HR: 10:35h
AN: B22C-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Influence of overstory on total soil carbon and soil carbon aggregation in temperate forest plantations in Wisconsin
AU: * Stoffel, J L
EM: jlmartin3@wisc.edu
AF: Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, 1630 Linden Drive, 120 Russell Laboratories, Madison, WI 53706, United States
AU: Gower, S T
EM: stgower@wisc.edu
AF: Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, 1630 Linden Drive, 120 Russell Laboratories, Madison, WI 53706, United States
AB: Soil stores the most carbon of all terrestrial systems and we are only beginning to uncover the role of tree species for storing soil carbon and nitrogen. This study characterized the total soil carbon and nitrogen storage and the storage of soil carbon and nitrogen in various aggregate fractions in forest soils of five different species within the top 15 cm of soil. Forest plantations of 45 year old red pine, white pine, European larch, Norway spruce, and red oak were located at the Coulee Experimental Forest in La Crosse County, WI. The carbon and nitrogen content within free microaggregates differs significantly among species. Additionally IPOM (intra- aggregate particulate organic matter from this fraction differ significantly among species with Norway spruce generally having more soil carbon and nitrogen than other species. IPOM nitrogen in for Norway spruce was significantly greater than European larch and red pine, and red oak had significantly more nitrogen than European larch for the same fraction. Other aggregate fractions were not significantly different among species perhaps suggesting that more time would be needed for the organic matter to be incorporated into large and small macroaggregates. The results of this study suggest that different tree species sequester carbon and nitrogen differently within aggregate classes which may have implications for long term carbon sequestration and potentially selection of species for soil carbon storage.
DE: 4806 Carbon cycling (0428)
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting