Rae Hyun Kim

Carbon and nitrogen storage in an age-sequence of Pinus densiflora stands in Korea

The carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage capabilities of Pinus densiflora in six different stand ages (10, 27, 30, 32, 44, and 71 years old) were investigated in Korea. Thirty sample trees were destructively harvested and 12 were excavated. Samples from the above and belowground tree components, coarse woody debris (CWD), forest floor, and mineral soil (0–30 cm) were collected. Tree biomass was highest in the 71-year-old stand (202.8 t ha−1) and lowest in the 10-year-old stand (18.4 t ha−1). C and N storage in the mineral soil was higher in the 71-year-old stand than in the other stands, mainly due to higher soil C and N concentrations. Consequently, the total ecosystem C and N storage (tree+forest floor+CWD+soil) was positively correlated with stand age: increasing from a minimum in the 10 year old stand (18.8 t C ha−1 and 1.3 t N ha−1) to a maximum in the 71-year-old stand (201.4 t C ha−1 and 8.5 t N ha−1). The total ecosystem C storage showed a similar sigmoidal pattern to that of tree C storage as a function of the age-sequence, while N storage in the CWD, forest floor and mineral soil showed no significant temporal trends. Our results provide important insights that will increase our understanding of C and N storage in P. densiflora stands and our ability to predict changes according to stand age in the region.

Coarse woody debris mass dynamics in temperate natural forests of Mt. Jumbong, Korea

Coarse woody debris (CWD) mass dynamics in three temperate natural forests, dominated by Quercus mongolica, Ab- ies holophylla, and Pinus densiflora, were studied for 5 to 8 years in a Korea National Long-Term Ecological Research (KNLTER) site located in Mt. Jumbong, Korea. CWD mass (Mg/ha), input rate of CWD mass (Mg ha -1 y -1 ), and decay rate constant (1/y) were 20.6, 1.20, and 0.058 for Q. mongolica forest, 12.2, 0.44, 0.106 for A. holophylla forest, and 5.0, 0.00, and 0.086 for P. densiflora forest, respectively. CWD mass was classified into species, types (log, snag, and stump), and decay classes (I-V). The proportion of logs was higher than that of the other CWD types in Q. mongolica forest because of wind-related mortality, whereas the proportion of logs was similar to the proportion of snags in A. holophylla forest and P. densiflora forest. CWD mass, input rate, decay rate, and distribution reflected the status of forest regeneration and succession for three forests. Mass dynamics were affected interactively by a variety of factors including species, micro- climate, and topography, but these effects were hardly distinguishable in this study because of the limited number of comparable sites and pieces of CWD. Thus, further studies will require data regarding long-term microclimate and CWD mass dynamics in a variety of forest types, which could represent diverse environmental factors.

Influence of stand age class on biomass expansion factor and allometric equations for Pinus rigida plantations in South Korea

Abstract The objective of this study was to examine the influence of stand age class (I:<20 years old; II: 21–40 years old; III: 41–60 years old) on BEF and stem density and to develop allometric equations for the three stand age classes in order to estimate the biomass of pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) plantations in South Korea. BEFs (g g−1) were observed to decrease in the three stand age classes with 1.983 for stand I, 1.201 for stand II and 1.131 for stand III. Results showed that there was a significant statistical difference in BEFs (p < 0.05) among the stand age classes. The stem densities (g cm−3) of the three stands were 0.430, 0.451 and 0.481, respectively, and there was no significant statistical difference (p > 0.05) among stand age classes. Both model 1 (DBH as predictor variable) and model 2 (DBH and total height as predictor variables) showed good results based on the model evaluation criteria (R 2 , RMSE and FI). The stem wood had the highest biomass distribution percentage of the three age classes with 52%, 67% and 69% determined for classes I, II and III, respectively. Stand age-dependent BEFs and allometric equations will help forest managers to accurately estimate the biomass and carbon stocks of the different pitch pine plantations in South Korea, which is essential in climate change mitigation.

Biomass and carbon storage in an age-sequence of Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) forests in central Korea

The biomass and carbon (C) storage of the main ecosystem components were examined in an age-sequence of six Japanese red pine forest stands in central Korea. The tree biomass was determined by the destructive method, and the C storage of the tree biomass, forest floor and mineral soil was estimated by analyzing the C concentration of each component. The above-ground and total tree biomass increased from 21.76 and 28.82 Mg ha−1 in the 17-year-old stand to 308.83 and 385.74 Mg ha−1 in the 73-year-old stand. The comparisons of above-ground tree and tree root biomass in replicate stands indicated that stand density has an effect on tree biomass partitioning for Japanese red pine, especially on the biomass allocation of above-ground tree and tree roots. The C concentrations were lowest in the tree roots while the highest concentrations were found in the foliage across the six Japanese red pine forest stands. The C storage in the forest floor and mineral soil were age-independent. The above-ground and total ecosystem C stocks increased from 19.40 and 43.49 Mg ha−1 in the 17-year-old stand to 162.72 and 247.39 Mg ha−1 in the 73-year-old stand. Although the total tree biomass C showed considerable accumulation with stand age, the relative contribution of the below-ground ecosystem to the total ecosystem C storage demonstrated large variation. The results of this study assist in understanding C storage and its change with stand development in Japanese red pine forests, which makes this species a large sink for atmospheric C at the regional scale.

