Figure 3
From: Forest soil carbon is threatened by intensive biomass harvesting
Effects of conventional and intensive harvests on SOC stocks in forest floor (F) and top mineral soil (T) in relation to time elapsed since harvesting.
(A) Forest floor. (B) Top soil. Effects were assessed considering two periods (0–10 years and > 10 years since harvesting; Means ± standard errors). Values are expressed as relative responses: log(clear-cutting or thinning harvest/unharvested control) or log(whole-tree harvest/stem-only harvest). For the sake of clarity, comparisons between treatments and controls are also presented as the mean arithmetic difference (in italics, expressed in %). Number of case studies (or sites) ranged from 16 to 100. Significant differences between relative responses and value 0 are denoted by an asterisk (t test). The P values in brackets were calculated using all intensive harvest treatments (whole-tree harvest and whole-tree + forest floor harvest). Effects of conventional clear-cutting on C stocks in the forest floor are shown for more time classes in Fig. 4.
