Date of Award

Winter 2007

Project Type

Thesis

Program or Major

Natural Resources

Degree Name

Master of Science

Abstract

In order to better understand the role that forest ecosystems play in the global carbon budget, it is necessary to understand the dynamics of biomass accumulation and change arising from anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Presented here are the results of study across a broad spatial (1050ha) and temporal (>70 years) scale for the Bartlett Experimental Forest, a northern temperate hardwood forest, located in the white Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, USA.

Permanent plot forest inventory data converted to biomass were analyzed using a mixed linear model to determine the influence of local environmental variables on aboveground biomass accumulation through time for managed and unmanaged stands. Stand age was the primary determinate of standing biomass, followed by stand-origin (all-age, even-age), habitat, and forest cover type. Managed and unmanaged stands achieved similar levels of standing biomass over time (>210 Mt/ha), and biomass continues to increase and is higher than regionally reported.

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