Chemical Composition and Stocks of Nutrients in Dead Wood of Beech
(Fagus Sylvatica L.) Forests
SONYA DAMYANOVA1, VIOLETA DIMITROVA2
1Deparment of Ecology and Landscape Architecture,
University of Forestry,
10 ‘Sv. Kliment Ohridski’ Blv., 1797 Sofia,
BULGARIA
2Forestry Department,
University of Forestry,
10 ‘Sv. Kliment Ohridski’ Blv., 1797 Sofia,
BULGARIA
Abstract: - The research was carried out in four beech communities in two mountains, Stara Planina and
Vitosha in Western Bulgaria. The object of the study was dead beech wood. The aim was to determine the
chemical composition and stocks of nutrients in different parts of dead wood in both mountains. The content of
macro- and micronutrients in different fractions (stumps, standing, and lying dead wood) of dead wood was
determined. The elements carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and nitrogen (N) were in the largest quantities of all the
chemical elements studied. Next in order were Ca, Mg, K, and P. Micronutrients were arranged as follows in
descending order of their content in the dead wood: Mn, Fe, Zn, Na, Pb, Cu. The calculated stocks of these
elements showed that Stara Planina had a larger stock of elements than Vitosha mountain due to the greater
amount of dead wood. The results proved that the dead wood is primarily a carbon reservoir, stored mainly in
the lying dead wood fraction. The average carbon stock was 983 kg/ha for Vitosha and 4635 kg/ha for Stara
Planina. The stocks of all other elements that are contained were several times less in quantity.
Key-Words: - dead wood, common beech, macronutrients, micronutrients, stocks of elements, chemical
composition
Received: November 28, 2022. Revised: April 4, 2023. Accepted: April 27, 2023. Published: May 16, 2023.
1 Introduction
The content of macro- and micronutrients in
different fractions of plant biomass is the subject of
many investigations, [1], [2]. Many authors studied
the content of chemical elements in a litterfall as a
dynamic fraction, [3], [4]. Deadwood plays an
important role in keeping of biodiversity, [5], soil
fertility, and carbon sequestration, [6]. There is an
opinion that lowlands dead wood has significantly
higher functions than mountain reserves, especially
to damage caused by windstorms, [7]. According to
[7], the fallen dead wood contributed more to the
total dead wood volume than standing dead wood.
In the same paper, [7], the authors found that
standing dead wood was almost twice as high in the
mountain than in lowland forest reserves (45%
versus 25%).
Dead wood is one of the main stocks of carbon
and nitrogen in forest ecosystems. These elements
are returned through decomposition processes as
essential nutrients for the decomposer organisms,
[5]. Bacteria and fungi play active and
complementary roles in decomposition processes. A
dynamic of the decomposition and cycle of mineral
nutrition is used to predict and prevent possible
stress in forest ecosystems and understand
mechanisms of their adaptation to environmental
conditions, [8], [9]. Long-term monitoring of dead
wood dynamics is essential to determine material
cycling in ecosystems. Dead wood plays a role in
nitrogen cycling through the processes of nitrogen
fixation and immobilization, [10]. Fresh dead wood
usually has low nitrogen content. During
decomposition, the N content in deadwood
increases, [11]. The main reason for that change
according to [12], is nitrogen fixation from the
atmosphere. Results of investigation in
Mediterranean mountain forests show an increase in
nitrogen content during the decay process, while the
carbon content in stumps remains stable, [13]. The
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loss of carbon by respiration during the
decomposition processes is mentioned in [14].
According to [15], concentrations of some chemical
elements increase during the decomposition process
with the exception of potassium or the number of
nutrients in logs increases. Some authors, [16],
argue that there is a difference in the concentration
of some nutrients (Ca and P) according to the decay
classes and among species for elements K, P, and
Mg.
This paper aims to determine chemical elements
in different parts of the dead wood (standing, laying,
and stumps) in two mountains in Western Bulgaria
and to calculate their stocks as a reservoir of macro-
and micronutrients.
