The Reconstruction of Ecosystems: Presidential Address to the British Ecological Society, December 1982

With the planted forest ecosystems of Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Betula utilis, Pinus yunnansinsis, and Picea asperata in subalpine area of west Sichuan as test objects, their total biomass and the C and N contents in soils and tree organs were determined. The results showed that the allocation of C in tree organs had less correlation with the age of the organs, while that of N and C/N ratio had closer relationship with the age. The N content in young organs was higher than that in aged ones, whereas the C/N ratio was higher in aged organs than in young organs, and higher in the leaf litters of needle-leaved forests than in those of broad-leaved forests. There was an obvious enrichment of C and N in the topsoil of test forests. The accumulated amounts of C and N in the whole planted forest ecosystem, including tree, litter, and 0-40 cm soil layer, were 176.75-228.05 t x hm(-2) and 11.06-16.54 t x hm(-2), respectively, and the nutrients allocation ratio between soil-litter and tree was (1.9-3.3):1 for C and (15.6-41.5):1 for N. Needle-leaved forests functioned as a stronger "C-sink" than broad-leaved forests. The decomposition rate of the leaf litters in needle-leaved forests was larger than that in broad-leaved forests, with the turnover rate being 2.2-3.7 years and 3.9-4.2 years, respectively. During the decomposition of leaf litter, the C in all of the four forests released at super-speed, with the turnover rate being 1.9-3.4 years. As for N, it also released at super-speed in C. japonicum and B. utilis forests, with the turnover rate being 1.9-3.2 years, but released at low speed in P. yunnansinsis and P. asperata forests, with the turnover rate being 6.7-8.5 years.