Home > Research > Long-Term Research Categories > Research Areas
Research Areas
Carbon and Nutrient Dynamics
The dynamics of carbon and other elements are determined by fundamental processes that result from the interaction of many aspects of ecosystems. As such they are ideal parameters to examine ecosystem function and response to environmental change. Work in this component seeks to measure rates of production, decomposition, nutrient cycling, and the formation of soil organic matter and to determine the factors controlling spatial and temporal variation in these processes. In addition, the stores of carbon and nutrients involved in these processes and cycles are being measured. Simulation modeling, coupled with remote sensing, are being used to extrapolate results to the Pacific Northwest region. As part of LTER6 the data related to this component is being used in the synthesis of carbon and water dynamics in Watershed 1. Research Details
- Plant Production and Mortality
- Coarse Woody Debris Decomposition and Stores in the PNW
- The Global Woody Detritus Decomposition Study
- Root Decomposition
- Fine Litter Decomposition and Production
- Soil Organic Matter Dynamics
- Nitrogen Fixation
- Carbon Stores in Forests of the Pacific Northwest
- Modeling Carbon Dynamics
Key Databases
- Dimensions, cover, volumes, mass and nutrient stores of Coarse Woody Debris (bark and wood from logs, snags, and stumps) from forests plots in the western United States and Mexico, 1977 to 2005 -- TD012
- Long-term log decay experiments at the Andrews Experimental Forest, 1985 to 2185 -- TD014
- Comparison of terrestrial versus aquatic decomposition rates of logs at the Andrews Experimental Forest, 1985 to 2050 -- TD017
- Nitrogen fixation and respiration potential of conifer logs at Andrews Experimental Forest, 1987 to 2006 -- TD018
- Fine wood decay studies at the H.J. Andrews and other Forests across the world, 1989 to 2006 -- TD021
- LTER Intersite Fine Litter Decomposition Experiment (LIDET), 1990 to 2002 -- TD023
- Log leachates from the Andrews Experimental Forest -- TD025
- A chronosequence of woody root decomposition in the Pacific Northwest, 1995 to 1997 -- TD032
- Andrews Experimental Forest Reference Stand component litterfall study -- TL001
List of all Carbon and Nutrient Dynamics databases
Personnel
- Leader(s)
- Key Personnel
- Associates
Other Links
Key Citations
- LTER Microbial Observatories
- LIDET (Long-term Intersite Decomposition Experiment Team)
- Detritus Input and Removal Treatments (DIRT) Study
Smithwick, Erica A. H.; Harmon, Mark E.; Domingo, James B. 2007. Changing temporal patterns of forest carbon stores and net ecosystem carbon balance: the stand to landscape transformation. Landscape Ecology. 22: 77-94. (Pub No: 4210)
Homann, Peter S.; Harmon, Mark; Remillard, Suzanne; Smithwick, Erica A. H. 2005. What the soil reveals: potential total ecosystem C stores of the Pacific Northwest region, USA. Forest Ecology and Management. 220: 270-283. (Pub No: 3773)
Smithwick, Erica A. H.; Harmon, Mark E.; Domingo, James B. 2003. Modeling multiscale effects of light limitations and edge-induced mortality on carbon stores in forest landscapes. Landscape Ecology. 18: 701-721. (Pub No: 3723)
Hicks, William T.; Harmon, Mark E.; Myrold, David D. 2003. Substrate controls on nitrogen fixation and respiration in woody debris from the Pacific Northwest, USA . Forest Ecology and Management. 176: 25-35. (Pub No: 2829)
Smithwick, Erica A. H.; Harmon, Mark E.; Remillard, Suzanne M.; Acker, Steven A.; Franklin, Jerry F. 2002. Potential upper bounds of carbon stores in forests of the Pacific Northwest. Ecological Applications. 12(5): 1303-1317. (Pub No: 2833)
Chen, Hua; Harmon, Mark E.; Sexton, Jay; Fasth, Becky. 2002. Fine-root decomposition and N dynamics in coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 32: 320-331 . (Pub No: 2793)
Hicks, William T.; Harmon, Mark E. 2002. Diffusion and seasonal dynamics of O2 in woody debris from the Pacific Northwest, USA. Plant and Soil. 243: 67-79. (Pub No: 2828)
Harmon, Mark E.; Marks, Barbara. 2002. Effects of silvicultural practices on carbon stores in Douglas-fir - western hemlock forests in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A.: results from a simulation model. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 32: 863-877. (Pub No: 2379)
Harmon, Mark E. 2001. Carbon sequestration in forests: addressing the scale question. Journal of Forestry. 99(4): 24-29. (Pub No: 2772)
Chen, Hua; Harmon, Mark E.; Griffiths, Robert P. 2001. Decomposition and nitrogen release from decomposing woody roots in coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest: a chronosequence approach. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 31: 246-260. (Pub No: 2792)
Harmon, Mark E.; Harmon, Janice M.; Ferrell, William K.; Brooks, David. 1996. Modeling carbon stores in Oregon and Washington forest products: 1900-1992. Climatic Change. 33: 521-550. (Pub No: 2101)
Harmon, Mark E.; Garman, Steven L.; Ferrell, William K. 1996. Modeling historical patterns of tree utilization in the Pacific Northwest: carbon sequestration implications. Ecological Applications. 6(2): 641-652. (Pub No: 1444)
Harmon, Mark E.; Sexton, Jay; Caldwell, Bruce A.; Carpenter, Steve E. 1994. Fungal sporocarp mediated losses of Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, N, P, and Zn from conifer logs in the early stages of decomposition. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 24: 1883-1893. (Pub No: 1482)
Griffiths, Robert P.; Harmon, Mark E.; Caldwell, Bruce A.; Carpenter, Steven E. 1993. Acetylene reduction in conifer logs during early stages of decomposition. Plant Soil. 148: 53-61. (Pub No: 1044)
Cohen, W. B.; Harmon, M. E.; Wallin, D. O.; Ferrell, W. K.; Homann, P.; Sollins, P.; Fiorella, M. 1993. Modeling the effects of land use on carbon storage in forests of the Pacific Northwest: a test of methods. In: Proceedings, 25th International Symposium on Remote Sensing and Global Environmental Change; Graz, Austria. I: 533-539. (Pub No: 1434)
Harmon, M. E.; Franklin, J. F.; Swanson, F. J.; Sollins, P.; Gregory, S. V.; Lattin, J. D.; Anderson, N. H.; Cline, S. P.; Aumen, N. G.; Sedell, J. R.; Lienkaemper, G. W.; Cromack, K. Jr.; Cummins, K. W. 1986. Ecology of coarse woody debris in temperate ecosystems. In: MacFadyen, A.; Ford, E. D., eds. Advances in ecological research. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, Inc.: 15: 133-302. (Pub No: 42)
Home | Site Map | Contacts | Donate | Disclaimers | Acknowledgements
Copyright © 2011 Andrews Experimental Forest LTER. All rights reserved