2 Problem Formulation
2.1 Objects
2.1.1 Site Description
The study was carried out in four mountain sites in
Western Bulgaria. Two sample plots were selected
in Vitosha mountain: Tihia kat (SP1), located in the
northwest at 1100 m a.s.l. and Zlatni Mostove
(SP2), located in the south-west at 1400 m a.s.l.
There were also two sample plots in Stara Planina:
Petrohan (SP3), located in the east-south at 1480 m
a.s.l. and Barzia (SP4), located in the northeast at
630 m a.s.l. The climate is temperate continental
and mountainous and the soils are Cambisols. The
objects of the investigation were standing, lying
dead wood and stumps in common beech (Fagus
sylvatica L.) communities in the two mountains.
The location of the studied sites is shown in Fig.1.
Fig. 1: Site location
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2.2. Materials and Methods
2.2.1. Chemical Analyses
The content of elements was determined in three
different fractions of dead beech wood – stumps,
standing, and lying wood. Average samples of these
fractions were formed for each site. The wood was
ground to a powder with a size of 0.25 mm using a
grinding mill. Main components such as carbon,
nitrogen, and hydrogen were determined by
Automatic Element Analyzer Euro EA3000 type
CHNSO, SINGLE. For determination of general
phosphorous and metal content, samples were
digested by heating in a Muffle furnace at 450˚C for
4 hours. The dry residues were dissolved into 20%
hydrochloric acids. Phosphorous was measured
spectroscopically at 410 nm after forming a
phosphorous-vanadium-molybdate complex using a
spectrophotometer Lambda 5. Metals were
measured using atomic absorption spectrometry
(Perkin Elmer AAS) of the solutions. The moisture
of the samples was measured using a moisture-
measuring balance.
2.2.2. Estimation of the Mineral Amount
The elements’ content was calculated by
multiplying the concentration of every element and
the amount of wood for the corresponding site. All
results are shown as an absolutely dry mass by
correcting with coefficients corresponding to their
moisture content.
3 Problem Solution
Macronutrients in plants are: organic carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorous, hydrogen, calcium,
potassium, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, and silicon.
In the present study, information was obtained on
most of them. The main structural element of wood
is organic carbon. The determined carbon content in
the dead wood for all the sampling plots was the
highest of all the chemical elements examined. That
result was found by many other researchers, [6],
[10], [13], [14]. Carbon content varied widely
between 47% and 70% absolute dry mass (Table 1,
Table 2, Table 3, Table 4).
Table 1. Elements’ content in dead wood of Tihia kat (SP1) in mg/kg absolute dry mass
Dead
wood
C, %
N, %
H, %
P,
mg/kg
Fe,
mg/kg
Pb,
mg/kg
Cu,
mg/kg
Mn,
mg/kg
Zn,
mg/kg
Mg,
mg/kg
Ca, mg/kg
Na,
mg/kg
K,
mg/kg
standing
47.10
1.74
7.23
260.70
38.6
16.60
11.25
438.6
15.7
3699.8
15575.0
20.3
13112.3
stumps
58.39
2.00
10.79
251.67
97.8
8.58
7.00
229.5
17.5
1250.9
6736.7
17.5
1216.5
lying
53.75
1.11
7.14
184.97
111.9
4.24
6.42
40.3
19.6
317.5
3642.9
9.5
187.3
Table 2. Elements’ content in dead wood of Zlatni Mostove (SP2) in mg/kg absolute dry mass
Table 3. Elements’ content in dead wood of Petrohan (SP3) in mg/kg absolute dry mass
Dead
wood
C, %
N, %
H, %
P,
mg/kg
Fe,
mg/kg
Pb,
mg/kg
Cu,
mg/kg
Mn,
mg/kg
Zn,
mg/kg
Mg,
mg/kg
Ca, mg/kg
Na,
mg/kg
K,
mg/kg
standing
61.31
1.92
9.01
740.33
127.7
8.77
4.54
419.3
60.5
846.2
5298.0
18.9
1176.
