Temperate Primary Forest Biomass Accumulates over Centuries-Long Time Frames

• Published in: Ecosystems (New York) Vol. 26; no. 8; pp. 1685 - 1702
• Main Authors: Ralhan, Dheeraj, Keith, Heather, Pavlin, Jakob, Stegehuis, Annemiek Irene, Marchand, William, Fruleux, Alexandre, Poláček, Miroslav, Svitok, Marek, Nagel, Thomas A., Mikoláš, Martin, Kozák, Daniel, Buechling, Arne, Dušátko, Martin, Janda, Pavel, Chaskovsky, Oleh, Roibu, Cătălin-Constantin, Svoboda, Miroslav
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accumulation; Beech; Biomass; biomass production; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotic factors; Carbon; Carbon sinks; climate; Climate change mitigation; Coniferous forests; data collection; Dendrochronology; Ecology; Ecosystem components; Environmental Management; Fagus; Forest biomass; Forests; Geoecology/Natural Processes; Hydrology/Water Resources; inventories; Life Sciences; Mixed forests; Mountain forests; Plant Sciences; Regression analysis; Regression models; Surveys; tree age; Zoology; carbon stocks; forest maturity; forest biomass; biomass distribution; primary forest; climatic variability
• ISSN: 1432-9840; 1435-0629
• DOI: 10.1007/s10021-023-00858-w

Primary forests provide critical climate regulation functions through the capture and storage of carbon in biomass reservoirs. The capacity of primary forests to sustain biomass levels and the possible consequences of warming-induced increases in extreme disturbances are unresolved questions. We investigated the drivers of biomass accumulation in European primary mountain forests in the Carpathians. We used inventory datasets from a continental-scale survey of remnant primary forests to quantify levels of aboveground live and dead biomass across mixed beech and spruce forest types. We formulated nonlinear regression models to estimate the effects of abiotic and biotic factors, including plot-level disturbance history and tree age using dendrochronological methods. Our analyses show that biomass stocks are comparable with stocks present in other primary forests of temperate regions. Highest mean total biomass in mixed beech forests was in southern landscapes (491 ± 81 Mg ha −1 ) and western for spruce forests (388 ± 106 Mg ha −1 ). Forests maintained positive biomass accumulation rates over centuries-long time frames, mean plot-level age peaking at ~ 225 years. We demonstrate that primary forests continue to function as carbon sinks at older ages. Preserving the integrity of unmanaged forests serves as an important climate mitigation strategy.