Multi-year convergence of biometric and meteorological estimates of forest carbon storage

We measured annual C storage, or net ecosystem production (NEP), from 1999 to 2003 in an aspen-dominated, mixed-deciduous forest in Michigan, USA. Measurements of the annual production of above- and below-ground live and dead mass, foliar herbivory, and soil respiration were used to develop biometric estimates of NEP (NEPB). Eddy-covariance measurements made above the canopy were used to construct meteorological estimates of NEP (NEPM). Over the 5-year study period, C stored annually in live mass (above- and below-ground wood) averaged 2.13 Mg C ha−1 year−1, while annual detritus production (fine roots, leaf litter, woody debris) averaged 4.35 Mg C ha−1 year−1. Fine root inputs were the largest component (41%) of annual net primary production.