5
stumps
52.03
1.79
8.21
312.37
101.4
12.11
7.15
391.0
63.5
1512.5
10464.1
13.4
493.0
lying
58.20
1.01
10.79
94.68
22.4
0.53
1.55
103.9
5.3
162.3
1354.4
7.5
166.3
Table 4. Elements’ content in dead wood of Barzia (SP4) in mg/kg absolute dry mass
Dead
wood
C, %
N, %
H, %
P,
mg/kg
Fe,
mg/kg
Pb,
mg/kg
Cu,
mg/kg
Mn,
mg/kg
Zn,
mg/kg
Mg,
mg/kg
Ca, mg/kg
Na,
mg/kg
K,
mg/kg
standing
70.23
2.29
9.82
621.94
176.1
7.12
5.63
312.7
15.2
934.1
6812.3
47.7
3209.0
stumps
63.64
2.15
8.00
604.0
195.4
7.91
7.73
176.95
22.85
558.53
7372.84
20.59
998.44
Dead
wood
C, %
N, %
H, %
P,
mg/kg
Fe,
mg/kg
Pb,
mg/kg
Cu,
mg/kg
Mn,
mg/kg
Zn,
mg/kg
Mg,
mg/kg
Ca, mg/kg
Na,
mg/kg
K,
mg/kg
Standing
54.08
1.15
7.65
92.54
59.5
1.08
1.19
44.4
3.2
125.0
444.7
7.0
77.4
Stumps
50.79
2.09
9.93
663.23
101.4
12.25
9.21
671.5
24.0
2071.5
11382.0
19.5
1354.5
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The highest amount of carbon was determined in
standing dead wood compared to the other fractions,
except for sampling plot 1. For it, the carbon content
was highest in stumps. The next element in content
was hydrogen. Its amount varied between 7.65%
and 10.79% absolute dry mass (Table 1, Table 2,
Table 3, Table 4). There is no clear trend in which a
fraction of the hydrogen content was dominant. The
stumps in SP1 (Table 1) and SP4 (Table 4)
contained more hydrogen than the other fractions.
The same trend was found for nitrogen content for
the same plots. For sampling plot 3 (Table 3), higher
nitrogen content was found in standing dead wood.
The lowest nitrogen content was 1.01% absolute dry
mass and was measured in lying wood in SP3
(Table 3). For SP1, the same fraction had the least
amount of nitrogen (Table 1). The degree of stump
decomposition in SP1 and SP4 was the greatest
compared to the remaining sites. The increased
amount of nitrogen during the decomposition
processes has been confirmed by other studies, [11],
[12].
Calcium was in fourth place according to its
quantity among the chemical elements studied. It is
responsible for the synthesis of new cells and the
hardness of trees. That is why the calcium content of
the wood was so high. The highest amount of
calcium was determined for SP1 (Table 1) in
standing wood. The measured amount of this
element for the all rest sampling plots was higher in
stumps (Table 2, Table 3, Table 4). Probably the
degree of decomposition of the wood determines the
greater content of calcium in the stumps, as
mentioned in [16]. According to [9], the elements
calcium and magnesium in living trees are
antagonists, i.e. when one element is in greater
quantity the other is in less and vice versa. What we
found was that the element magnesium was
contained in similar quantitative ratios in the same
fractions as calcium, except for SP2 (Table 2).
Potassium and phosphorous contents were
higher in standing wood, except for SP4 (Table 4).
The least amount of them was in the lying dead
wood. Our results confirmed the opinion of the
authors in [15], that the established K content in the
stumps did not increase during the decomposition
processes.
The last of the macronutrients studied, sodium,
was found in the least amount in wood. Its content
in SP2 was almost double (Table 2) compared to the
other sampling plots. That site was near the road and
may have been leftover sodium salt used in the
winter to prevent icing on the roads.
The results obtained for SP4 were an exception
to those for the other sites. On the one hand, the
decomposition rate of standing wood in SP4 was
low, on the other hand, the degree of decomposition
of stumps was very high. This may be the reason for
such a large difference in the trends found for
nutrients in the study's four sites. All chemical
elements were determined to be lower in standing
deadwood than in stumps for SP4.
