Southern Research Station

Title: Aboveground biomass and nutrient accumulation 20 years after clear-cutting a southern Appalachian watershed

Author: Elliott, Katherine J.; Boring, Lindsay R.; Swank, Wayne T.

Date: 2002

Source: Can. J. For. Res. 32: 667-683 (2002)

Description: In 1975, we initiated a long-term interdisciplinary study of forest watershed ecosystem response to clear- cutting and cable logging in watershed 7 at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in the southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. This paper describes ~20 years of change in species composition, aboveground biomass, leaf area index (LAI), and nutrient pools in the S9-ha mixed hardwood forest of watershed 7 following commercial clear-cutting in winter 1977. We measured woody species in 24 permanently marked plots before cutting in 1974 and during subsequent years (1977-1997). By 1997 (~20 years after cutting), aboveground biomass was 81.7, 96.9, and 85.4 Mg·ha^-1 in the cove hardwood; mesic, mixed-oak; and dry, mixed-oak communities, respectively. Leaf biomass and LAI accumulated relatively faster than total aboveground biomass in all three communities. By 1984, only 7-8 years after cutting, leaf biomass and LAI were nearly equal to the amount estimated for the precut forest. In 1997, nitrogen accumulation was 36, 44, and 61% and phosphorus accumulation was 48, 66, and 59% in the cove-hardwoods; mesic, mixed-oak; and dry, mixed-oak communities of the corresponding precut communities, respectively. Potassium, calcium, and magnesium accumulations were less than either nitrogen or phosphorus accumulation.

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Citation

Elliott, Katherine J.; Boring, Lindsay R.; Swank, Wayne T.  2002.  Aboveground biomass and nutrient accumulation 20 years after clear-cutting a southern Appalachian watershed.   Can. J. For. Res. 32: 667-683 (2002)