Contribution of dead wood to biomass and carbon stocks in the Caribbean: St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Abstract

Dead wood is a substantial carbon stock in terrestrial forest ecosystems and hence a critical component of global carbon cycles. Given the limited amounts of dead wood biomass and carbon stock information for Caribbean forests, our objectives were to: (1) describe the relative contribution of down woody materials (DWM) to carbon stocks on the island of St. John; (2) compare these contributions among differing stand characteristics in subtropical moist and dry forests; and (3) compare down woody material carbon stocks on St. John to those observed in other tropical and temperate forests. Our results indicate that dead wood and litter comprise an average of 20 percent of total carbon stocks on St. John in both moist and dry forest life zones.

Citation

Oswalt, Sonja N.; Brandels, Thomas J.; Woodall, Christopher W. 2008. Contribution of dead wood to biomass and carbon stocks in the Caribbean: St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Biotropica. 40(1): 20-27.