About 25% of heavy metals are micronutrients
(Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Mo, Co). They exist in plants in
extremely small amounts. Manganese content varied
widely and the highest values were found in
standing dead wood, except in SP4 (Table 4). For
the content of the element iron, no relationship
could be found between the different fractions. For
example, its amount is highest in lying wood only in
SP1, for SP3 in standing wood, and for SP2 and SP4
- in stumps.
The biggest difference was found in the values
for lead. The amount of lead was almost the same in
all fractions for SP2 in Vitosha (Table 2), while in
the standing wood in the other plot of the same
mountain (Table 1), its content was more than
double. For the sampling plots 3 (Table 3) and 4
(Table 4), lead dominated in stumps. Higher values
were measured for plots located next to roads. As
[17], found, this metal was deposited around roads
during the period of its use as a fuel additive and
could not disappear because plants had not
mechanisms for its dissimilation. Zink element
dominated in standing wood and stumps of Petrohan
(Table 3), while in the other plots, its amount was
within the close limits and 3-4 times lower. The
element copper was presented in the dead wood in
the least amount among all the elements examined.
Its content varied widely between 1.19 mg/kg to
11.25 mg/kg. Its largest amount was found in the
dead wood in Vitosha, SP1 (Table 1).
A previous study in the Western Stara Planina
by a member of this paper, [18], confirmed the
trends presented for the SP3 and SP4. The data were
not the same, but trends were similar.
The average stocks of the studied elements in
the dead wood in both mountains are presented in
Table 5. When comparing the values of the amount
of the elements, we can conclude that Stara Planina
had a larger stock of elements than Vitosha, due to a
larger amount of dead wood. The main nutrient
reservoir was the lying dead wood for the all study
sites, regardless of their altitude. Our results proved
conclusions in [6], [7], [16], that the dead wood was
a major reservoir of carbon. That element was
stored mainly in the lying dead wood of both
mountains. The carbon stock was 1763 kg/ha for
Vitosha Mountain and 4635 kg/ha for Stara Planina.
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All other elements that were contained were several
times less amount as stocks.
Table 5. Stocks of elements in dead wood in Vitosha and Stara Planina mountains
in kg/ha absolute dry mass
ELEMENTS
VITOSHA
STARA PLANINA
Standing
wood
Stumps
Lying
wood
Standing
wood
Stumps
Lying wood
Organic carbon (C)
959.186
226.380
1762.6
3504.937
1622.672
8776.560
Nitrogen (N)
30.563
7.654
36.4
83.545
61.616
152.308
Hydrogen (H)
135.376
29.245
234.138
500.731
288.422
1627.132
Potassium (K)
6.52
0.362
0.614
2.094
3.013
2.503
Calcium (Ca)
11.45
2.622
11.946
9.893
34.607
20.424
Phosphorus (Р)
0.819
0.208
0.607
1.529
1.580
1.428
Sodium (Na)
0.063
0.007
0.062
0.061
0.053
0.113
Lead (Pb)
0.012
0.003
0.014
0.019
0.033
0.008
Magnesium (Mg)
1.875
0.216
8.117
1.840
5.723
2.447
Copper (Cu)
0.009
0.003
0.021
0.012
0.026
0.023
Iron (Fe)
0.225
0.068
0.367
0.474
0.320
0.338
Manganese (Mn)
0.472
0.064
0.132
0.827
1.709
1.567
Zink (Zn)
0.022
0.008
0.064
0.104
0.134
0.080
Lying wood also stored hydrogen and nitrogen in
higher amounts than standing wood and stumps
(Table 5). The average hydrogen stock was 125
kg/ha and 805 kg/ha for Vitosha Mountain and Stara
Planina, respectively. For nitrogen stocks, the
corresponding values were 23 and 99 kg/ha.
