Optimal rotation length for carbon sequestration in Eucalyptus plantations in subtropical China

Author

• Xiaoguo Zhou
• Yuanguang WenEmail author
• Uromi Manage Goodale
• Hua Zuo
• Hongguang Zhu
• Xiaoqiong Li
• Yeming You
• Li Yan
• Yong Su
• Xueman Huang

1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.

Article

First Online: 16 May 2017

Abstract

Most Eucalyptus plantations are intensively managed as short-rotation plantations and carbon (C) storage in plants and soils in stands older than 10 years is not well understood. We examined the changes in plant biomass C and soil organic C (SOC) storage across a chronosequence of E. urophylla × E. grandis forests (4-, 7-, 10-, 13-, and 21-year-old) in subtropical China. Biomass C stock significantly increased with stand age. SOC storage increased initially after afforestation, peaking in 10-year-old stands, and declined gradually. Ecosystem C pools in the five development stages were 111.76, 167.66, 234.04, 281.00, and 299.29 Mg ha−1, respectively. Trees and soils were the dominant C pools across all stand ages with the contribution of tree biomass C storage significantly increasing and SOC storage decreasing with age. Eucalyptus plantations are still in vigorous growth phase and have great potential for C sequestration at the end of the current rotation length (within 7 years). Considering the sharp decrease of annual biomass C increment rate and the gradual loss of SOC storage in stands older than 13 years, we recommend the optimal length for one full Eucalyptus plantation cycle should be 12–15 years in subtropical China to maximize land-use value and carbon sink value.

