Soil Carbon Dioxide Characteristics under Different Forest Types and after Harvest

Abstract

Abstract To characterize soil CO 2 under different forest types and several years after a clear‐cut harvest, soil CO 2 evolution and soil air CO 2 concentrations were measured at three sites in Maine: the Howland Integrated Forest Study (HIFS) site, the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM) site, and the Letter E township (Letter E) site. Soil CO 2 evolution means ranged from 0.19 to 0.32 g m −2 h −1 among sites, whereas soil air CO 2 concentration means ranged from 1023 µL L −1 for the O horizon to 3296 µL L −1 for the C horizon for the 1990 growing season. Soil CO 2 evolution and soil air CO 2 concentrations were similar under deciduous and coniferous forests and 4 to 6 yr after harvest. Limited multiple‐year data suggest that significant annual variations in temporal patterns of these properties exist as a function of short‐term climatic factors. These data suggest that soil CO 2 evolution and soil air CO 2 concentrations may be somewhat similar across a diversity of soil types, forest types, and forest conditions at any point in time for northern New England.