Changes in soil quality due to converting <i>Pinus</i> to <i>Eucalyptus</i> plantations and subsequent successive <i>Eucalyptus</i> planting in southern China

Abstract

Abstract. Plants play a key role in maintaining soil quality, but long-term changes in soil quality due to plant species change and successive planting are rarely reported. Using the space-for-time substitution method, adjacent plantations of Pinus and 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations of Eucalyptus in Guangxi, China were used to study changes in soil quality caused by converting Pinus to Eucalyptus and successive Eucalyptus planting. Soil chemical and biological properties were measured and a soil quality index (SQI) was calculated. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, alkaline hydrolytic nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass nitrogen, cellobiosidase, phenol oxidase, peroxidase and acid phosphatase activities significantly decreased in the 1st and 2nd generations of Eucalyptus plantations after conversion from Pinus to Eucalyptus but gradually recovered in the 3rd and 4th generations. Soil total and available potassium were significantly lower, but total phosphorus was significantly higher in Eucalyptus plantations compared to the Pinus plantation. As an integrated indicator, SQI was highest in the Pinus plantation (0.92), but decreased to 0.24 and 0.13 in the 1st and 2nd generations of Eucalyptus plantations, respectively. However, it recovered to 0.36 and 0.38 in the 3rd and 4th generations, respectively. Changing tree species, reclamation and fertilization may have contributed to the "U" shaped change observed in soil quality during conversion of Pinus to Eucalyptus and successive Eucalyptus planting. Litter retention, keeping understory coverage, and reducing soil disturbance during logging and subsequent establishment of the next rotation should be considered to help improving soil quality during plantation management.