References

1. Archibold O, Acton C, Ripley E (2000) Effect of site preparation on soil properties and vegetation cover, and the growth and survival of white spruce (Picea glauca) seedlings, in Saskatchewan. For Ecol Manag 131:127–141CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Bao SD (2000) Soil agro-chemistrical analysis. China Agricultural Press, Beijing, pp 25–35 (in Chinese)Google Scholar
3. Booth TH (2013) Eucalypt plantations and climate change. For Ecol Manag 301:28–34CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. Cao Y, Fu S, Zou X, Cao H, Shao Y, Zhou L (2010) Soil microbial community composition under Eucalyptus plantations of different age in subtropical China. Eur J Soil Biol 46:128–135CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. Cao J, Wang X, Tian Y, Wen Z, Zha T (2012) Pattern of carbon allocation across three different stages of stand development of a Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) forest. Ecol Res 27:883–892CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6. Chen GS, Yang ZJ, Gao R, Xie JS, Guo JF, Huang ZQ, Yang YS (2013) Carbon storage in a chronosequence of Chinese fir plantations in southern China. For Ecol Manag 300:68–76CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Corbeels M, McMurtrie RE, Pepper DA, Mendham DS, Grove TS, O’Connell AM (2005) Long-term changes in productivity of eucalypt plantations under different harvest residue and nitrogen management practices: a modelling analysis. For Ecol Manag 217:1–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8. Diaz-Balteiro L, Rodriguez LCE (2006) Optimal rotations on Eucalyptus plantations including carbon sequestration—a comparison of results in Brazil and Spain. For Ecol Manag 229:247–258CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9. Drake PL, Mendham DS, Ogden GN (2013) Plant carbon pools and fluxes in coppice regrowth of Eucalyptus globulus. For Ecol Manag 306:161–170CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. Du H, Zeng F, Peng W, Wang K, Zhang H, Liu L, Song T (2015) Carbon storage in a Eucalyptus plantation chronosequence in Southern China. Forests 6:1763–1778CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11. FAO (ed) (2010) Global forest resources assessment 2010 main report. RomeGoogle Scholar
12. Forrester DI (2013) Growth responses to thinning, pruning and fertiliser application in Eucalyptus plantations: a review of their production ecology and interactions. For Ecol Manag 310:336–347CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13. Gower ST (2003) Patterns and mechanisms of the forest carbon cycle. Annu Rev Environ Resour 28:169–204CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Guo J, Yang Y, Chen G, Xie J, Gao R, Qian W (2010) Effects of clear-cutting and slash burning on soil respiration in Chinese fir and evergreen broadleaved forests in mid-subtropical China. Plant Soil 333:249–261CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15. Haeussler S, Bedford L, Boateng JO, MacKinnon A (1999) Plant community responses to mechanical site preparation in northern interior British Columbia. Can J For Res 29:1084–1100CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16. Harmon ME, Marks B (2002) Effects of silvicultural practices on carbon stores in Douglas-fir western hemlock forests in the Pacific Northwest, USA: results from a simulation model. Can J For Res 32:863–877CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17. He Y, Qin L, Li Z, Liang X, Shao M, Tan L (2013) Carbon storage capacity of monoculture and mixed-species plantations in subtropical China. For Ecol Manag 295:193–198CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18. Hooker TD, Compton JE (2003) Forest ecosystem carbon and nitrogen accumulation during the first century after agricultural abandonment. Ecol Appl 13:299–313CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19. Houghton R (2005) Aboveground forest biomass and the global carbon balance. Glob Change Biol 11:945–958CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20. Huang Z, He Z, Wan X, Hu Z, Fan S, Yang Y (2013) Harvest residue management effects on tree growth and ecosystem carbon in a Chinese fir plantation in subtropical China. Plant Soil 364:303–314CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21. IPCC (2000) The scientific basis, intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, CambridgeGoogle Scholar
22. Kaipainen T, Liski J, Pussinen A, Karjalainen T (2004) Managing carbon sinks by changing rotation length in European forests. Environ Sci Policy 7:205–219CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23. Li X, Yi MJ, Son Y, Park PS, Lee KH, Son YM, Kim RH, Jeong MJ (2011) Biomass and carbon storage in an age-sequence of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) plantation forests in central Korea. J Plant Biol 54:33–42CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24. Li X, Ye D, Liang H, Zhu H, Qin L, Zhu Y, Wen Y (2015) Effects of successive rotation regimes on carbon stocks in Eucalyptus plantations in subtropical China measured over a full rotation. PLoS ONE 10:0132858. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132858Google Scholar
25. Liski J, Pussinen A, Pingoud K, Mäkipää R, Karjalainen T (2001) Which rotation length is favourable to carbon sequestration? Can J For Res 31:2004–2013CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26. Liu GS (1996) Soil physical and chemical analysis & description of soil profiles. China Standards Press, Beijing, pp 5–7 (in Chinese)Google Scholar
27. Liu W, Wu J, Fan H, Li Y, Yuan Y, Liao Y, Huang R, Hu L, Fang H, Guo H (2013) Carbon pools in an age sequence of Eucalyptus plantation forests. Ecol Environ Sci 22:12–17 (in Chinese)Google Scholar
28. Ming A, Jia H, Zhao J, Tao Y, Li Y (2014) Above- and below-ground carbon stocks in an indigenous tree (Mytilaria laosensis) plantation chronosequence in subtropical China. PLoS ONE 9:e109730. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109730CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
