Research article
04 Aug 2011
Research article | 04 Aug 2011
Inventory-based estimation of aboveground net primary production in Japan's forests from 1980 to 2005
Y. Wang1,*, J. Y. Fang1, T. Kato2, Z. D. Guo1, B. Zhu1,**, W. H. Mo3, and Y. H. Tang4
Y. Wang et al.
Y. Wang1,*, J. Y. Fang1, T. Kato2, Z. D. Guo1, B. Zhu1,**, W. H. Mo3, and Y. H. Tang4
- 1Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- 2Research Institute for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236–0001, Japan
- 3National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8604, Japan
- 4National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa 16–2, Tsukuba Ibaraki 305–8506, Japan
- *now at: Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113–0033, Japan
- **now at: Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
- 1Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- 2Research Institute for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236–0001, Japan
- 3National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–8604, Japan
- 4National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa 16–2, Tsukuba Ibaraki 305–8506, Japan
- *now at: Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113–0033, Japan
- **now at: Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
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Received: 25 Nov 2010 – Discussion started: 17 Feb 2011 – Revised: 25 Jun 2011 – Accepted: 05 Jul 2011 – Published: 04 Aug 2011
Abstract. Recent studies based on remote sensing and carbon process models have revealed that terrestrial net primary production (NPP) in the middle and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere has increased significantly; this is crucial for explaining the increased terrestrial carbon sink in the past several decades. Regional NPP estimation based on significant field data, however, has been rare. In this study, we estimated the long-term changes in aboveground NPP (ANPP) for Japan's forests from 1980 to 2005 using forest inventory data, direct field measurements, and an allometric method. The overall ANPP for all forest types averaged 10.5 Mg ha−1 yr−1, with a range of 9.6 to 11.5 Mg ha−1 yr−1, and ANPP for the whole country totaled 249.1 Tg yr−1 (range: 230.0 to 271.4 Tg yr−1) during the study period. Over the 25 years, the net effect of increased ANPP in needle-leaf forests and decreased ANPP in broadleaf forests has led to an increase of 1.9 Mg ha−1 yr−1 (i.e., 0.79 % yr−1). This increase may be mainly due to the establishment of plantations and the rapid early growth of these planted forests.
