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Title: ASSESSMENT OF CARBON STOCKS IN SOIL AND DOWNED WOOD IN FORESTS OF THE NORTH CENTRAL U.S. USING FOREST INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS DATA

Author
item O Neill, Katherine
item WOODALL, CHRISTOPHER - USDA FOREST SERVICE
item AMACHER, MICHAEL - USDA FOREST SERVICE

Submitted to: Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/11/2004
Publication Date: 8/11/2004
Citation: O Neill, K.P., Woodall, C., Amacher, M. 2004. Assessment of carbon stocks in soil and downed wood in forests of the north central u.s. using forest inventory and analysis data. Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Downed wood, the forest floor, and the upper soil horizons are primary reservoirs for carbon (C) in forest ecosystems. However, the high cost and logistical difficulty of sampling these reservoirs has limited their inclusion in broad scale inventories. In 2000, the USDA Forest Service incorporated soil and downed wood variables into its national forest inventory, allowing for systematic sampling of ground-layer C reservoirs across all forested regions of the U.S. using nationally-standardized procedures. This study combined soil and downed wood data from 2000-2002 to derive an integrated estimate of C storage for seven North Central states. Averaged across all plots, C storage was greatest in the 0-10 cm horizon (mean value of 31.18 ± 15.56 Mg C ha-1), as compared to 20.74 ± 21.98 Mg C ha-1 in the 10-20 cm layer and 6.48 ± 6.16 Mg C ha-1 in the forest floor. Highest soil profile C estimates were associated with Spodosols (66.9 ± 3.8 Mg ha-1) and Mollisols (64.7 ± 4.4 Mg ha-1); lowest C storage was associated with Ultisols (39.1 ± 2.8 Mg ha-1). Across all plots, C storage in coarse woody debris (greater than 7.6 cm diameter) was significantly greater than that estimated for finer materials (5.58 ± 0.73 Mg C ha-1 vs. 2.69 ± 0.14 Mg ha-1). The spatial distribution of C storage for both soils and downed wood showed higher C densities associated with northern forests of the upper Great Lakes states.