Variability in net primary production and carbon storage in biomass across Oregon forests-an assessment integrating data from forest inventories, intensive sites, and remote sensing

We used a combination of data from USDA Forest Service inventories, intensive chronosequences, extensive sites, and satellite remote sensing, to estimate biomass and net primary production (NPP) for the forested region of western Oregon. The study area was divided into four ecoregions differing widely in climatic conditions and management regime. The forest age distributions (as derived from inventory data) differed by ecozone with fewer old stands in the Coast Range and the East Cascades, and a relatively uniform distribution of ages from 0 to 815 in the Cascade Mountains. Age distributions also differed by land ownership, with fewer old stands on non-federal lands than on national forest lands. Estimated biomass increased rapidly in early stand development and tended to stabilize after about 200 years. Peak biomass in the semi-arid East Cascades was about one-third that of the other ecoregions (median biomass at asymptote ∼9 and ∼25 kg C m−2, respectively). The timing and magnitude of maximum net primary production also varied by ecoregion, with the high productivity Coast Range forests reaching a maximum NPP before 30 years of age (median ∼1 kg C m−2 y−1), and the low productivity East Cascades reaching a maximum NPP between 80 and 100 years (median ∼0.3 kg C m−2 y−1). Productivity was generally lower in older stands with the exception of the East Cascades ecoregion where, contrary to the paradigm of age-related decline in forest growth, the oldest stands had the highest NPP. The East Cascades also differed from the other ecoregions in that the proportion of NPP allocated belowground decreased rather than increased with stand age. This study demonstrates the value of combining data from intensive and extensive measurement sites for improved estimates of carbon stocks and fluxes as well as improved parameterization of process models used in scaling carbon flux over broad regions.