Soil CO2 respiration of forest floor after whole-tree harvesting of spruce stands

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Global warming will affect the maximum potential abundance of boreal plant species

Forecasting the impact of future global warming on biodiversity requires understanding how temperature limits the distribution of species. Here we rely on Liebig's Law of Minimum to estimate the effect of temperature on the maximum potential abundance that a species can attain at a certain location. We develop 95%‐quantile regressions to model the influence of effective temperature sum on the maximum potential abundance of 25 common understory plant species of Finland, along 868 nationwide plots sampled in 1985. Fifteen of these species showed a significant response to temperature sum that was consistent in temperature‐only models and in all‐predictors models, which also included cumulative precipitation, soil texture, soil fertility, tree species and stand maturity as predictors. For species with significant and consistent responses to temperature, we forecasted potential shifts in abundance for the period 2041–2070 under the IPCC A1B emission scenario using temperature‐only models. We predict major potential changes in abundance and average northward distribution shifts of 6–8 km yr−1. Our results emphasize inter‐specific differences in the impact of global warming on the understory layer of boreal forests. Species in all functional groups from dwarf shrubs, herbs and grasses to bryophytes and lichens showed significant responses to temperature, while temperature did not limit the abundance of 10 species. We discuss the interest of modelling the ‘maximum potential abundance’ to deal with the uncertainty in the predictions of realized abundances associated to the effect of environmental factors not accounted for and to dispersal limitations of species, among others. We believe this concept has a promising and unexplored potential to forecast the impact of specific drivers of global change under future scenarios.202

Stem emissions of monoterpenes, acetaldehyde, and methanol from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) affected by tree water relations and cambial growth

Abstract Tree stems are an overlooked source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Their contribution to ecosystem processes and total VOC fluxes is not well studied, and assessing it requires better understanding of stem emission dynamics and their driving processes. To gain more mechanistic insight into stem emission patterns, we measured monoterpene, methanol, and acetaldehyde emissions from the stems of mature Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) in a boreal forest over three summers. We analysed the effects of temperature, soil water content, tree water status, transpiration, and growth on the VOC emissions, and used generalized linear models to test their relative importance in explaining the emissions. We show that Scots pine stems are considerable sources of monoterpenes, methanol, and acetaldehyde, and their emissions are strongly regulated by temperature. However, even small changes in water availability affected the emission potentials: increased soil water content increased the monoterpene emissions within a day, whereas acetaldehyde and methanol emissions responded within two to four days. This lag corresponded to their transport time in the xylem sap from the roots to the stem. Moreover, the emissions of monoterpenes, methanol, and acetaldehyde were influenced by the cambial growth rate of the stem with six- to ten-day lags. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Biomass distribution in a young Scots pine stand

The standing biomass of a young Scots pine stand was measured at the SMEAR II experimental station in Hyytiälä, southern Finland. The stem volume was found to be 119 m3 ha–1, corresponding to 41450 kg ha–1 in stem biomass. The needle biomass was 5100 kg ha–1 and was constituted mainly by the two youngest needle age classes. The branch biomass was 9040 kg ha–1 and the root biomass 12 520 kg ha–1. The height of the first living branches was found to vary from 2.2 to 6.9 m, whereas the variation in tree height was between 4.1 and 14 m. The needle surface area was 3.9 m2 m–2 and the root length and surface area were 4180 m m–2 and 8.8 m2 m–2, respectively. More than half of the total fine root surface area was found in the upper 10 cm of the soil

Calibration of time domain reflectometry for forest soil humus layers

Time domain reflectometry (TDR) has become a widely used method for determining the volumetric water content of soils. However, due to the differences in bulk density and surface area, the relationship between the dielectric constant and water content in organic soils is very different from that in mineral soil. It is therefore impossible to have a universal calibration suitable for all soil types. In this article we describe the relationship between the apparent dielectric constant (Ka) and volumetric water content ([theta]v) for homogenized and undisturbed humus layers (Of + Oh) from forested soil using three empirical models. There was a clear relationship between the Ka and [theta]v and this relationship was best described (R2 = 0.968) with a logarithmic equation of the form [theta]v = aln(Ka) – b. Accurate determination of sample volume was the main source of variation in the calibration, having a greater effect on the calibration results than differences in bulk density

Modelling effects of soil acidification on tree growth and nutrient status

Understanding the effects of soil acidification on tree growth requires understanding the nutrient relations of trees and stands, notably the uptake of nutrients by the roots in relation to soil conditions. Although a substantial amount of research has been carried out on nutrient relationships, both on plant and stand scale, changes in nutrient uptake as a result of soil acidification are hard to predict. This poses serious problems for attempts to model nutrient uptake by roots in relation to changes in soil chemistry induced by acidification and nitrogen enrichment. Very detailed mechanistic models of root uptake have been developed, but the extrapolation of rhizosphere models developed under controlled, laboratory conditions to field situations is cumbersome. On the other hand, general models of nutrient dynamics very often lack the sensitivity that is required to describe the reaction to gradually changing site conditions. This renders difficult the linkage between critical loads derived from soil criteria, and tree and stand reactions such as allocation and growth. In the models applied to Solling, most emphasis is on soil chemistry, with only few models accounting for feedback mechanisms between soil conditions and tree growth. From the model results presented during the workshop, it would appear that nitrogen and magnesium are the key elements in Solling, but such conclusion is biased as much the same assumption also underlies the guiding concepts on which the models are based. From the models presented at the workshop, no clear consensus emerged on the predictions of the consequences of changes in soil chemistry. At this stage, there seems to be a clear need for additional experimental results on nutrient transport in soil, on decomposition under changed soil conditions, and on nutrient uptake in the case of competition between different ions. In addition, more detailed information on the response of uptake kinetics and biomass allocation in case of reduced nutrient supply, would improve deterministic models of nutrient relations of trees. From such experimental information, theoretical understanding can be derived, and perspectives for generalization and modelling can be drawn