Table 1 – biomass and nutrient ratios in six major forest types (Vitousek et al ., 1988).
Forest type
Northern
conifer
Temp broad
deciduous
Giant temp
conifer
Temp broad
evergreen
Tropical
closed forest
Tropical
wood/grass
land
% total biomass
Leaf
Branch
Roots
Mass ratio
C/N
C/P
Bole
N/P
4.5
10.2
62.8
22.6
143
1246
8.71
286
1.1
16.2
63.1
19.5
165
1384
8.40
624
2.5
10.2
66.4
20.8
158
1345
8.53
315
2.7
14.7
66.2
16.5
159
1383
8.73
494
1.9
21.8
59.8
16.4
161
1394
8.65
107
3.6
19.1
60.4
16.9
147
1290
8.80
Biomas
s t/ha
233
Table 2: Annual nutrient requirements for temperate hardwood forest at Hubbard Brook,
New Hampshire, and potential sources for them (after W. H. Schlesinger,
Biogeochemistry, 1991, Academic Press, New York), p. 144.
Element
N
P
Growth
requirement
115.6
12.3
-1 -1
(kg ha y )
Potential % of growth requirement from:
New inputs
Atmospheric
deposition or
18
0
fixation
Rock
0
13
weathering
Recycled sources
Re-adsorption
31
28
Detritus
69
81
turnover
K
Ca
Mg
67.3
62.2
9.5
1
4
6
11
34
37
4
86
0
85
2
87
foliage
live wood
total live
biomass, g/m2
553
5929
6563
C/N
67.4
181.9
157.3
C/P
1455
2440
2271
Table 3) Nutrient data for a chaparral scrub stand (data from Schlesinger, 1991, p. 159)
Po ol s
Ca, g/m2
N, g/m2
foliage
4.5
8.2
28.99
32.6
0.32
0.62
33.81
41.42
dead wood
5.58
6.28
litter
26.1
20.5
31.68
26.78
65.49
68.2
live wood
rep tissues
total live
total dead
soil?
total
Fluxes
I n pu t s
Ca, g/m2/y
deposition
N, g/m2/y
0.19
G ro wth r eq.
0.15 total req
fixation
0.11 reabsorption
weathering?
net
total
Tau , y r
0.19
Ca
0.26
N
overall
345
262
growth
8.9
5.2
w/ readsorp
8.9
7.6
Ca, g/m2/y
N, g/m2/y
7.39
13.11
0
4.15
7.39
8.96
Schlesinger, 1991