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Abstract

This chapter investigates the effect of forest age on soil carbon storage, clarifying if old-growth forests still store soil carbon despite the ecological theory that old-growth forests are carbon neutral. In the first section, a general overview of carbon storage is given, and key areas where forest age could affect carbon storage are described. In the second section, the existing literature is reviewed, elaborating the effect of these factors on carbon storage in old-growth forests. Finally a case study of a temperate broadleaf forest site is given. The results demonstrate that old-growth forests are still able to store carbon in the soil; however, litter quality, i.e. acid-generating conifer needles, may also negatively influence soil carbon storage. Most interestingly, the amount of stored carbon depends strongly on the methods applied. Chronosequence approaches generally gain only a few grams of carbon per year and square metre, whereas repeated sampling yields several tens of grams.