Carbon Pools in Old-Growth Scots Pine Stands in Hemiboreal Latvia

Abstract

Old-growth forests are widely recognised for the benefits they provide for biodiversity; however, a more comprehensive understanding of their role in climate change mitigation must still be established to find the optimal balance between different forest ecosystem services at a national or regional scale. Very few studies have assessed carbon pools in old-growth Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)-dominated boreal forests, and none have been conducted in hemiboreal forests. Therefore, we assessed the carbon storage of the living tree biomass, deadwood, forest floor (soil organic horizon, including all litter and decomposed wood), and mineral soil in 25 hemiboreal old-growth (163–218 years) unmanaged Scots pine stands in Latvia. The studied stands were without known records of any major natural or human-made disturbance in the visible past. Our results show, that the total ecosystem carbon pool (excluding ground vegetation) was 291.2 ± 54.2 Mg C ha−1, which was primarily composed of living tree biomass (59%), followed by mineral soil (31%), deadwood (5%), and the forest floor (5%). Within the studied stand age group, the total carbon pool remained stable; however, interchanges among the carbon pools, i.e., living biomass and laying deadwood, did occur.