Forests are vast ecosystems with critical functions in global nutrient cycling. They also represent an enormous and potentially sustainable source of biomass feedstock for the production of fuels, chemicals and materials. Samples from well-characterized Long- Term Soil Productivity Study (LTSP) sites representing six distinct ecoregions across North America will be compared to reveal effects on the forest system of organic matter removal, a key variable in forest management. Effective forest management is essential for the sustainable and economical production of biomass serving as major feedstocks for fuel and chemical production as well as for insuring acceptable fluxes of greenhouse gases between managed forests and the atmosphere.
Proposer’s Name: William W. Mohn