Forest composition drives bryophyte biomass, carbon and nitrogen storage in the boreal-temperate ecotone

Aims: Climate change and forest management have profoundly altered forest ecosystem dynamics, with impacts on canopy composition and understory vegetation. Forest type affects bryophyte ecosystem processes, particularly related to carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. Within the boreal-temperate ecotone, the Wabanaki-Acadian Forest harbors a diverse canopy composition with many species at their distributional limit, making it sensitive to climate change and human alterations, with unknown impacts on bryophytes and their functions. We aimed to quantify how canopy composition and moisture affect forest-floor bryophyte biomass, and C and N stocks.
Location: We sampled in 49 stands representing six forest types of the Wabanaki-Acadian Forest of New Brunswick (Canada): mesic and wet coniferous, mesic and wet deciduous, mixed, and cedar forests.
Methods: First, we developed an allometric model to predict bryophyte bulk density. We then estimated bryophyte biomass and C and N contents for five ..., , , # Forest composition drives bryophyte biomass, carbon and nitrogen storage in the boreal-temperate ecotone

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2ngf1vj0q](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2ngf1vj0q)

## Description of the data and file structure

We aimed to quantify how canopy composition and moisture affect forest-floor bryophyte biomass, and C and N stocks. We sampled in 49 stands representing six forest types of the Wabanaki-Acadian Forest of New Brunswick (Canada): mesic and wet coniferous, mesic and wet deciduous, mixed, and cedar forests. Methods: First, we developed an allometric model to predict bryophyte bulk density from calibration samples. We then estimated bryophyte biomass and C and N contents for five functional groups at each site using the ground-layer indicator method (Smith et al. 2015) and measured forest and soil characteristics at each site (e.g., forest composition, soil pH, moisture class). Linear models, multivariate, similarity percentages, and indicator species analy...,