Soil CO2 evolution in Florida slash pine plantations. I. Changes through time

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Abstract
Soil CO2 evolution rates were measured in slash pine (Pinus elliotii) plantations of three ages in north Florida. At the mature (29-year-old) plantation, which had a closed canopy and a well-developed forest floor of litter and humus overlying the mineral soil, C storage and detritus in the mineral soil was relatively low and soil C release was relatively high (13.0 t .cntdot. ha-1 .cntdot. year-1). C release was highest (22.7 t .cntdot. ha-1 .cntdot. year-1) at the clear-cut site, presumably because of high temperatures and rapid decomposition of detritus added during the harvest and lowest (8.2 t .cntdot. ha-1 .cntdot. year-1) at the 9-year-old plantation. For a range of forest sites, soil CO2 evolution rates and the magnitude and direction of changes after harvesting show latitudinal variation that probably depends not only on the amount of C contained in dead organic matter in the soil and its decomposition rate but also on the treatment of slash left after harvesting.