Abstract:

Coarse woody debris (CWD) is an essential component of forests. However, quantification of both the storage and carbon stock of CWD in a given environment requires long-term studies conducted for collecting viable data, which is a fairly labor-intensive work. As a result, the storage and carbon stock of CWD in forest ecosystems are not clear. In this review, we attempt to compile all available estimates of CWD storage and carbon pool in a variety of forest ecosystems over the world. Global studies on CWD storage in various forest ecosystems found the highest CWD storage in temperate coniferous forests ranging 30-200 t ·hm^-2, and the lowest in broad-leaved forests ranging 8-50 t ·hm^-2. Also, global stores of carbon in CWD approximately range from 75 to 114 or 157 Pg. The CWD storage data varied substantially with stand age, decomposition stage and management practice (e.g. thinning, clear-cutting and prescribed burning). More extensive investigation of CWD in forest ecosystems is needed to develop a functional understanding of relationships between CWD, stand structure, species attributes and disturbance history. Further long-term studies on CWD storage and carbon pool sizes in a variety of forest types are required at larger scales in order to be able to evaluate accurately the ecological value of CWD in forest ecosystems.

Key words: coarse woody debris, forest ecosystem, storage, carbon pool