Vegetation, biomass, and nitrogen pools in a spruce-fir forest of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park1

Abstract

high on low-elevation east-facing slopes near streams. Picea contained 71% of the live overstory N, while Abies contained less than 2%. Although Picea foliage comprised only 6% of live biomass, 37% of the total N content was in Picea needles. Overall, some species distributions reflect well-known landscape patterns (e.g., increasing Abies importance with elevation); distributions of other species (e.g., Picea and Betula) reflect smaller-scale topographic and possibly disturbance-oriented patterns. The watershed is large enough to encompass vegetation patterns at several spatial scales, all of which will influence N storage and dynamics.