Carbon stock in forest stands of Ukrainian Eastern Forest-Steppe: forest monitoring data

In Ukraine carbon stocks in forests are assessed by gain-loss method, since the national forest inventory is under development now. For evaluation of main pools of oak and pine forest stands, typical for Forest-steppe of Ukraine, stock-difference method was used for data of repeated observations on 18 intensive forest monitoring plots.

The average carbon stock in the phytomass is 94.1 ± 10.5 tC ha^-1 and 93.4 ± 12.6 tC · ha^-1, in dead wood - 8.8 ± 3.8 tC · ha^-1 and 5.3 ± 4.2 tC · ha^-1 for oak and pine forest stands respectively. By age classes pine stands due to it higher productivity in general have higher C stock in phytomass comparing to oak.

C stock changes in trees phytomass is the highest in younger stands, and it decreases with age; while in dead wood it increases. At age 81-100 years oak forest stands have higher carbon storage capacity than pine (total stock in main pools (phytomass, mortmass and soils (30-cm layer)) is 191.7 t C ha^-1 for oak and 175.4 t C ha^-1 for pine stands). Trees phytomass carbon prevails among other pools (50.3 % in oak forests, and 57.6% in pine).