2018 Volume 17 Issue 4 Pages 325-332
To evaluate the impact of typhoon disturbances to productivity in old secondary Castanopsis cuspidate stands that reduce resprouting ability, we monitored fluctuations in aboveground net primary production (ANPP) in a Castanopsis cuspidata coppice stand (57 years old in 2008) in Kumamoto, Japan, on an annual scale for 18 years (1990–2008). The average ANPP was 11.96 (range 8.82–15.5) Mg/ha/yr. This value is slightly lower than that of young Castanopsis stands in the same area (13.33 Mg/ha/yr for 10–16-year-old stands). Defoliation and stem breakage caused by several typhoons resulted in large annual fluctuations in ANPP. Old coppice stands over 50 years old are more susceptible to disturbance by typhoons and may show larger fluctuations and declines in ANPP with increasing stand age. Our results imply that typhoon disturbances play a more important role in the ANPP dynamics of old Castanopsis coppice stands than in young coppice stands.
