The Dynamics of Woody Detritus in Russian Taiga Forests: A Collaborative Study

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Until recently, the role dead and dying trees play in the global carbon cycle has been ignored. Preliminary estimates indicate tree mortality amounts to a substantial global flow of 4-17 X 1015 grams of carbon per year and that global stores of dead wood could be in the range of 85 to 295 X 1015 grams of carbon. This indicates that a major detrital flow and pool has been ignored, with potentially large consequences for balancing past, current and future global carbon budgets. Moreover, this information is required to develop strategies to conserve and sequester carbon in the future. The proposed project will study woody detritus production, decomposition, nutrient mineralization, and stores in Russian taiga forests. This work takes advantage of a 60 year-old permanent plot system which presents a unique opportunity to rapidly increase understanding of woody detrital dynamics in this part of the globe. Long-term tree mortality records will allow us to examine how woody detritus production varies with species of tree, stocking density, and succession. Moreover, these records provide a series of trees with varying time since death that can be used to estimate decomposition and nutrient mineralization rates. %%% By knowing woody detrital input, decomposition, and current stores, we will estimate whether coarse woody debris is increasing, decreasing or stable during succession. Coupled with other existing plot data (such as living biomass) this data will allow us to estimate dead wood stores and inputs from existing large-scale forest survey data. Aside from providing a much needed database for a forest type of global significance, the proposed project will help develop the local expertise needed to carry out more extensive regional studies.