Carbon pools in a montane old-growth Norway spruce ecosystem in Bohemian Forest: Effects of stand age and elevation

• A rare montane old-growth forest was found to be C neutral.
• The forests store very high amounts of C, 393 t C ha−1 on average.
• Total C significantly decreased with increasing elevation from 456 to 294 t C ha−1.
• Dead coarse roots and soil C down to parent material were also quantified.

Good understanding of forest productivity and carbon (C) storage capacity is essential for better understanding of C dynamics and climate modeling. Studies of old-growth forest C dynamics from central and eastern Europe are rare and the few remaining pristine forests represent a unique opportunity to study natural forest dynamics in an otherwise managed landscape. We studied protected old-growth Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) stands in the Bohemian Forest, Czech Republic, to explore total ecosystem C pool (live and dead biomass and soil) variability in forest ecosystem as a function of stand age and elevation. These old-growth forest ecosystems store very high amounts of C, up to 570 t C ha−1, and 393 t C ha−1 on average. Live biomass is the dominant C pool followed by mineral soil, forest floor and dead biomass. We found that total C significantly decreased with increasing elevation (1025–1338 m a.s.l) from 456 to 294 t C ha−1, predominantly driven by decreases in live biomass and forest floor C pools. Significant changes take place in individual pools based on age and elevation gradients, but total C was not significantly different between stands age 116–145 years. Contrary to some recent findings that old-growth forest ecosystems continue to sequester C long after maturity, our data supports the hypothesis that old-growth forests reach a steady state and become C neutral. They accumulate same amount of C through photosynthesis than is lost by decay and leaching. This study provides a detailed overview of C pools of old-growth Bohemian Forests and highlights the importance of including all major C pools in forest ecosystem C studies.