Tree plantations established on the natural forest lands increasingly expand globally but their signifi-
cance in sequestering atmospheric carbon (C) is rarely examined. We investigated changes of C stocks
in Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) plantations converted from a natural broadleaved
forest, based on a typical chronosequence in mounta inland of subtropical China, which includes six firstgeneration
Chinese fir stands at different development stages: 2- (recently regenerated), 7- (sapling),
16- (middle-aged), 21- (pre-mature), 40- (mature), and 88-year-old (over-mature), with a natural evergreen
broadleaved forest (NF) as a comparison. The tree biomass C pool increased linearly from 2 to
40 years old, with no further significant increase from 40 to 88 years old. Compared with that in the
NF forest, the mineral soil organic C (SOC) pool in Chinese fir plantation was decreased by 38.9% to a minimum
at 16 years old. The soils reaccumulated C only between 16 and 21 years old, and then became neutral
to C till to the over-mature stage, attaining an equilibrium SOC pool 30% lower than the pre-harvest
level. The contribution of subsoil (below 20 cm depth) to total profile SOC loss ranged from 53.2% in the
recently regenerated stand to 81.1% in the 16-year-old stand, emphasizing the importance of subsoil for
the SOC balance. Both litterfall and fine-root biomass of Chinese fir trees exhibited a decreasing trend
during late stand development, while the stand fine-root biomass remained relatively constant due to
an increased contribution from understory vegetations. The stagnancy in stand fine-root biomass during
late stand development might prevent the accruement of total profile SOC. However, the reduction of tree
roots and the increase of understory roots did change the vertical distribution of soil C at the over-mature
stage: the surface 0–20 cm soils accumulated C while the 20–40 cm soils lose C. It is concluded that
over-matur e tree planta tions had a lim ited role in continuously sequestering C as old-growth unmanaged
forests did, and that the SOC pools of tree planta tions can be hardly recovered to those of natural forests
due to a large initial loss and a low late gain in SOC following tree planta tion establishmen t.
Tree plantations established on the natural forest lands increasingly expand globally but their signifi-
cance in sequestering atmospheric carbon (C) is rarely examined. We investigated changes of C stocks
in Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) plantations converted from a natural broadleaved
forest, based on a typical chronosequence in mounta inland of subtropical China, which includes six firstgeneration
Chinese fir stands at different development stages: 2- (recently regenerated), 7- (sapling),
16- (middle-aged), 21- (pre-mature), 40- (mature), and 88-year-old (over-mature), with a natural evergreen
broadleaved forest (NF) as a comparison. The tree biomass C pool increased linearly from 2 to
40 years old, with no further significant increase from 40 to 88 years old. Compared with that in the
NF forest, the mineral soil organic C (SOC) pool in Chinese fir plantation was decreased by 38.9% to a minimum
at 16 years old. The soils reaccumulated C only between 16 and 21 years old, and then became neutral
to C till to the over-mature stage, attaining an equilibrium SOC pool 30% lower than the pre-harvest
level. The contribution of subsoil (below 20 cm depth) to total profile SOC loss ranged from 53.2% in the
recently regenerated stand to 81.1% in the 16-year-old stand, emphasizing the importance of subsoil for
the SOC balance. Both litterfall and fine-root biomass of Chinese fir trees exhibited a decreasing trend
during late stand development, while the stand fine-root biomass remained relatively constant due to
an increased contribution from understory vegetations. The stagnancy in stand fine-root biomass during
late stand development might prevent the accruement of total profile SOC. However, the reduction of tree
roots and the increase of understory roots did change the vertical distribution of soil C at the over-mature
stage: the surface 0–20 cm soils accumulated C while the 20–40 cm soils lose C. It is concluded that
over-matur e tree planta tions had a lim ited role in continuously sequestering C as old-growth unmanaged
forests did, and that the SOC pools of tree planta tions can be hardly recovered to those of natural forests
due to a large initial loss and a low late gain in SOC following tree planta tion establishmen t.
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Tree plantations established on the natural forest lands increasingly expand globally but their signifi-
cance in sequestering atmospheric carbon (C) is rarely examined. We investigated changes of C stocks
in Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) plantations converted from a natural broadleaved
forest, based on a typical chronosequence in mounta inland of subtropical China, which includes six firstgeneration
Chinese fir stands at different development stages: 2- (recently regenerated), 7- (sapling),
16- (middle-aged), 21- (pre-mature), 40- (mature), and 88-year-old (over-mature), with a natural evergreen
broadleaved forest (NF) as a comparison. The tree biomass C pool increased linearly from 2 to
40 years old, with no further significant increase from 40 to 88 years old. Compared with that in the
NF forest, the mineral soil organic C (SOC) pool in Chinese fir plantation was decreased by 38.9% to a minimum
at 16 years old. The soils reaccumulated C only between 16 and 21 years old, and then became neutral
to C till to the over-mature stage, attaining an equilibrium SOC pool 30% lower than the pre-harvest
level. The contribution of subsoil (below 20 cm depth) to total profile SOC loss ranged from 53.2% in the
recently regenerated stand to 81.1% in the 16-year-old stand, emphasizing the importance of subsoil for
the SOC balance. Both litterfall and fine-root biomass of Chinese fir trees exhibited a decreasing trend
during late stand development, while the stand fine-root biomass remained relatively constant due to
an increased contribution from understory vegetations. The stagnancy in stand fine-root biomass during
late stand development might prevent the accruement of total profile SOC. However, the reduction of tree
roots and the increase of understory roots did change the vertical distribution of soil C at the over-mature
stage: the surface 0–20 cm soils accumulated C while the 20–40 cm soils lose C. It is concluded that
over-matur e tree planta tions had a lim ited role in continuously sequestering C as old-growth unmanaged
forests did, and that the SOC pools of tree planta tions can be hardly recovered to those of natural forests
due to a large initial loss and a low late gain in SOC following tree planta tion establishmen t.
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