Carbon storage in upland forests of the Lake States

In this study, samples of both forest floor and mineral soil were collected from plots in 169 forest stands across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. There were no strong geographic trends in C storage in biomass, forest floor, or mineral soil across the study area. Storage differed significantly among forest types. Each major C pool was related to a different set of descriptors. Total storage, the sum of all pools, was related to forest type, stand age, available water, actual evapotranspiration, and soil clay content, explaining about 65% of the variation. Differences in the size of C pools, as related to time since disturbance and forest type, indicate that C storage in forests of the Lake States can be influenced by forest management activities. -from Authors