Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Limits on aboveground net primary production, leaf area, and biomass in vegetational zones of the Pacific Northwest

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/rv042z14h

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  • Samples of mature vegetation from 8 of 12 major vegetational zones in Oregon and Washington, representing about 80% of the area of the two states, were studied along a latitudinal transect from the Pacific Coast to the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains. Six stands were in forest zones, one in woodland and one in the shrub-steppe. Aboveground net primary production (NPP, estimated as the sum of stem, branch, and foliage production) ranged from 0.3 to 14.7 t ha-1 yr-1, aboveground biomass from 3 to 1500 t ha-1, and area of all sides of leaves from 1 to 40 ha ha-1, with minimums in the shrub-steppe zone and maximums in the coastal forest zone. Average day air temperatures were less than -2°C only 2% of the winter at the coast, contrasted to 87% in the shrub-steppe. Although annual precipitation ranged from 20 cm in the shrub-steppe to 260 cm at the coast, it was a relatively poor predictor of stand structure and production. Maximum leaf areas were closely related to a simple growing season water balance in seven vegetational zones. In the subalpine conifer zone, leaf area appeared limited by temperature. Of the water balance components, evaporative demand alone accounted for 95% of the variance in leaf area. Biomass and NPP increased linearly with leaf area up to a leaf area of 20 ha ha-1. Biomass continued to increase with increasing leaf areas. NPP was also linearly related to minimum January temperatures. Except In the coastal forest zones, NPP for any given leaf area was less than maximum values reported for other mature systems elsewhere in the world.
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