Changes of topsoil under Fagus sylvatica along a small latitudinal-altitudinal gradient

Cardelli, Valeria; Feudis, Mauro De; Fornasier, Flavio; Massaccesi, Luisa; Cocco, Stefania; Agnelli, Alberto; Weindorf, David C.; Corti, Giacomo

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.01.043

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…than at lower elevations ( Figure 5); this increase might be related to the high amounts of TOC and TN (Table 1) in subalpine soils close to the tree line [12], as well as to the high availability of labile carbon (e.g., DOC in soil extracts; Figure 5). Similar results were found also in an altitudinal gradient study in A horizons under Fagus sylvatica [67], which observed an increase in TN and C micr with elevation. As reported in other forested elevation gradients in the European Alps [68], the increased levels of C and N forms found at the highest site can be explained by the higher recalcitrance of ericaceous litter that is known to enhance C sequestration [69], lower activity of the whole enzymatic pool with increasing altitude [67], and a related lower nutrient immobilization [70].…”

Section: And N Forms Along the Elevation Gradientsupporting

confidence: 89%

Abiotic Parameters and Pedogenesis as Controlling Factors for Soil C and N Cycling Along an Elevational Gradient in a Subalpine Larch Forest (NW Italy)

Pintaldi

Viglietti

D’Amico

et al. 2019

Forests

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Mountain regions are vulnerable to climate change but information about the climate sensitivity of seasonally snow-covered, subalpine ecosystems is still lacking. We investigated the impact of climatic conditions and pedogenesis on the C and N cycling along an elevation gradient under a Larch forest in the northwest (NW) Italian Alps. The environmental gradient that occurs over short distances makes elevation a good proxy for understanding the response of forest soils and nutrient cycling to different climatic conditions. Subalpine forests are located in a sensitive elevation range—the prospected changes in winter precipitation (i.e., shift of snowfalls to higher altitude, reduction of snow cover duration, etc.) could determine strong effects on soil nitrogen and carbon cycling. The work was performed in the western Italian Alps (Long-Term Ecological Research- LTER site Mont Mars, Fontainemore, Aosta Valley Region). Three sites, characterized by similar bedrock lithology and predominance of Larix decidua Mill., were selected along an elevation gradient (1550–1900 m above sea level-a.s.l.). To investigate the effects on soil properties and soil solution C and N forms of changing abiotic factors (e.g., snow cover duration, number of soil freeze/thaw cycles, intensity and duration of soil freezing, etc.) along the elevation gradient, soil profiles were opened in each site and topsoils and soil solutions were periodically collected from 2015 to 2016. The results indicated that the coldest and highest soil (well-developed Podzol) showed the highest content of extractable C and N forms (N-NH4+, DON, DOC, Cmicr) compared to lower-elevation Cambisols. The soil solution C and N forms (except N-NO3−) did not show significant differences among the sites. Independently from elevation, the duration of soil freezing, soil volumetric water content, and snow cover duration (in order of importance) were the main abiotic factors driving soil C and N forms, revealing how little changes in these parameters could considerably influence C and N cycling under this subalpine forest stand.

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Section: And N Forms Along the Elevation Gradientsupporting

confidence: 89%

Abiotic Parameters and Pedogenesis as Controlling Factors for Soil C and N Cycling Along an Elevational Gradient in a Subalpine Larch Forest (NW Italy)

Pintaldi

Viglietti

D’Amico

et al. 2019

Forests

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“…Climatic conditions (i.e., decreased temperature and humidity) are heavily influenced by altitude, which in turn affects vegetation distribution/composition and alters the quality and quantity of litter/soil characteristics and C loss (Kotas et al, 2018;Quan et al, 2019). Recent studies have documented how changes in climatic conditions and forest canopy composition associated with altitude can affect the litter decomposition rate (Cardelli et al, 2019), soil microbial/enzyme activities (Feng et al, 2019;D'Alò et al, 2021), and nutrient storage in different ways (Bello et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil extracellular enzyme activities are essential for C and N cycling/stocking and litter decomposition and thus for microbial life (Baldrian and Štursová, 2011;Šnajdr et al, 2013;D'Alò et al, 2021). They also play an essential role in soil fertility as useful indicators for soil management (Baldrian et al, 2010;Cardelli et al, 2019). Changes in tree species composition along an altitudinal gradient alter soil microbial activity and thus the activity of soil enzymes (Feng et al, 2019;Ndossi et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, enzyme activity is sensitive to changes in vegetation and is closely related to soil primary quality, and health (Šnajdr et al, 2013;Nottingham et al, 2019). Soil nutrients (Cardelli et al, 2019), forest stands (Šnajdr et al, 2013), and climate (Walker et al, 2018) are factors affecting extracellular enzyme activity along altitudinal gradients. Recent studies have shown that the activity of C-and N-dependent enzymes has different trends with increasing altitude (Ndossi et al, 2020;D'Alò et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution of Soil Extracellular Enzymatic, Microbial, and Biological Functions in the C and N-Cycle Pathways Along a Forest Altitudinal Gradient

