Organic Matter Accumulation in the Forest Floors of Forest Ecosystems in Taiwan-field survey

Organic matter accumulation in the forest floors is important for carbon and nutrient storage and cycling in forest ecosystems. In the winter of 2001, forest floors were sampled in 7 major forest types of mountainous areas of Taiwan: Taiwan red pine, Taiwania, China-fir, Crptomeria, Taiwan red cypress, natural broad-leaved and coniferous forests. Results shows that organic matter accumulation of these 7 forest types increased with an increase in elevation, except the O2 layers of Taiwania and O1 layers of natural coniferous forests which showed an opposite trend. Adding stand age to the regression equations increased the predictive capability of the regression equations based on elevation only. The regression equations developed in this study can be used along with the tree aboveground biomass derived from forest timber surveys to estimate the regional forest aboveground biomass and carbon accumulation in Taiwan.