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In Situ Decomposition Of Northern Hardwood Tree Boles: Decay Rates And Nutrient Dynamics In Wood And Bark, Chris E. Johnson, Thomas G. Siccama, Ellen G. Denny, Mary Margaret Koppers, Daniel J. Vogt

Civil and Environmental Engineering

The decomposition of coarse woody debris contributes to forest nutrient sustainability and carbon balances, yet few field studies have been undertaken to investigate these relationships in northern hardwood forests. We used a paired-sample approach to study the decomposition of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), American beech (Fagus grandifolia Erhr.), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) boles at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. Mass loss over 16 yr followed a first-order exponential decay pattern with half-lives ranging from 4.9 to 9.4 yr in bark, and 7.3 to 10.9 yr in wood. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations …