| Components of duff water balance (throughfall, evapotranspiration and vertical drainage/capillary rise) were compared between locations under canopy and in the open within and between a Pinus and a Picea stand located on a glaciofluvial hillslope in the Canadian boreal forest. Water content of the top 10 cm of the mineral soil layer is similar between the Pinus stand dominating the upslope position and the Picea stand dominating the downslope position indicating the predominance of local (canopy cover density) control in July–August. Duff is drier in the Pinus stand suggesting hillslope lateral flow (nonlocal control) in the spring. Within the Pinus and the Picea stands, duff under canopy is drier than duff in the open. Due to the difference in canopy architecture, variation in duff water balance is greater within the Picea stand than within the Pinus stand. Within and between stand differences in duff water balance helped explain the observed patterns of duff consumption in Pinus and Picea stands created by wildfires in the region. The results of this study provide implications for predicting duff consumption patterns and thus the availability of suitable seedbed for regeneration. |
