Mineral soil carbon and nitrogen still low three decades following clearcut harvesting in a typical Acadian Forest stand

Prest, Dorothy B.; Kellman, