Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2016, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (5): 458-468.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2015.0313

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Characteristics of stump stock and decomposition in Pinus massoniana plantation

Qin WANG1, Wan-Qin YANG1,2,*, Fu-Zhong WU1,2, Jian ZHANG1,2, Bo TAN1,2, Xi-Tao ZHANG1   

  1. 1Sichuan Agricultural University Institute of Forestry & Ecology, Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory of Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130, China

    2Collaborative Innovation Center of Ecological Security in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River, Chengdu 611130
  • Online:2016-05-10 Published:2016-05-25
  • Contact: Wan-Qin YANG

Abstract: <i>Aims</i>

Stump plays crucial roles in maintaining soil fertility, sequestering carbon, nursing biodiversity, and conserving soil and water in plantation ecosystems. However, little is known about the decay of stump and the related roots in Pinus massoniana plantations. This study aims to explore the characteristics of stump stock and decomposition in the P. massoniana plantation.

<i>Methods</i>

Based on log file records of P. massoniana plantation from Laifu Forestry Management Institute in Yibin City of Sichuan Province, we established a chronosequence of decaying P. massoniana stumps from 1999 to 2013. We then investigated the stock and density of stump wood (SW), bark (B), stomp root (SR), and linked roots with different diameters (R1: 0 mm < diameter ≤10 mm; R2: 10 mm < diameter ≤25 mm; R3: 25 mm < diameter ≤100 mm; R4: diameter > 100 mm).

<i>Important findings</i>

In the investigated P. massoniana plantations, the stump stocks ranged from 5 to 58 t·hm-2, stocks in stump wood was the largest, in stump root as the second, and in bark was the smallest, which decreased with the decomposing time. Correspondingly, stump density decreased with decomposing time, while the changes in density varied with stump wood, stump root and roots with different diameters. The decomposition constants of stump wood, bark and stump root were estimated at 0.061, 0.027 and 0.036, respectively. The decomposition constants of roots were estimated to be 0.079 for R1, 0.042 for R2, 0.047 for R3 and 0.119 for R4, respectively. In conclusion, the P. massoniana plantation has a high stock, but decomposes slowly and the decomposition constant varies greatly with stump components in the P. massoniana plantation, which provides certain theoretical basis for the sustainable management of P. massoniana plantation in the region.

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Key words: Pinus massoniana plantation, stump, decomposition sequence, stock, decomposition characteristics