Study Number: 

1090

Project Title:

Forest floor mass and nutrient content by layer in Coweeta white pine watershed 1.

Investigator(s):

Brian D. Kloeppel E-Mail | Tel. 828.524.2128x127 | Biographical Sketch
Lisa Mazzarelli E-Mail | Tel. 828.524.2128 x128
Affiliated Institution(s): University of Georgia
Address: Brian Kloeppel, Lisa Mazzarelli
University of Georgia
Institute of Ecology
Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory
3160 Coweeta Lab Road
Otto, NC 28763
Study Category: Terrestrial
Project Type: Coweeta Core Research.
Study Period:

05/2001 - 08/2003
Date Type:

Type 1
Funding Source(s):

National Science Foundation, DEB-9632854 (Text Version) and DEB-0218001 (Text Version) to Coweeta LTER; North Carolina State University.
Abstract: The forest floor was sampled in 4 beetle-infested and 4 non-beetle-infested white pine plots in watershed 1. Fresh litter (Oi) was separated from decaying litter (Oe). Total litter mass, fresh versus decayed litter, and litter nitrogen content was compared between treatments for years 2001, 2002, 2003.
Location(s), Described: Watershed 1 permanent plots: 14, 15, 70, 90 (beetle infested), and 22, 28, 62, 74 (control).

(GPS antenna hgt. 3.15m) Watershed 1 permanent plots.
 
Plot UTM X | UTM Y Aspect Slope (degrees) Elev (m) Elev (ft)
14 278026 | 3883482 160 40 976 3202
15 278072 | 3883496 180 35 980 3215
22 277909 | 3883447 220 28 932 3058
28 277952 | 3883426 240 35 936 3071
62 278037 | 3883015 150 35 793 2602
70 278204 | 3883019 245 30 826 2710
74 278001 | 3882998 160 40 801 2628
90 278108 | 3882891 230 30 785 2575

Location(s), Download GPS: ArcView Shape Files (shp.):  UTM, NAD83, Zone 17/Lat/Lon
Location(s), Online Map(s): Online Map
Methods/Experimental Design:

Forest floor samples were collected in early August 2001, 29 July - 2 August 2002, and 4-5 August 2003. Samples were cut and removed from each of 8 modules in each plot using a 30cm x 30cm open wooden square. Each sample was separated into Oi and Oe layers where Oi is the fresh or unaltered organic layer, and Oe is the organic layer of intermediate decomposition. Samples were oven-dried at 65 degrees C to a constant mass, weighed, ground, and finally, analyzed for carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and nitrogen (N) concentrations using a Perkin Elmer 2400 CHN analyzer. Nitrogen concentration, or percent N, was determined from the CHN analysis, and N content was calculated by multiplying the percent N by the mass (g) of the dried field sample.

Layer codes:
Oi - fresh litter layer
Oe - decayed litter layer
Sampling Frequency: Annually: 2001, 2002, 2003.
Data Columns: Year - Sampling year
Julday - Sample date in Julian days
Plot - Permanent plot number
Module - Module number within a plot (8 modules in a plot)
Layer - Litter layer. Layer codes are described in Methods/Experimental Design.
Massbag - Mass of litter and collection bag; grams 9g)
Bag - Mass of collection bag (average of 5 empty bags); grams (g)
Netmass - Net litter mass [Massbag - Bag]; grams (g)
Percent_C - Percent carbon (carbon concentration)
Percent_H - Percent hydrogen (hydrogen concentration)
Percent_N - Percent nitrogen (nitrogen concentration)
N_content - Nitrogen content (Netmass x Percent_N)

Missing Data Codes: . (Period)
Publications:

Litter Composition and Decomposition in Response to Southern Pine Beetle Impacts in a White Pine Watershed. Kloeppel, Mazzarelli, Swank, Vose, Wentworth, Elliott (in preparation).
Data Restrictions: Users must adhere to the Coweeta LTER Data Policy.
Metadata: EML Format (XML Schema) | Information about EML
Data Downloads: Microsoft® Excel (.xls)
 Text Comma Delimited (.csv)
 DBase (.dbf)