Measuring the Effects of Disturbance & Climate on the CO2 & Energy Exchange of Ponderosa Pine Forests in the Pacific Northwest: Integration of Eddy Flux, Plant and Soil Measurements

The goal is to quantify and understand the influence of climate and disturbance on ecosystem processes and thus net carbon uptake by forests. The objective is to combine tower and ground-based observations to quantify the effects of disturbance on processes controlling carbon storage and CO{sub 2} and energy exchange in varying climatic conditions. Specific objectives are: (1) Investigate the effects of logging and fire on carbon storage and carbon dioxide and energy exchange in chronosequences of ponderosa pine, using consistent methodology; (2) Determine key environmental factors controlling carbon storage and carbon dioxide and energy exchange in these forests through a combination of measurements and process modeling; and (3) Assess spatial variation of the concentrations and transport in complex terrain. The eddy covariance method is used for measurements of CO2, water vapor, and energy exchanges in a chronosequence of ponderosa pine forests (burned in 2002 wildfire, 10 year-old stand, 90 year-old mature stand). The mature stand has been an AmeriFlux site since 2000 (following previous flux sites in young and old stands initiated in 1996). In addition to the eddy covariance measurements, a large suite of biological processes and ecosystem properties are determined for the purpose of developing independent forest carbon budgets and NEP estimates; these include photosynthesis, stand respiration, soil CO{sub 2} fluxes, annual litterfall, foliar chemistry, and bole increment, and soil organic matter among other parameters. The measurements are being integrated and evaluated with two ecosystem models (BIOME-BGC and SPA). Such analyses are needed to assess regional terrestrial ecosystem carbon budgets. The results will contribute scientific understanding of carbon processes, and will provide comprehensive data sets for forest managers and those preparing national carbon inventories to use in assessments of carbon sequestration in relation to interannual climate variation and disturbance. Frameworks and methodologies developed by the PI will contribute to AmeriFlux Network facility functions for data acquisition, exchange and modeling of results in a broad spectrum of carbon cycle research