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Coarse woody debris stocks as a function of forest type and stand age in Costa Rican tropical dry forest: long-lasting legacies of previous land use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2010

Lisa B. Kissing  and
Jennifer S. Powers
Lisa B. Kissing
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, 100 Ecology Building, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
Jennifer S. Powers*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, 100 Ecology Building, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
*
1Corresponding author. E-mail: powers@umn.edu
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Extract

The ecological importance of trees lasts much longer than their life spans. Standing dead trees (snags) and fallen trunks and branches are an important component of above-ground carbon stocks and nutrient reserves, provide habitat for wildlife, and interact with disturbance regimes (e.g. by serving as fuel for fires) (Clark et al. 2002, Harmon et al. 1986, Pyle et al. 2008). Despite these diverse functions, woody debris stocks remain poorly quantified in tropical forests in general (Brown 1997), and in tropical dry forests in particular (Harmon et al. 1995). More empirical studies of the patterns of woody debris and processes that control its dynamics are needed to understand its role in global biogeochemical cycles and for ecosystem simulation models, many of which do not represent coarse woody debris (CWD) as a separate pool (Cornwell et al. 2009).

Keywords

carbon stockscoarse woody debrissecondary successiontropical dry forest
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , July 2010 , pp. 467 - 471
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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