Document: NIC-3-31-10

The contribution of herb layer vegetation to the carbon budget of a temperate deciduous forest.

TURRILL WELCH, N.*, J.M.BELMONT, C.A.WAYSON and J.C.RANDOLPH

Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 ¹

Abstract:
Information concerning the role of herb layer vegetation (vascular plants < 1 m in height) in forest carbon dynamics is limited. A July 1999 study conducted at the AmeriFlux Tower Site in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Indiana, sampled 215 1-m² plots for herb layer species composition and cover. Forty-three of the plots were harvested for aboveground biomass determination and chemical analysis. Data from a summer 1998 whole-plot harvest study of 16 1-m² plots provided information on the substrate supporting this vegetation. Lindera benzoin and Polystichum acrostichoides were the most important herb layer species. Average cover and dry-weight biomass were 68.42 %/m² and 44.82 g/m², respectively. Average carbon content was greatest for woody herb layer components (9.54 g C/m²) followed decreasingly by herbaceous (6.04 g C/m²) and grass (2.32 g C/m²) components. C:N of stems was higher than that of leaves for both woody and herbaceous components. The slightly acidic (pH=5.41) sandy loams underlying the vegetation (0-10 cm) were 1.14% organic matter with a bulk density of 1.03 g/cm³. The amounts of carbon in the litter, duff, soil (0-10 cm), and fine roots (0-20 cm) were 37.61, 95.37, 6.23, and 11.19 g C/m², respectively. Using a preliminary carbon budget for the Morgan-Monroe State Forest, it was estimated that the summer herb layer contributes 0.12% to the total amount of carbon available in the above ground biomass of the forest.

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