Table 3.
Total N concentration (g·kg⁻¹) in different components of larch plantations across stand ages
| Organs | Stand age (year) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 23 | 37 | 47 | |
| Tree | ||||
| Tree stem | 3.59 ± 0.22a | 1.61 ± 0.18b | 1.58 ± 0.15b | 3.04 ± 0.21a |
| Tree branch | 2.99 ± 0.04ab | 1.18 ± 0.25c | 1.97 ± 0.17bc | 3.55 ± 0.38a |
| Tree leaf | 21.10 ± 0.57a | 23.47 ± 1.00a | 21.58 ± 0.98a | 24.35 ± 1.23a |
| Tree coarse root | 5.85 ± 0.74a | 3.81 ± 0.37ab | 3.09 ± 0.42b | 5.10 ± 0.08ab |
| Tree fine root | 10.85 ± 0.42ab | 8.37 ± 0.08c | 9.18 ± 0.35bc | 11.64 ± 0.60a |
| Shrub-herbs | ||||
| Shrub | 10.99 ± 0.31a | 12.73 ± 1.16a | 11.25 ± 0.85a | 13.93 ± 0.44a |
| Herbs | 12.91 ± 0.72b | 17.85 ± 1.14a | 16.30 ± 0.19ab | 19.44 ± 0.80a |
| Forest floor litter | 11.92 ± 0.73a | 11.01 ± 0.56a | 11.85 ± 0.34a | 11.23 ± 1.33a |
| Soil | ||||
| 0–1 cm organic horizon | 5.29 ± 0.03a | 5.02 ± 0.33a | 6.97 ± 0.25a | 5.50 ± 0.81a |
| 0–10 cm mineral | 2.84 ± 0.31a | 3.45 ± 0.61a | 3.81 ± 0.17a | 3.40 ± 0.15a |
| 10–20 cm mineral | 1.86 ± 0.11b | 3.06 ± 0.34a | 3.08 ± 0.12a | 2.47 ± 0.03ab |
| 20–30 cm mineral | 2.41 ± 0.39a | 2.10 ± 0.06a | 3.64 ± 0.47a | 3.03 ± 0.22a |
Values are shown as mean ± standard deviation based on three independent stand-level replicates for each stand age. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among stand ages within the same component or soil layer at p < 0.05