Harmon, M. 2016. A chronosequence of woody root decomposition in the Pacific Northwest, 1995 to 1997 Long-Term Ecological Research Andrews Forest LTER Site. [Database]. Available: https://andrewsforest-stage.forestry.oregonstate.edu/data/fsdb-data-catalog/TD032 Accessed 2026-05-10.

Decomposition of woody roots in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carrière), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. Laws. ex C. Laws.) dominated forests in Oregon, U.S.A. was studied using a chronosequence. Roots of five coniferous species were excavated from stumps with ages up to 46 years old. A structural component-oriented approach may provide a better solution to predicting the long-term woody root decomposition than that provided by initial substrate quality indices. This approach examines the decomposition of different components of woody roots separately to predict whole root decomposition.

Temporal coverage: 1995-06-01 to 1997-06-01

Geographic coverage: N/A

Bounds: W N/A, E N/A, N N/A, S N/A

• To study root decomposition of five tree species in forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Title: Long-Term Ecological Research

• Mark E. Harmon
  Role: Principal Investigator
  Oregon State University;Dept. of Forest Science;321 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331-5752, USA
  Phone: (541) 737-8455, (978) 724-0045 ext 223
  Email: mark.harmon@oregonstate.edu
  URL: http://fes.forestry.oregonstate.edu/people?path=people/harmon-mark
• Hua Chen
  Role: Other Researcher
  Biology Department ;University of Illinois at Springfield, Springfield, IL, 62703, USA
  Phone: 217-206-8339, 334-559-9354
  Email: hchen40@uis.edu
• Jack E. Janisch
  Role: Other Researcher
  Environmental Assessment Program ;Washington Department of Ecology ;P.O. Box 47600;, Olympia, WA, 98504-7600, USA
  Phone: 360-407-6649
  Email: jaja461@ecy.wa.gov
• Becky Fasth
  Role: Abstractor
  Oregon State University;College of Forestry;Dept. of Forest Ecosystems and Society; 201L Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
  Phone: (541) 737-8431, (541) 737-8460
  Email: becky.fasth@oregonstate.edu
• Mark E. Harmon
  Role: Creator
  Oregon State University;Dept. of Forest Science;321 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331-5752, USA
  Phone: (541) 737-8455, (978) 724-0045 ext 223
  Email: mark.harmon@oregonstate.edu
  URL: http://fes.forestry.oregonstate.edu/people?path=people/harmon-mark

• Information Manager
  Andrews Forest LTER Program, US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR, 97331
  Email: hjaweb@fsl.orst.edu
  URL: http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/
• Mark E. Harmon
  Oregon State University;Dept. of Forest Science;321 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331-5752, USA
  Phone: (541) 737-8455, (978) 724-0045 ext 223
  Email: mark.harmon@oregonstate.edu
  URL: http://fes.forestry.oregonstate.edu/people?path=people/harmon-mark

• Andrews Forest LTER Site
  Role: Publisher
  Forest Ecosystems and Society Department in Forestry, Oregon State University, 201K Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331-5752
  Phone: (541) 737-8480
  Email: lterweb@fsl.orst.edu
  URL: http://andrewsforest.oregonstate.edu/

Decomposition of woody roots in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carrière), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. Laws. ex C. Laws.) dominated forests in Oregon, U.S.A. was studied using a chronosequence. Roots of five coniferous species were excavated from stumps with ages up to 46 years old. A structural component-oriented approach may provide a better solution to predicting the long-term woody root decomposition than that provided by initial substrate quality indices. This approach examines the decomposition of different components of woody roots separately to predict whole root decomposition. To study root decomposition of five tree species in forests of the Pacific Northwest. Field Methods - TD032

Purpose: To study root decomposition of five tree species in forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Method Steps

Sampling

No software entries listed in this EML file.

• LTER controlled vocabulary: chronosequences (theme), decomposition (theme), inorganic nutrients (theme), nitrogen (theme), organic matter (theme), roots (theme)
• LTER core research areas: inorganic nutrients (theme), organic matter (theme)

• All Organisms: All Organisms
• Highest common category (ca. kingdom): Plantae
• Division or Phylum: Coniferophyta
• Class: Pinopsida
• Order: Pinales
• Family: Pinaceae
• Genus: Tsuga
• Species: Tsuga heterophylla
• Genus: Picea
• Species: Picea sitchensis
• Genus: Pinus
• Species: Pinus ponderosa
• Species: Pinus contorta
• Genus: Pseudotsuga
• Species: Pseudotsuga menziesii

No related dataset codes found in the EML text fields.

• Chen, Hua. 1999. Root decomposition in three coniferous forests: effects of substrate quality, temperature, and moisture. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University. 218 p. Ph.D. dissertation.
• Chen, Hua; Harmon, Mark E.; Griffiths, Robert P.; Hicks, William. 2000. Effects of temperature and moisture on carbon respired from decomposing woody roots. Forest Ecology and Management. 138: 51-64.
• Chen, Hua; Harmon, Mark E.; Griffiths, Robert P. 2001. Decomposition and nitrogen release from decomposing woody roots in coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest: a chronosequence approach. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 31: 246-260.
• Chen, Hua; Hicks, William. 2003. High asymbiotic N2 fixation rates in woody roots after six years of decomposition: controls and implications. Basic and Applied Ecology. 4: 479-486.

No related files listed in this EML file.

Data Use Agreement:

The re-use of scientific data has the potential to greatly increase communication, collaboration and synthesis within and among disciplines, and thus is fostered, supported and encouraged. This Data Set is released under the Creative Commons license CC BY "Attribution" (see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Creative Commons license CC BY - Attribution is a license that allows others to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work (even commercially), as long as you are credited for the original creation. This license accommodates maximum dissemination and use of licensed materials.

It is considered professional conduct and an ethical obligation to acknowledge the work of other scientists. The Data User is asked to provide attribution of the original work if this data package is shared in whole or by individual parts or used in the derivation of other products. A recommended citation is provided for each Data Set in the Andrews LTER data catalog (see: http://andlter.forestry.oregonstate.edu/data/catalog/datacatalog.aspx). A generic citation is also provided for this Data Set on the website https://portal.edirepository.org in the summary metadata page. Data Users are thus strongly encouraged to consider consultation, collaboration and/or co-authorship with the Data Set Creator.

While substantial efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of data and associated documentation, complete accuracy of data sets cannot be guaranteed and all data are made available "as is." The Data User should be aware, however, that data are updated periodically and it is the responsibility of the Data User to check for new versions of the data. The data authors and the repository where these data were obtained shall not be liable for damages resulting from any use or misinterpretation of the data.

General acknowledgement: Data were provided by the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest research program, funded by the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research Program (DEB 2025755), US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, and Oregon State University.

License: N/A

Maintenance update frequency: notPlanned

Description

• An update history is logged and maintained with each new version of every dataset.

Change History

• Version1 (2005-06-22)
  Original metadata creation
• Version2 (2005-06-22)
  Moved database to SQL server
• Version6 (2016-11-15)
  Preparing dataset for upload to PASTA. Need to recreate CSV file. Changed STCODE to DBCODE and Format to Entity. Data used CAH for Cascade Head site, but CHE was enumerated. Changed enumeration. Chen Hua used CAH in his dissertation. Added PK. Added 1 or 2 to some samp_no to deal with duplicates. Ran QC. Added an experimental design from a paper and updated abstract and other methods.