Nitrogen stocks in the lying and standing dead wood
in Vitosha mountain were comparable (Table 5),
while stocks of lying dead wood in Stara Planina
were almost twice as high as those of standing dead
wood. In Stara Planina, Ca, and K were stored
mainly in stumps, while in Vitosha mountain, the
standing and lying wood stored almost the same
amount of calcium, but K was mostly in the
standing dead wood (Table 5). The average calcium
stocks were 22 and 9 kg/ha for Stara Planina and
Vitosha Mountain, respectively. The only element
represented in slightly larger quantities in Vitosha
mountain than in Stara Planina was magnesium. Its
amount was 3.4 and 3.3 kg/ha, respectively. In
addition, in Vitosha it was stored in standing and
lying dead wood, while in Stara Planina mainly in
stumps. The last major nutrient element,
phosphorus, was stored in Stara Planina in three
times greater quantity (1.5 kg/ha) than in Vitosha
mountain (0.5 kg/ha). Its stock was the highest in
the stumps in Stara Planina, while in Vitosha
mountain – in the standing dead wood (Table 5).
According to [16], the net release of nutrients varies
over a wide range from 31% (N) to 93% (K). This
makes it difficult to compare results if the decay
classes of the dead wood are not known.
All micronutrients (Mn, Fe, Na, Cu, Pb) had
stocks of less than a kilogram per hectare, except
manganese, which amount in Stara Planina was 1.4
kg/ha and in Vitosha 0.2 kg/ha only. It was mainly
stored in the stumps in Stata Planina, while in
Vitosha mountain – in the standing dead wood. All
micronutrients (Mn, Fe, Zn, Na, Cu, Pb) have
reserves below a kilogram per hectare, except for
manganese, the amount of which in Stara Planina
was 1.4 kg/ha and in Vitosha only 0.2 kg/ha. Their
entire stock was 2 kg/ha in Stara Planina and 0.5
kg/ha in Vitosha.
4 Conclusion
The order of the studied element in the dead wood
was as follows: C > H > Ca > Mg > K > P > Mn >
Fe > Zn > Na > Pb > Cu. Comparing the amount of
elements stored in the dead wood we can conclude
that Stara Planina had a greater stock of elements
than Vitosha Mountain due to the greater amount of
dead wood. The main nutrient reservoir was the
lying dead wood for Vitosha mountain. For Srtara
Planina, stocks of K, Ca, P, and Mg were mostly in
the stumps. The stocks of main nutrients, organic
carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen were in the lying
dead wood for both mountains. All other elements
contained were several times less amount as stocks.
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The dead wood of both mountains was a major
reservoir of carbon. The sum carbon stock was 2948
kg/ha for Vitosha and 13904 kg/ha for Stara
Planina. The sum hydrogen stock was 399 kg/ha and
2416 kg/ha for Vitosha and Stara Planina,
respectively. For nitrogen reserve, the
corresponding values were 75 kg/ha for Vitosha
Mountain and 297 kg/ha for Stara Planina. The sum
calcium stocks were 26 and 65 kg/ha, respectively.
The sum of magnesium stocks in both mountains
was almost the same – in Vitosha 10.2 kg/ha and
Stara Planina 10.0 kg/ha. The sum of phosphorous
stock was 1.6 and 4.5 kg/ha. The total supply of
micronutrients (Mn, Fe, Zn, Na, Cu, Pb) was 5,9
kg/ha in Stara Planina and 1.6 kg/ha in Vitosha.
Acknowledgment:
The studies were funded by the project: "Structure
and ecological functions of dead biomass in beech
forests (Fagus sylvatica L.) in Western Bulgaria“,
КP – 06-Н54/1, 2021, Ministry of Education and
Science, Scientific Researches Fund.
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Contribution of Individual Authors to the
Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting
Policy)
-Sonya Damyanova carried out the calculation and
representation of the results.
-Violeta Dimitrova organized and executed the
experiments.
Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a
Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself
The studies were funded by the project: "Structure
and ecological functions of dead biomass in beech
forests (Fagus sylvatica L.) in Western Bulgaria“,
КP – 06-Н54/1, 2021, Ministry of Education and
Science, Scientific Researches Fund.
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
_US
WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT
DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.44
Sonya Damyanova, Violeta Dimitrova
E-ISSN: 2224-3496
471
Volume 19, 2023
