Across the United States the carbon (C) flux of down woody material (DWM) detrital pools has largely been simulated based on forest stand attributes (e.g., stand age). DWM C flux has only recently been assessed using large-scale forest inventories for the Nation. Given the relatively small flux of DWM C and sparse sample intensity of current forest inventories, the question remains whether DWM C flux can be monitored nationally with statistical power. Using a large-scale DWM C inventory across the north central United States, a power analysis was conducted to determine the probability of current inventories missing a substantially large DWM C flux.
Results/Conclusions
DWM C flux was found to be relatively static with an annual flux rate not statistically different from zero. Current inventory sample intensity may only be able to detect annual DWM C flux if it exceeds 1, 4, and 6+ percent nationally, regionally, and at state-levels, respectively. It appears as though the DWM C inventory of the United States only has the statistical power to detect annual DWM C flux at the national level; whereas at smaller state-scales the inventory only has the statistical power to detect C flux when massive disturbances occur to DWM C stocks.
