FIA Ground Layer Indicator Robert Smith, Sarah Jovan, Andrew Gray, Bruce McCune

Interior is a lichen/moss wonderland…

Wildlife forage

Peltigera lichen and Pleurozium moss Nitrogen fixation Nostoc cells Peltigera lichen and Pleurozium moss (both fix N)

Peatlands on the Tanana River, Bonanza Creek LTER C storage 1/3 of world’s soil C is in peat, mostly derived from bryophytes ~540 billion tons Peatlands on the Tanana River, Bonanza Creek LTER

Graphic by R. Smith

Goal: estimate the biomass , C content, and N content of the ground layer. Functional groups: Crust lichens Forage lichens Fruticose lichens N-fixing lichens Feather moss N-fixing moss Sphagnum moss Turf moss

mass = f(density, volume) 1. Calibrate: bulk density, elemental content 2. Measure: depth, cover non-destructive 3. Estimate: mass = f(density, volume) by functional group N=96 plots

Method: FIA Ground Layer Indicator Microquads (cryptogam sampling) 360° 180° 90° 270° 315° 135° 45° 225° 2 1 3 4 Subplot Transects Exclusion zone Measure depth and area, live+dead, × 32 microquads

See Smith et al. 2015. The Bryologist 118: 32-45

Totals (in thousand tons) Mass…………....12,588 (±1356) Carbon…..……..5586 (±601) Nitrogen……….138 (±12) Per acre Mass………………5.53 (±0.60) tons/ac Carbon ………….2.46 (±0.26) tons/ac Nitrogen………..122 (±13) lbs/ac

Functional group Functions Mass (lb acre−1) C (lb acre−1) N (lb acre−1) Cover (%) Mean SE Orange lichens Indicate nutrient, over-enrichment <0.1 Biotic soil crust Soil trapping, soil water influx, disturbance indicator 3 1 Other foliose Lichens Invertebrate habitat, bare site colonization 9 2 4 Stem-and-leaf liverworts Soil/detritus binding, water infiltration 16 7 Flat (thalloid) liverworts 29 20 13 N-fixing fruticose lichens N-fixation, increases albedo 32 22 14 10 Other fruticose lichens 70 31 N-fixing foliose lichens N-fixation, nutrient cycling 148 28 66 Forage lichens Wildlife forage (caribou, etc.) 394 93 175 41 6 Other feather mosses Rainfall interception, soil cooling 645 184 286 82 8 Turf (acrocarp) mosses Soil accrual, bare site colonization 1050 147 466 65 11 18 Sphagnum peat-moss Carbon storage (peat), water regulation, soil cooling 1853 619 823 275 17 N-fixing feather mosses Broad-area N-fixation, soil cooling 6818 802 3026 356 78 57 5

Estimates by forest type   Mass (thousand tons) C (thousand tons) N (thousand tons) Forest type Total SE Black spruce 9551 1472 4238 653 104 16 Paper birch 1508 340 669 150 17 4 White spruce 1276 439 566 195 15 5 Aspen 199 133 89 59 2 1 Nonstocked 43 39 18 Balsam poplar 11 7 12588 1356 5586 601 138   Mass (tons acre−1) C (tons acre−1) N (lb acre−1) Forest type Mean SE Black spruce 8.58 0.92 3.81 0.41 187 19 White spruce 4.18 0.95 1.85 0.42 95 21 Aspen 2.36 0.85 1.05 0.38 52 Paper birch 2.35 1.04 0.17 9 Nonstocked 1.22 0.54 25 Balsam poplar 0.11 0.04 0.05 0.02 3 1 Total 5.53 0.6 2.46 0.26 122 13

Thanks! sjovan@fs.fed.us