NPP Temperate Forest: Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California, U.S.A., 1972-2001

Summary:

Productivity of an old stand of coast redwoods in northern California was studied via tree remeasurement (1972-2001) and allometric relationships. Measurements of tree circumference at 1.7 m above ground were made at the beginning and the end of the study. Above-ground net primary production (ANPP) was estimated using a range of specific gravities and several allometric relationships for tree volume. Trees lost to mortality over the study interval were included in the analysis. Reported data include site characteristics, redwood stand descriptors, and measured and calculated biomass and ANPP data.

In 1972, Dr. Fujimori placed a 120 x 120 m plot (1.44 ha) in a particularly massive stand of coast redwoods on alluvial flats near Bull Creek in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California (40.35 degrees N, -123.00 degrees W). At more than 1000 years of age, with trees greater than 90 m tall, the stand is relatively old and well developed. The climate is characterized by moderate temperatures, wet winters, and summers with low precipitation. Summer fog contributes to moisture input. The Scotia, California station mean annual temperature is 12.6 degrees Celsius. Mean annual precipitation is 123 cm. Detailed climate data for this station are available from the Western Regional Climate Center (http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/).

A 1972 stem map of the stand allowed us to identify and remeasure trees >10 cm in diameter. A range  of tree biomass and ANPP estimates was obtained. Estimation procedures were outlined by Busing & Fujimori (2005).

Estimates of annual ANPP ranged from 6 to 14 Mg/ha. However, ANPP values in the range from 7 to 10 Mg/ha were considered to be the most reasonable because of the accuracy of the particular equations, specific gravities and assumptions used to obtain them (Busing & Fujimori 2005). Stand biomass was extremely high (>3000 Mg/ha above ground); however, ANPP was not extreme.

Photograph of the old-growth study stand in 2001. 

Link to Humboldt Redwoods State Park:   http://www.humboldtredwoods.org/hrsp.htm

Data Citation:

Cite this data set as follows:

Busing, R. T., and T. Fujimori. 2005. NPP Temperate Forest: Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California, U.S.A., 1972-2001. Data set. Available on-line [http://www.daac.ornl.gov] from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

References:

Busing, R.T.; T. Fujimori. 2002. Dynamics of composition and structure in an old Sequoia sempervirens forest. Journal of Vegetation Science, 13 (6): 785-792.

Busing, R.T., and T. Fujimori. 2005. Biomass, production and woody detritus in an old coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forest. Plant Ecology 177(2): 177-188.

Green, D.W. et al. 1999. Forest Products Laboratory. 1999. Wood handbook--Wood as an engineering material. Gen. Tech. Rep. FPL-GTR-113. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. 463 p.

Westman, W. E., and R. H. Whittaker. 1975. The pygmy forest region of northern California: studies on biomass and primary productivity. Journal of Ecology 63:493-520.

Data Format:

Site characteristics, redwood stand descriptors, and measured and calculated biomass and ANPP data and metadata are contained in the file Redwood_NPP.csv. Missing value for numeric variables is -999.9.

 

Column Headings	Description
Orig_sort_order	Original data file sort order
Parameter	Measured or calculated attribute
Measurement_Type	General measurement type
Value	Measured or calculated value
Units	Units of measure
Species	Species measured
Sequoia_sp_grav	Sequoia specific gravity (mg/cm3)   Specific gravity values for Sequoia wood were obtained from two references.      Specific gravity, 0.33 mg/cm3, see WE Westman & RH Whittaker, 1975, J. Ecol. for details.      Specific gravity, 0.38 mg/cm3, from DW Green et al., 1999, USDA Forest Service FPL-GTR-113.
Equation	Description and source of equation used to calculate value.
Equation_ref	Reference for Equation.
Method	Calculations & allometric equations described by RT Busing & T Fujimori, 2005, Plant Ecol.
Method_ref	Reference for Method is RT Busing & T Fujimori, 2005, Plant Ecol.
Notes	Range of values results from min. & max. estimation ratios of WE Westman & RH Whittaker, 1975, J. Ecol.
Notes_ref	Reference for Notes is WE Westman & RH Whittaker, 1975, J. Ecol.

Example data records

"Coast redwood NPP data from Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California, USA; Busing & Fujimori, June 2005",,,,,,,,,,,, Old stand plot study at Bull Creek with bole diameter measurements at 1.7 m aboveground in 1972 and 2001.,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,, Orig_sort_order,Parameter,Measurement_Type,Value,Units,Species,Sequoia_sp_grav,Equation,Equation_ref, Method,Method_ref,Notes,Notes_ref 1,Latitude,Site Characteristics,40.35,decimal degree,Not applicable,-999.9,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable 2,Longitude,Site Characteristics,-123.00,decimal degree,Not applicable,-999.9,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable 3,Terrain,Site Characteristics,Alluvial flat,Not applicable,Not applicable,-999.9,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable 4,Slope,Site Characteristics,0,degree,Not applicable,-999.9,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable 5,Elevation (above mean sea level),Site Characteristics,80,m (meter),Not applicable,-999.9,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable 6,Total site area ,Site Characteristics,1.44,ha (hectare),Not applicable,-999.9,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable 7,Density,Density,380,stems/ha (stems per hectare),All species,-999.9,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable 8,Basal area,Area,330,m2/ha (square meter per hectare),All species,-999.9,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable 9,Basal area,Area,329,m2/ha (square meter per hectare),Sequoia,-999.9,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable,Not applicable …   123,Total tree ANPP,ANPP,581-697,g/m2/yr (gram per square meter per year),All species,0.33, eq. 2 estimates,"RT Busing & T Fujimori, 2005, Plant Ecol. ",Including trees dying 1972-2001,"RT Busing & T Fujimori, 2005, Plant Ecol. ",range from ratios,"WE Westman & RH Whittaker, 1975, J. Ecol." 124,Total tree ANPP,ANPP,669-802,g/m2/yr (gram per square meter per year),All species,0.38, eq. 2 estimates,"RT Busing & T Fujimori, 2005, Plant Ecol. ",Including trees dying 1972-2001,"RT Busing & T Fujimori, 2005, Plant Ecol. ",range from ratios,"WE Westman & RH Whittaker, 1975, J. Ecol." ,,,,,,,,,,,, "Sequoia_sp_grav:  *Specific gravity, 0.33 mg/cm3, see WE Westman & RH Whittaker, 1975, J. Ecol. for details. ",,,,,,,,,, "Sequoia_sp_grav:  ^Specific gravity, 0.38 mg/cm3, from DW Green et al., 1999, USDA Forest Service FPL-GTR-113.",,,,,,,,,, "Method:  **Calculations & allometric equations described by RT Busing & T Fujimori, 2005, Plant Ecol. ",,,,,,,,,, "Notes:  ***Range of values results from min. & max. estimation ratios of WE Westman & RH Whittaker, 1975, J. Ecol.",,,,,,,,,,

Document Information:

Document Revision Date:

2005/7/13

Document Review Date:

2005/7/13

Document Curator:

webmaster@www.daac.ornl.gov

Document URL:

http://daac.ornl.gov/NPP/guides/Redwood_NPP.html