Substantial understory contribution to the C sink of a European temperate mountain forest landscape.

ABSTRACT:

Context

The contribution of forest understory to the temperate forest carbon sink is not well known, increasing the uncertainty in C cycling feedbacks on global climate as estimated by Earth System Models.

Objectives

We aimed at quantifying the effect of woody and non-woody understory vegetation on net ecosystem production (NEP) for a forested area of 158 km² in the European Alps.

Methods

We simulated C dynamics for the period 2000-2014, characterized by above-average temperatures, windstorms and a subsequent bark beetle outbreak for the area, using the regional ecosystem model LandscapeDNDC.

Results

In the entire study area, woody and non-woody understory vegetation caused between 16 and 37% higher regional NEP as compared to a bare soil scenario ov

SUBMITTER: Dirnbock T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7045765 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature