Is soil carbon a useful indicator of sustainable forest soil management?—a case study from native eucalypt forests of south-eastern Australia

Bauhus, Jürgen; Khanna, P.; Hopmans, P.; Weston, Christopher J.

doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(02)00461-9

Cited by 47 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…Soil organic matter (SOM) has frequently been suggested as a key attribute of soil quality and sustainability (Nambiar, 1996). However, results of prior studies in cultivated forests were inconclusive in terms of the response of total SOM as an indicator of sustainable forest management (Bauhus et al, 2002). Therefore, different pools of SOM with different functional roles in soil should be evaluated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential indicators of soil quality in temperate forest ecosystems: a case study in the Basque Country

et al. 2009

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Abstract• Assessment of forest sustainability requires reliable soil quality indicators. The present study evaluated the use of several potential such indicators in forests in the Basque Country under different types of management, involving: (i) species change and (ii) heavily mechanised forest operations.• Five adjacent forest stands were selected for study: (i) two unmanaged forests (Quercus robur, Fagus sylvatica) and one (40-year-old) Pinus radiata plantation, to investigate the effect of species change; and (ii) a chronosequence of mechanised radiata pine plantations (3 and 16 years old), to investigate heavy mechanisation.• Several physical, chemical and biological parameters were analysed in the mineral soil. Species change could not be assessed with chemical parameters, but parameters related to organic matter indicated the disturbance caused by heavy mechanisation. The Least Limiting Water Range was a good indicator of soil physical degradation induced by heavy mechanisation. Biological parameters proved sensitive indicators: (i) the fungal phospholipid fatty acid biomarker 18:2ω6 for species change; and (ii) the ratio of Gram-positive/Gram-negative bacteria for heavy mechanisation. Nevertheless, these parameters are complementary, and monitoring programmes should include physical, chemical and biological parameters.• Further studies are required to assess natural boundaries of variation in soil quality indicators, and their resistance and resilience. Mots-clés : changement d'espèces / débardage / indicateurs de solRésumé -Indicateurs potentiels de la qualité des sols dans les écosystèmes forestiers tempérés : une étude de cas dans le Pays Basque.• L'évaluation de la durabilité des forêts nécessite des indicateurs fiables de la qualité des sols. La présente étude a évalué l'utilisation de plusieurs de ces indicateurs potentiels dans les forêts du Pays Basque sous différents types de gestion, comprenant : (i) le changement des espèces et (ii) les opéra-tions forestières fortement mécanisées.• Cinq peuplements forestiers voisins ont été sélectionnés pour l'étude : (i) deux forêts non gérées (Quercus robur, Fagus sylvatica) et une plantation (âgée de 40 ans) de Pinus radiata, pour examiner l'effet des changements d'espèces, (ii) une chronoséquence de plantations mécanisées de Pinus radiata (âgées de 3 et 16 ans), pour enquêter sur la mécanisation lourde.• Plusieurs caractéristiques physiques, chimiques et biologiques ont été analysées dans le sol miné-ral. Le changement d'espèce ne peut être évaluée avec des paramètres chimiques, mais les paramètres liés à la matière organique ont indiqué des perturbations causées par la forte mécanisation. Le Least Limiting Water Range est un bon indicateur de la dégradation des sols induite par la forte méca-nisation. Paramètres biologiques qui se sont révélés des indicateurs sensibles : (i) le biomarqueur acide gras phospholipide fongique 18:2ω6 pour le changement d'espèces, (ii) le rapport bactérien Gram-positive/Gram-negative pour la mécanisation lourde. Néanmoins, c...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential indicators of soil quality in temperate forest ecosystems: a case study in the Basque Country

et al. 2009

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“…Although C storage in tree biomass reaches high values, assessment of C budgets in these ecosystems should also take into account the litter layer and soil, as these are major storage compartments [7,10]. The potential of soils as long-term C * Corresponding author: mibalboa@lugo.usc.es sinks is, however, much less well understood than that of tree C [29,38], even though mineral soil is the compartment of the system that stores most stable C.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon and nutrient stocks in matureQuercus roburL. stands in NW Spain

et al. 2006

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-In the present study, the distribution of C and nutrients in biomass (above-and below-ground) and soil were estimated in native Quercus robur stands in NW Spain. This information can be used to design future strategies to preserve and improve these forests, which are subjected to severe degradation as a consequence of poor management and fire damage. Biomass equations for tree components were fitted simultaneously using the data corresponding to 31 trees felled in 4 representative mature stands. The C accumulated in aerial biomass, roots, litter layer and mineral soil made up 40, 10, 8 and 42% respectively, of the C in the whole forest system. Tree biomass contained higher amounts of macronutrients than the available reserves in the soil. Stem wood was the major tree compartment for most nutrients, with the exception of Ca, which was mainly accumulated in stem bark. In comparison with commercial forest plantations in the region, particularly high amounts of nutrients were accumulated in the litter layer because of the high amounts of litterfall and higher foliar concentrations of nutrients. Quercus robur L. / biomasse / nutrition forestière / carbone / régression apparemment sans rapport

