Article C Stocks in Forest Floor and Mineral Soil of Two Mediterranean Beech Forests Anna De Marco 1, Antonietta Fioretto 2, Maria Giordano 1, Michele Innangi 2, Cristina Menta 3, Stefania Papa 2 and Amalia Virzo De Santo 1,* 1 Department of Biology, Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant’Angelo, Via Cintia, 21, 80126 Napoli, Italy;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +39-081-679-100 or +39-348-353-5925 Academic Editor: Björn Berg Received: 19 May 2016; Accepted: 16 August 2016; Published: 22 August 2016 Abstract: This study focuses on two Mediterranean beech forests located in northern and southern Italy and therefore subjected to different environmental conditions. The research goal was to understand C storage in the forest floor and mineral soil and the major determinants. Relative to the northern forest (NF), the southern forest (SF) was found to produce higher amounts of litterfall (4.3 vs. 2.5 Mg·ha−1) and to store less C in the forest floor (~8 vs. ~12 Mg·ha−1) but more C in the mineral soil (~148 vs. ~72 Mg·ha−1). Newly-shed litter of NF had lower P (0.4 vs. 0.6 mg·g−1) but higher N concentration (13 vs.