Mass, Nutrient Content, and Decay Rate of Dead Boles in Rain Forests of Olympic National Park

Authors

Robin L. Graham
Kermit Cromack Jr.

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Canadian Journal of Forest Research

Publication Date

1982

Issue

3

Volume

12

First Page

511

Last Page

521

Abstract

Analysis of the distribution of dead boles of Picea sitchensis and Tsuga heterophylla in open- and closed-canopy forests of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA showed that T. heterophylla mortality in both forest types resulted mainly from windthrow, whereas P. sitchensis typically died upright. The open forest contained 120 t/ha and the closed forest 161 t/ha of dead bole wood. Boles of T. heterophylla decayed more rapidly than larger boles of P. sitchensis, though both showed considerable variation. Nutrient contents of dead boles in kg/ha for open- and closed-canopy (brackets) forests were: N 146 (223); Ca 147 (197); K 39 (61); Mg 18 (29) Na 6 (14); and P 17 (29). Except for N and Mg, nutrient concentration of the wood were not significantly different after 33-68 yr of decay. The N : P ratios increased with decay for both species. From authors' summary.

Comments

Originally published by the National Research Council - Canada.
Note: This article appeared in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research.

Recommended Citation

Graham, R. and Cromack, K. (1982). Mass, nutrient content, and decay rate of dead boles in rain forests of Olympic National Park. Can. J. For. Res., 12(3): 511–521.