The impact of spongy moth (Lymantria dispar dispar) defoliation on carbon balance of a temperate deciduous forest in North America

作者：Lejla Latifovic, M. Altaf Arain · 发表于：Agricultural and Forest Meteorology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.agrformet.2024.110076 · 被引用次数：13 · 研究领域：Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics、Forest ecology and management、Fire effects on ecosystems

Temperate deciduous forests are an important contributor to the global carbon (C) sink. However, changes in environmental conditions and natural disturbances such as insect infestations can impact carbon sequestration capabilities of these forests. While, insect infestations are expected to increase in warmer future climates, there is a lack of knowledge on the quantitative impact of these natural disturbances on the carbon balance of temperate deciduous forests. In 2021, a record-breaking defoliation, caused by the spongy moth (Lymantria dispar dispar (LDD), formerly knows as the gypsy moth) occurred in eastern North America. In this study, we assess the impact of this spongy moth defoliation on carbon uptake in a mature oak-dominated temperate forest in the Great Lakes region in Canada, using eddy covariance flux data from 2012 to 2022. Study results showed that the forest was a large C sink with mean annual net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of 207 ± 77 g C m–2 yr−1 from 2012 to 2022, excluding 2021, which experienced the infestation. Over this period mean annual gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) was 1,398 ± 137 g C m–2 yr−1, while ecosystem respiration (RE) was 1,209 ± 139 g C m–2 yr−1. However, in 2021 due to defoliation in the early growing season, annual GEP of the forest declined to 959 g C m–2 yr−1, while annual RE increased to 1,345 g C m–2 yr−1 causing the forest to become a large source of C with annual NEP of -351 g C m–2 yr−1. The forest showed a rapid recovery f...