Preview

PDF 2012-Sohn et al...pdf | Download (371kB) Available under University of Tasmania Standard License. | Preview

Abstract

Forests carrying large quantities of live and dead wood are important carbon (C) stores. Here, we investigate how the inventory of coarse woody debris (CWD) and its embedded C (CWD-C) may be designed efficiently at the scale of logs, plots, and the landscape in Tasmanian tall Eucalyptus obliqua forests, which have very high levels of CWD (here 375–1085 m³ ha–1). From a set of 12 sites representing different times since disturbance, a thorough census of dead wood >10 cm in diameter was carried out at five sites using a fixed-plot (50 × 50 m) approach. This showed that 90% of the volume can be captured by recording only CWD logs >40 cm in diameter. Based on this approach and on the known density and C content of five different decay-classes, volume, mass, and CWD-C was determined for all 12 sites. To obtain an accurate estimate of CWD-C at the landscape scale, it was found to be sufficient to allocate entire individual logs to single decay-classes and to use one global value for C content instead of decay-class-specific values. The most decayed logs, which are difficult to measure, could be ignored. However, at the plot level, no relationships were found between CWD mass and either standing or downed CWD or standing-tree biomass, limiting the utility of these proxies for assessing CWD volume.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Sohn, J and McElhinny, C and Grove, SJ and Hilbig, E and Bauhus, J
Keywords:	Coarse woody debris, monitoring, logs, decay-class, carbon, Royal Society of Tasmania, RST, Van Diemens Land, natural history, science, papers & proceedings, Australia,
Journal or Publication Title:	Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
ISSN:	0080-4703
DOI / ID Number:	https://doi.org/10.26749/rstpp.147.15
Copyright Information:	Copyright The Royal Society of Tasmania
Collections:	Royal Society Collection > Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

Actions (login required)

Item Control Page