Environmental Limits on Aboveground Net Primary Production, Leaf Area, and Biomass in Vegetation Zones of the Pacific Northwest

Mature vegetation from eight of the 12 major vegetation zones in Oregon and Wash- ington was sampled along a transect from the Pacific Coast to the east slopes of the Cascade Moun- tains. Six stands were in forests, one in woodland, and one in the shrub-steppe. Aboveground-over- story net primary production (NPP, estimated as the sum of annual stem, branch, and foliage production) ranged from 90% of the variation in leaf area index. Although annual precipitation ranged from 20 cm in the shrub-steppe to 260 cm at the coast, it was a relatively poor predictor of stand structure and produc- tion. Biomass and NPP increased linearly up to a leaf area of =30 ha/ha; above this point, biomass continued to increase while NPP decreased. Except in the coastal forest zones, NPP was less than maximum values reported for other mature systems elsewhere in the world for the same range in leaf area indices. Compared to other forested regions of the temperate zone with the same NPP, these systems receive more annual precipitation, and average twice the basal area and biomass.

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