NPP Boreal Forest: Canal Flats, Canada, 1984

Data Citation

Cite this data set as follows:

Comeau, P. G., and J. P. Kimmins. 1999. NPP Boreal Forest: Canal Flats, Canada, 1984. 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.

Description

Above and below-ground biomass and productivity of four lodgepole pine stands (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) were determined near Canal Flats, Canada, during the 1984 growing season. Two stands growing on xeric sites and two stands growing on mesic sites were studied to determine the influence of soil water content on resource allocation to above-ground versus below-ground plant components. The stands were 70-78 years old, unmanaged, and had regenerated naturally following wildfire.

The study sites were located in the Rocky Mountains of southeastern British Columbia, just east of the town of Canal Flats (50.2 N 115.5 W), approximately 75 km north of Cranbrook, British Columbia, and 150 km southwest of Calgary, Alberta. Three of the four study sites were located near the junction of the White River and the North Fork of the White River (50.1 N 115.25 W) and one study site was located south of Whiteswan Lake (50.1 N 115.5 W). This area experiences a mean annual temperature of about 1.4 C and annual precipitation of around 630 mm.

Biomass and productivity were estimated from regression equations developed from several local lodgepole pine stands, together with data from angle-count sampling of the stands. Foliage production was estimated as the biomass of 2-year-old needles. Fine and small root biomass and productivity were estimated from soil cores taken from the lower organic and upper mineral soil horizons, with productivity estimated as the sum of increases in biomass for the organic horizon and maximum-minus- minimum biomass for the mineral soil.

Above-ground NPP of the two xeric stands was 350 and 330 g/m2/yr, and below-ground NPP was 430 and 630 g/m2/yr, respectively, giving a range of total NPP from 780 to 960 g/m2/yr. The two mesic stands had above-ground NPP of 640 and 740 g/m2/yr, and the respective below-ground NPP of these stands was 550 and 450 g/m2/yr, giving total NPP of 1190 g/m2/yr in each case. Although the aboveground NPP of the mesic stands was approximately double that of the two xeric stands, total NPP was only 36% greater for the mesic stands than for the xeric stands.

The most representative weather station nearby is at Kananaskis Boundary, Alberta (50.98 N 115.12 W), but the climatological record there is rather patchy.

Contact Information

Contact: Dr. P.G. Comeau
Department of Renewable Resources
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H1
CANADA

Telephone: +1 (780) 492-1879
Fax: +1 (780) 492-4323
E-mail: phil.comeau@ualberta.ca

Alternative Contact: Dr. J.P. Kimmins
Faculty of Forestry
University of British Columbia
2005-2424 Main Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4
CANADA

Telephone: +1 (604) 822-3549
Fax: +1 (604) 822-9133
E-mail: kimmins@interchg.ubc.ca

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