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Biomass and Carbon Storage in an Age-Sequence of Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis) Plantation Forests in Central Korea

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Abstract

This study examined the biomass and carbon pools of the main ecosystem components in an age sequence of five Korean pine plantation forest stands in central Korea. The C contents in the tree and ground vegetation biomass, coarse woody debris, forest floor, and mineral soil were estimated by analyzing the C concentration of each component. The aboveground and total tree biomass increased with increasing stand age. The highest C concentration across this chronosequence was found in the tree branch while the lowest C concentration was found in the ground vegetation. The observed C contents for tree components, ground vegetation, and coarse woody debris were generally lower than the predicted C contents estimated from a biomass C factor of 0.5. Forest floor C content was age-independent. Total mineral soil C content appeared to decline initially after establishing Korean pine plantations and recover by the stand age of 35 years. Although aboveground tree biomass C content showed considerable accumulation with increasing age, the relative contribution of below ground C to total ecosystem C content varied substantially. These results suggest that successional development as temporal factor has a key role in estimating the C storage in Korean pine plantation forests.

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Acknowledgments

This study was carried out with the support of “Forest Science & Technology Projects (Project No. S1107L0101)” provided by Korea Forest Service.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Resources, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 200-701, South Korea

    **aodong Li, Myong Jong Yi & Mi Jeong Jeong

  2. Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, 136-701, South Korea

    Yowhan Son

  3. Department of Forest Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-921, South Korea

    Pil Sun Park

  4. Korean Forest Research Institute, Seoul, 130-712, South Korea

    Kyeong Hak Lee, Yeong Mo Son & Rae Hyun Kim

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  1. **aodong Li
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  2. Myong Jong Yi
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Correspondence to Myong Jong Yi.

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Li, X., Yi, M.J., Son, Y. et al. Biomass and Carbon Storage in an Age-Sequence of Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis) Plantation Forests in Central Korea. J. Plant Biol. 54, 33–42 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12374-010-9140-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12374-010-9140-9

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