Journal
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
Volume 140, Issue 1-4, Pages 23-40Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2006.08.001
Keywords
boreal forest; harvesting; scarification; carbon balance; net ecosystem productivity; eddy covariance; black spruce; jack pine
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Carbon (C) cycling in the boreal forest is driven by both natural and human disturbances, but there is little information on the impact of forest management practices on ecosystem-level C balance. We evaluated the C balance of a recently harvested boreal site in eastern Canada by measuring CO, fluxes with the eddy covariance technique for 1 year before the application of a scarification treatment (mechanical site preparation) and for 1 year after the treatment was applied to approximately 40% of the study area. Net annual exchange indicated a source of 111 g C m(-2) year(-1) before scarification that increased to 175 g C m(-2) year(-1) after treatment. Annual gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) and net C flux varied between years, but there was no significant difference for ecosystem respiration. Since the differences in climate between years did not explain the changes in the site C balance and daytime net C sequestration under non-limiting environmental conditions was generally lower after the treatment, the large difference in C emissions was most likely due to decreased GEP resulting from the destruction of approximately 60% of the living aboveground vegetation within the scarified areas. Although daily NEP was almost always negative throughout the year, a net daily C sink was observed during a 2-week period in late summer 2003 when air temperatures were approximately 8 degrees C cooler than preceding weeks. An analysis of the residuals from light-response regressions showed that soil water content and vapor pressure deficit were the second most important variables explaining morning and afternoon net C flux in 2003 and 2004, respectively. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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