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“…Recent investigations of forests indicate the coarse fractions can the fine fraction would substantially underestimate the whole-soil C pool. For example, the <2-mm fraction contains only 63% of whole-soil C in a coastal Oregon forest (Cromack et al, 1999), 53 to 80% in three Australian forest sites (Bauhus et al, 2002), and 37% in one western Washington forest but 97% in another (Harrison et al, 2003).Some >2-mm C may be associated with charcoal or rocks (Bauhus et al, 2002;Harrison et al, 2003). Alternatively, it may be contained in aggregates that are not broken down during routine sample processing.…”

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Carbon Storage in Coarse and Fine Fractions of Pacific Northwest Old‐Growth Forest Soils

Homann

Remillard

Harmon

et al. 2004

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Many assessments of soil C have been restricted to the <2-mm fraction, but C has recently been identified in >2-mm fractions of forest mineral soils. Our objective was to determine the importance of the >2mm fraction to whole-soil C pools in Pacific Northwest old-growth coniferous forests. Seventy-nine pedons in 18 western Washington and Oregon forests were sampled to o depth of 100 cm. The <2-mm fraction was separated f'rom the >2-mm fractioo by airdrying, physicalty rrushing soil, and sieving; C was determined by Leco combustion. The >2-mm fraction contained up to 46% of the whole-soil C and averaged 23% for the seven forests that had C in that fraction. Following treatment with sodium hexametaphosphate to disaggregate soil material, up to 20% of whole-soil C remained in the >2-mm frsction Thus, the >2-mm fraction C appears to be in stable and unstable aggregates, as well as concretions. The whole-soil C in the surEsce 100 em of mineral soil ranged from 30 to 400 Mg C ha-'. Multiple regression analysis indicated this C pool was positively related to available water capacity, annual precipitation, and coarse woody debris (rZ = 0.63 to 0.66, n = 18 forests). Similar results were obtained with only the <2-mm soil C, which is the basis of previous regional evalmtions. This suggests consideration of the >2-mm fraction does not alter our understanding of the importance of dimate and soil texture as controls of soil C pools, but it does affect the quantificatiun of soil C pools lo many *ld-growth forests ie the Pocific Northwest. SOIL IS A MAJOR POOL in regional budgets and the global cycles of C (Jobbagy and Jackson, 2000;Zinke and Stangenberger, 2000;Bernoux et al., 2002; Goodale et al., 2002). Soil C content varies considerably within landscapes and between regions. It is influenced by climate, soil texture, topography, vegetation, and land management (Homann et al., 1995; Jobbigy and Jackson, 2000;Parker et al., 2001). There is considerable uncertainty associated with estimates of soil C pools and their association with controlling variables, because of sampling and analytical difgculties, soil spatial variability, and methods of extrapolation to regions (Homann et al., 1995(Homann et al., , 1998(Homann et al., , 2001 Brejda et al., 2001).Most studies of soil C pools have measured only fine fractions of the soil, such as €2, <3, or <4 mm (Grigal and Ohmann, 1992;Canary et al., 2000;Parker et al., 2001; Brejda et al., 2001;Homann et al., 2001). Recent investigations of forests indicate the coarse fractions can the fine fraction would substantially underestimate the whole-soil C pool. For example, the <2-mm fraction contains only 63% of whole-soil C in a coastal Oregon forest (Cromack et al., 1999), 53 to 80% in three Australian forest sites (Bauhus et al., 2002), and 37% in one western Washington forest but 97% in another (Harrison et al., 2003).Some >2-mm C may be associated with charcoal or rocks (Bauhus et al., 2002;Harrison et al., 2003). Alternatively, it may be contained in aggregates that are not b...

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Is soil carbon a useful indicator of sustainable forest soil management?—a case study from native eucalypt forests of south-eastern Australia

Cited by 47 publications

References 38 publications

Potential indicators of soil quality in temperate forest ecosystems: a case study in the Basque Country

Potential indicators of soil quality in temperate forest ecosystems: a case study in the Basque Country

Carbon and nutrient stocks in matureQuercus roburL. stands in NW Spain

Carbon Storage in Coarse and Fine Fractions of Pacific Northwest Old‐Growth Forest Soils

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