Biomass partitioning in red pine (Pinus resinosa) along a chronosequence in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2007

Abstract

Carbon (C) allocation to the perennial coarse-root system of trees contributes to ecosystem C sequestration through formation of long-lived live wood biomass and, following senescence, by providing a large source of nutrient-poor detrital C. Our understanding of the controls on C allocation to coarse-root growth is rudimentary, but it has important implications for projecting belowground net primary production responses to global change. Age-related changes in C allocation to coarse roots represent a critical uncertainty for modeling landscape-scale C storage and cycling. We used a 55 year chronosequence approach with complete above- and below-ground harvests to assess the effects of stand development on biomass partitioning in red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.), a commercially important pine species. Averaged within site, individual-tree root/shoot ratios were dynamic across stand development, changing from 0.17 at 2-, 3-, and 5-year-old sites, to 0.80 at the 8-year-old site, to 0.29 at the 55-year-old site. The results of our study suggest that a current research challenge is to determine the generality of patterns of root-shoot biomass partitioning through stand development for both coniferous and hardwood forest types, and to document how these patterns change as a function of stand age, tree size, environment, and management. © 2007 NRC.

Publication Title

Canadian Journal of Forest Research

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