et al. 2021

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The diverse chemical, biological, and microbial properties of litter and organic matter (OM) in forest soil along an altitudinal gradient are potentially important for nutrient cycling. In the present study, we sought to evaluate soil chemical, biological, microbial, and enzymatic characteristics at four altitude levels (0, 500, 1,000, and 1,500 m) in northern Iran to characterize nutrient cycling in forest soils. The results showed that carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) turnover changed with altitude along with microbial properties and enzyme activity. At the lowest altitude with mixed forest and no beech trees, the higher content of N in litter and soil, higher pH and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), and the greater activities of aminopeptidases affected soil N cycling. At elevations above 1,000 m, where beech is the dominant tree species, the higher activities of cellobiohydrolase, arylsulfatase, β-xylosidase, β-galactosidase, endoglucanase, endoxylanase, and manganese peroxidase (MnP) coincided with higher basal respiration (BR), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and thus favored conditions for microbial entropy and C turnover. The low N content and high C/N ratio at 500-m altitude were associated with the lowest microbial and enzyme activities. Our results support the view that the plain forest with mixed trees (without beech) had higher litter quality and soil fertility, while forest dominated by beech trees had the potential to store higher C and can potentially better mitigate global warming.

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“…In this context, altitudinal and latitudinal transects offer the opportunity to study the distribution of microbial communities through the natural gradients of soil conditions and of various climate regimes, as well as the presence or absence of trees within short distances (Ma et al 2004;Körner 2007;França et al 2016;Siles and Margesin 2017;Kotas et al 2018). These transects could also be useful for studying soil microbial structure and activity in forest stands, including beech forests (Yergeau et al 2006;Grayston and Rennenberg 2006;Wu et al 2009;Zhang et al 2013;Cardelli et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial soil biodiversity in beech forests of European mountains

et al. 2021

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Fagus sylvatica is widely distributed across Europe thanks to its high adaptability in a wide variety of soils and climate. Microbial communities are essential for maintaining forest soil quality and are responsible for forest ecosystem functioning; the ability of soil microorganisms to respond to abiotic stressors (e.g. organic carbon losses, water scarcity, temperature changes), is crucial under ongoing environmental changes and also supports tree health. In this study, soil samples were collected from pure beech plots as part of the COST Action project CLIMO to find differences in microbial community characteristics and evaluate the effects of soil properties on microbial communities across altitude, latitude and longitude gradients. Positive relationships were found between organic carbon content and both microbial abundance and dehydrogenase activity. Dehydrogenase and catalase activities were altitude-correlated and microbial activities were longitude-correlated. In the most southern beech plot, microbial community was abundant and displayed high activities. This shows that microbial communities could help tree populations to better adapt to predicted changes in environmental conditions in the future. We suggest that research into forest health and beech performance should also test soil microbial enzymatic activity, in particular under changing climate conditions, to assist in identifying adaptation strategies.

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Changes of topsoil under Fagus sylvatica along a small latitudinal-altitudinal gradient

Cited by 24 publications

References 58 publications

Abiotic Parameters and Pedogenesis as Controlling Factors for Soil C and N Cycling Along an Elevational Gradient in a Subalpine Larch Forest (NW Italy)

Abiotic Parameters and Pedogenesis as Controlling Factors for Soil C and N Cycling Along an Elevational Gradient in a Subalpine Larch Forest (NW Italy)

Distribution of Soil Extracellular Enzymatic, Microbial, and Biological Functions in the C and N-Cycle Pathways Along a Forest Altitudinal Gradient

Microbial soil biodiversity in beech forests of European mountains

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