Mass, nutrient content, and decay rate of dead boles in rain forests of Olympic National Park

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Abstract
Analysis of dead boles of Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr. and Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. in open- and closed-canopy forests of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA, revealed that hemlock mortality in both forest types was due mainly to windthrow, whereas spruce typically died upright. The open forest contained 120 t/ha of dead bole wood; the closed forest contained 161 t/ha. Hemlock boles decayed more rapidly than the larger spruce boles, although both showed considerable variability. On a per-hectare basis, 146-223 kg of N, 147-197 kg of Ca, 39-61 kg of K, 18-29 kg of Mg, 6-14 kg of Na and 17-29 kg of P were contained in dead boles of the open- and closed-canopy forests, respectively. Except for N and Mg, the nutrient concentrations of the wood were not significantly different after 33-68 yr of bole decay. The N:P ratios increased with increasing decay for both species.