Article Dynamics of Coarse Woody Debris Characteristics in the Qinling Mountain Forests in China Jie Yuan 1 ID , Shibu Jose 2, Xiaofeng Zheng 1, Fei Cheng 1,3, Lin Hou 1,4, Jingxia Li 1,5 and Shuoxin Zhang 1,4,* 1 College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China;
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[email protected] 3 Forestry College, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China 4 Qinling National Forest Ecosystem Research Station, Huoditang, Ningshan 711600, China 5 Gansu Forestry Technological College, Tianshui 741020, China * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel./Fax: +86-29-87082993 Received: 15 September 2017; Accepted: 20 October 2017; Published: 23 October 2017 Abstract: Coarse woody debris (CWD) is an essential component in defining the structure and function of forest ecosystems. Long-term dynamics of CWD characteristics not only affect the release rates of chemical elements from CWD, but also the species diversity of inhabiting plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms as well as the overall health of ecosystems. However, few quantitative studies have been done on the long-term dynamics of CWD characteristics in forest ecosystems in China. In this study, we conducted nine tree censuses between 1996 and 2016 at the Huoditang Experimental Forest in the Qinling Mountains of China. We quantified forest biomass including CWD and CWD characteristics such as decay states and diameter classes during this period and correlated with stand, site, and climatic variables.