Stemwood Biomass and Production During Spruce-Fir Stand Development

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Abstract
(1) A 600-year chronosequence of Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir forest was used to examine the effects of changes in forest structure on stemwood biomass and production in a mixed-species community. (2) Fir size-class and age-class structure stabilized early in stand development, but spruce size and age structure changed throughout stand development. (3) Community stemwood biomass remained nearly constant through time as an increase in spruce biomass compensated for mortality in the fir component. (4) Fir production decreased from initially high levels with changes in size-class structure, but spruce production remained nearly constant. (5) Stemwood production was related to leaf area in both species, but patterns of leaf-area allocation differed between species. (6) Constant fir leaf area and production are achieved after stand structure stabilizes, but constant spruce leaf area and production occurred despite changes in stand structure.