carbon fluxes across stocking, clone, fertilization, and understory elimination in Pinus radiate   D. Don plantations, New Zealand. Forest Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118469.

    Najafian Ashrafi, M., Shaabani Asrami, H., Vosoughi Rudgar, Z., Ghorbanian Far, M., Heidari, A., Rastbod, E., Jafarzadeh, H., Salehi, M., Bari, E. and Ribera, J., 2021. Comparison of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Beech and Walnut Wood from Iran and Georgian Beech Forests. Forests. 12, 801. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12060801.

    Orman, O., Dobrowolskab, D. and Szwagrzykc, J., 2018. 9/Gap regeneration patterns in Carpathian old-growth mixed beech forests –Interactive effects of spruce bark beetle canopy disturbance and deer herbivory. Forest Ecology and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.08.031.

    Pan, Y., Birdsey, R.A., Fang, J., Houghton, R., Kauppi, P.E., Kurz, W.A., Phillips, O.L., Shvidenko, A., Lewis, S.L., Canadell, J.G., Ciais, P., Jackson, R.B., Pacala, S.W., McGuire, A.D., Piao, S., Rautiainen, A., Sitch, S. and Hayes, D., 2011. A large and persistent carbon sink in the world’s forests. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/ science.1201609.

    Saimun, S.R., Karim, R., Sultana, F. and Arfin-Khan, M.A.S., 2021. Multiple drivers of tree and soil carbon stock in the tropical forest ecosystems of Bangladesh. Trees, Forests and People. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2021.100108.  

     Senécal, J.F., Doyon, F. and Messier, C., 2018. Management implications of varying gap detection height thresholds and other canopy dynamics processes in temperate deciduous forests. Forest Ecology and Management .https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.12.029.

    Thom, D. and Keeton, W.S.,2019. Stand structure drives disparities in carbon storage in northern hardwood conifer forests. Forest Ecology and Management. 442, 10–20.

    Yuan, Z., Wang, S., Ali, A., Gazol, A., Ruiz-Benito, P., Wang, X., Lin, F., Ye, J., Hao, Z. and Loreau, M., 2018. Aboveground carbon storage is driven by functional trait composition and stand structural attributes rather than biodiversity in temperate mixed forests recovering from disturbances. Annals of Forest Science. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s13595-018-0745-3.

    Yuan, Z., Ali, A., Sanaei, A., Ruiz-Benito, P., Jucker, T., Fang, L. and Wang, X., 2021. Few large trees, rather than plant diversity and composition, drive the above-ground biomass stock and dynamics of temperate forests in northeast China. Forest Ecology and Management.doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2020.11869

    Zhu, J., Zhu, C., Lu, D., Wang, G.G., Zheng, X., Cao, J. and Zhang, J., 2021. Regeneration and succession: A 50-year gap dynamic in temperate secondary forests, Northeast China. Forest Ecology and Management.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.118943.

    Zobeiry, M . (1994).Forest Inventory(Meaurement of Tree and Stand).Tehran University Press.383 p.