29. Nghiem N (2014) Optimal rotation age for carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation in Vietnam. For Policy Econ 38:56–64CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30. Nguyen N, Nguyen V, Bui C, Trinh Q (2006) Why do farmers choose to harvest small-sized timber? A Survey in Yen Bai Province, Northern Vietnam. No tp200607t2, EEPSEA Special and Technical Paper from Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA). http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/eeptpaper/tp200607t2.htm. Retrieved 12 May 2016
31. Niu D, Wang S, Ouyang Z (2009) Comparisons of carbon storages in Cunninghamia lanceolata and Michelia macclurei plantations during a 22-year period in southern China. J Environ Sci (China) 21:801–805CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32. Noh NJ, Son Y, Lee SK, Seo KW, Heo SJ, Yi MJ, Park PS, Kim RH, Son YM, Lee KH (2010) Carbon and nitrogen storage in an age-sequence of Pinus densiflora stands in Korea. Sci China Life Sci 53:822–830CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
33. Pan Y, Birdsey RA, Fang J, Houghton R, Kauppi PE, Kurz WA, Phillips OL, Shvidenko A, Lewis SL, Canadell JG (2011) A large and persistent carbon sink in the world’s forests. Science 333:988–993CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
34. Paul K, Polglase P, Nyakuengama J, Khanna P (2002) Change in soil carbon following afforestation. For Ecol Manag 168:241–257CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35. Peichl M, Arain MA (2006) Above- and belowground ecosystem biomass and carbon pools in an age-sequence of temperate pine plantation forests. Agr For Meteorol 140:51–63CrossRefGoogle Scholar
36. Peltoniemi M, Makipaa R, Liski J, Tamminen P (2004) Changes in soil carbon with stand age—an evaluation of a modelling method with empirical data. Glob Change Biol 10:2078–2091CrossRefGoogle Scholar
37. Pregitzer KS, Euskirchen ES (2004) Carbon cycling and storage in world forests: biome patterns related to forest age. Glob Change Biol 10:2052–2077CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38. Pussinen A, Karjalainen T, Mäkipää R, Valsta L, Kellomäki S (2002) Forest carbon sequestration and harvests in Scots pine stand under different climate and nitrogen deposition scenarios. For Ecol Manag 158:103–115CrossRefGoogle Scholar
39. Ranatunga K, Keenan RJ, Wullschleger SD, Post WM, Tharp ML (2008) Effects of harvest management practices on forest biomass and soil carbon in eucalypt forests in New South Wales, Australia: simulations with the forest succession model LINKAGES. For Ecol Manag 255:2407–2415CrossRefGoogle Scholar
40. Richter DD, Markewitz D, Trumbore SE, Wells CG (1999) Rapid accumulation and turnover of soil carbon in a re-establishing forest. Nature 400:56–58CrossRefGoogle Scholar
41. Scalenghe R, Celi L, Costa G, Laudicina VA, Santoni S, Vespertino D, La Mantia T (2015) Carbon stocks in a 50-year-old Eucalyptus camaldulensis stand in Sicily, Italy. South For J For Sci 77:263–267Google Scholar
42. Sun OJ, Campbell J, Law BE, Wolf V (2004) Dynamics of carbon stocks in soils and detritus across chronosequences of different forest types in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Glob Change Biol 10:1470–1481CrossRefGoogle Scholar
43. Tang J, Bolstad PV, Martin JG (2009) Soil carbon fluxes and stocks in a Great Lakes forest chronosequence. Glob Change Biol 15:145–155CrossRefGoogle Scholar
44. UNFCCC (2001) Review of the implementation of commitments and other provisions of the convention. In: Report of the conference of the parties, sixth session, part 2, Bonn. Document FCCC/CP/2001/L.7. http://www.unfccc.de. Retrieved 8 May 2016
45. van Kooten GC, Binkley CS, Delcourt G (1995) Effect of carbon taxes and subsidies on optimal forest rotation age and supply of carbon services. Am J Agric Econ 77:365–374CrossRefGoogle Scholar
46. Volkova L, Weston C (2013) Redistribution and emission of forest carbon by planned burning in Eucalyptus obliqua (L. Hérit.) forest of south-eastern Australia. For Ecol Manag 304:383–390CrossRefGoogle Scholar
47. Wang FM, Xu X, Zou B, Guo ZH, Li ZA, Zhu WX (2013) Biomass accumulation and carbon sequestration in four different aged Casuarina equisetifolia coastal shelterbelt plantations in south China. PLoS ONE 8:0077449. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0077449CrossRefGoogle Scholar
48. Wen YG (2008) Eucalyptus ecological, social issues and scientific development. China Forestry Publishing House, Beijing, pp 15–20 (in Chinese)Google Scholar
49. Wen YG, Ye D, Chen F, Liu SR, Liang HW (2010) The changes of understory plant diversity in continuous cropping system of Eucalyptus plantations, South China. J For Res 15:252–258CrossRefGoogle Scholar
50. Williams RA (2015) Mitigating biodiversity concerns in Eucalyptus plantations located in south China. J Biosci Med 3:1–8Google Scholar
51. Wink C, Reinert DJ, Müller I, Reichert JM, Jacomet L (2013) The Eucalyptus sp. age plantations influencing the carbon stocks. Ciência Florestal 23:333–343CrossRefGoogle Scholar
52. Xiang D, Simpson J, Zhou G, Lun ZJ (2006) Sustainable soil management of eucalypt plantations: with reference to the Dongmen Situation. Guangxi For Sci 4:206–212Google Scholar
53. Xing W, Bu D, Ge Z, Guo Q, Ji Y (2014) Study on carbon storage of poplar plantation at different stand ages. Ecol Sci 33:154–160 (in Chinese)Google Scholar
54. Zhang H, Guan D, Song M (2012) Biomass and carbon storage of Eucalyptus and Acacia plantations in the Pearl River Delta, South China. For Ecol Manag 277:90–97CrossRefGoogle Scholar
55. Zhang H, Song T, Wang K, Du H, Yue Y, Wang G, Zeng F (2014) Biomass and carbon storage in an age-sequence of Cyclobalanopsis glauca plantations in southwest China. Ecol Eng 73:184–191CrossRefGoogle Scholar
56. Zhao JL, Kang FF, Wang LX, Yu XW, Zhao WH, Song XS, Zhang YL, Chen F, Sun Y, He TF, Han HR (2014) Patterns of biomass and carbon distribution across a chronosequence of Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) forests. PLoS ONE 9:0094966. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094966CrossRefGoogle Scholar

For further details logon website :L
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11056-017-9588-2