TY - JOUR
T1 - Biotic and abiotic drivers of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stocks in a temperate rainforest
AU - Perez-Quezada, Jorge F.
AU - Pérez, Cecilia A.
AU - Brito, Carla E.
AU - Fuentes, Juan P.
AU - Gaxiola, Aurora
AU - Aguilera-Riquelme, David
AU - Lopatin, Javier
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors are grateful for the funding provided by the National Commission for Science and Technology of Chile, through the grants FONDECYT 1130935 and 1171239, and to Ernesto Flores, Carolina León, Patricia Salvo, Paul Urrutia, Lely Soto, Wladimir Silva, and Pedro Lemunao for their help with the fieldwork. This study was partly funded by the National Agency for Innovation and Development (ANID, Chile) through the Associative Research Program AIC-37 and AFB170008 from the Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad to AG and CP. This is a contribution to the Research Program of Senda Darwin Biological Station and the Chilean Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research Network (LTSER-Chile).
Funding Information:
The authors are grateful for the funding provided by the National Commission for Science and Technology of Chile, through the grants FONDECYT 1130935 and 1171239, and to Ernesto Flores, Carolina León, Patricia Salvo, Paul Urrutia, Lely Soto, Wladimir Silva, and Pedro Lemunao for their help with the fieldwork. This study was partly funded by the National Agency for Innovation and Development (ANID, Chile) through the Associative Research Program AIC-37 and AFB170008 from the Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad to AG and CP. This is a contribution to the Research Program of Senda Darwin Biological Station and the Chilean Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research Network (LTSER-Chile).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2021/8/15
Y1 - 2021/8/15
N2 - Forest ecosystems are recognized for their large capacity to store carbon (C) in their aboveground and belowground biomass and soil pools. While the distribution of C among ecosystem pools has been extensively studied, less is known about nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pools and how these stocks relate to each other. There is also a need to understand how biotic and abiotic ecosystem properties drive the magnitude and distribution of C-N-P stocks. We studied a temperate rainforest in southern South America to answer the following questions: 1) how are C-N-P total stocks distributed among the different ecosystem pools?, 2) how do C:N, C:P and N:P ratios vary among ecosystem pools?, and 3) which are the main biotic and abiotic drivers of C-N-P stocks? We established 33 circular plots to estimate C, N, and P stocks in different pools (i.e. trees, epiphytes, understory, necromass, leaf litter, and soil) and a set of biotic (e.g., tree density and richness) and abiotic variables (e.g., air temperature, humidity and soil depth). We used structural equation modeling to identify the relative importance of environmental drivers on C-N-P stocks. We found that total ecosystem stocks (mean ± SE) were 1062 ± 58 Mg C ha−1, 28.8 ± 1.5 Mg N ha−1, and 347 ± 12.5 kg P ha−1. The soil was the largest ecosystem pool, containing 68%, 92%, and 73% of the total C, N, and P stocks, respectively. Compared to representative temperate forests, the soil of this forest contains the largest concentrations and stocks of C and N. The low P stock and wide soil C:P and N:P ratios suggest that P may be limiting forest productivity. The ecosystem C-N-P stocks were mainly driven by abiotic properties measured in the study area, however for N stocks, variables such as plant diversity and canopy openness were also relevant. Our results provide evidence about the importance not only of understanding the differences in C, N, and P stocks but also of the factors that drive such differences. This is key to inform conservation policies related to preserving old-growth forests in southern South America, which indeed are facing a rapid land-use change process.
AB - Forest ecosystems are recognized for their large capacity to store carbon (C) in their aboveground and belowground biomass and soil pools. While the distribution of C among ecosystem pools has been extensively studied, less is known about nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pools and how these stocks relate to each other. There is also a need to understand how biotic and abiotic ecosystem properties drive the magnitude and distribution of C-N-P stocks. We studied a temperate rainforest in southern South America to answer the following questions: 1) how are C-N-P total stocks distributed among the different ecosystem pools?, 2) how do C:N, C:P and N:P ratios vary among ecosystem pools?, and 3) which are the main biotic and abiotic drivers of C-N-P stocks? We established 33 circular plots to estimate C, N, and P stocks in different pools (i.e. trees, epiphytes, understory, necromass, leaf litter, and soil) and a set of biotic (e.g., tree density and richness) and abiotic variables (e.g., air temperature, humidity and soil depth). We used structural equation modeling to identify the relative importance of environmental drivers on C-N-P stocks. We found that total ecosystem stocks (mean ± SE) were 1062 ± 58 Mg C ha−1, 28.8 ± 1.5 Mg N ha−1, and 347 ± 12.5 kg P ha−1. The soil was the largest ecosystem pool, containing 68%, 92%, and 73% of the total C, N, and P stocks, respectively. Compared to representative temperate forests, the soil of this forest contains the largest concentrations and stocks of C and N. The low P stock and wide soil C:P and N:P ratios suggest that P may be limiting forest productivity. The ecosystem C-N-P stocks were mainly driven by abiotic properties measured in the study area, however for N stocks, variables such as plant diversity and canopy openness were also relevant. Our results provide evidence about the importance not only of understanding the differences in C, N, and P stocks but also of the factors that drive such differences. This is key to inform conservation policies related to preserving old-growth forests in southern South America, which indeed are facing a rapid land-use change process.
KW - Biomass
KW - Deadwood
KW - Evergreen broadleaf forest
KW - Nutrients
KW - Patagonia
KW - Vines
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106989017&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119341
DO - 10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119341
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85106989017
SN - 0378-1127
VL - 494
JO - Forest Ecology and Management
JF - Forest Ecology and Management
M1 - 119341
ER -