Mass dynamics of coarse woody debris in an old-growth deciduous forest of Gwangneung, Korea

We investigated the mass dynamics of coarse woody debris (CWD) in an old-growth deciduous forest dominated by Quercus serrata, Carpinus laxiflora, and C. cordata in a 1 ha permanent plot of the Gwangneung Experiment Forest, Korea, from 2002 through 2010. CWD mass varied from 16.8 to 34.2 Mg ha−1, and the ratio of CWD mass to stand biomass varied from 0.06 to 0.13. The mean CWD mass input and loss rates were 4.81 Mg ha−1 yr−1 and 2.28 Mg ha−1 yr−1, respectively. A large heterogeneity of CWD mass, as represented by the spatial coefficient of variation (127.2%) and annual coefficient of variation (178.5%), might be inherent in the old-growth temperate forest, which consisted of large biomass trees. The decay rate constant, as estimated from the wood density change, was 0.049yr−1. However, the large variation of annual CWD mass input could cause the overestimation of decay rate constant (0.167 yr−1) as calculated from the ratio of CWD mass input to CWD mass. According to the CWD decay class classification, class II (72.8%) comprised the majority of CWD mass. The proportion of CWD mass to total CWD mass was 57.5% for Q. serrata, 25.0% for C. laxiflora, and 10.4% for C. cordata, respectively, and corresponded to the proportion of stem biomass to total stem biomass. These data support the stability of the current status in this old-growth deciduous forest as representing the climax stage. Due to the relatively short-term measurement of CWD mass compared with the whole life span of CWD, additional long-term studies with various approaches are required to enhance the knowledge of CWD mass dynamics in this forest.

Comparison of Kalman filters in combining panel data from the annual inventory system of the South Korea National Forest Inventory

National Forest Inventories (NFIs) serve a primary purpose of providing crucial information for formulating national forest policy, environmental planning and reporting to international processes (Tomppo and others 2010). Pressure for timely and reliable forestry statistics urges countries to put a NFI in place or to consider alternative designs. Some countries, for example, USA and Finland, moved from a periodic inventory design to an annual inventory design (Lawrence and others 2010) with the Swedish NFI being one of the earliest examples of the transition (Matern 1960, Ranneby and others 1987). An annual inventory systematically subdivides a plot network, with equal proportion, into a number of panels equal to the length of measurement cycle (Reams and others 2005). A measurement cycle is typically five or ten years. Panels are measured successively on an annual basis. Remeasurement starts in the next cycle once all panels are visited. Thus, an annual inventory is expected to meet the demand for continually updated information.

Notes on the biomass expansion factors of Quercus mongolica and Quercus variabilis forests in Korea

Biomass expansion factors, which convert timber volume (or dry weight) to biomass, are used for estimating the forest biomass and accounting for the carbon budget at a regional or national scale. We estimated the biomass conversion and expansion factors (BCEF), biomass expansion factors (BEF), root to shoot ratio (R), and ecosystem biomass expansion factor (EBEF) for Quercus mongolica Fisch. and Quercus variabilis Bl. forests based on publications in Korea. The mean BCEF, BEF, and R for Q. mongolica was 1.0383 Mg/m 3 (N = 27; standard deviation [SD], 0.5515), 1.3572 (N = 27; SD, 0.1355), and 0.2017 (N = 32; SD, 0.0447), respectively. The mean BCEF, BEF, and R for Q. variabilis was 0.7164 Mg/m 3 (N = 17; SD, 0.3232), 1.2464 (N = 17; SD, 0.0823), and 0.1660 (N = 8; SD, 0.0632), respectively. The mean EBEF, as a simple method for estimating the ground vegetation biomass, was 1.0216 (N = 7; SD, 0.0232) for Q. mongolica forest ecosystems, and 1.0496 (N = 8; SD, 0.0725) for Q. variabilis forest ecosystems. The biomass expansion factor values in this study may be better estimates of forest biomass in Q. mongolica or Q. variabilis forests of Korea compared with the default values given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).