White Spruce Plantations on Abandoned Agricultural Land: Are They More Effective as C Sinks than Natural Succession?

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare organic carbon (C) accumulation in plantations (PL) and natural succession (NS) established on fallow lands along a 50-year chronosequence in the eastern mixed forest subzone of Quebec (Canada). Above- and below-ground woody biomass were estimated from vegetation measurement surveys, and litter and soil (0-50 cm depth) C from samplings. At the year of abandonment, total C content of both PL and NS sites averaged 100 ± 13 Mg C ha-1. Over 50 years, total C content doubled on NS sites and tripled on PL sites (217.9 ± 28.7 vs. 285.7 ± 31.0 Mg ha-1) with respect to fallow land. On NS sites, the new C stocks accumulated entirely in the vegetation. On PL sites, C accumulated mostly in the vegetation and to a lesser extent in the litter, whereas it decreased by a third in the soil. As a result, the net C accumulation rate was 1.7 ± 0.7 Mg ha-1 yr-1 greater on PL sites than on NS sites over 50 years. By the 23rd year, PL sites became greater net C sinks than NS sites in the fallow lands of the study area, even with the loss of soil C.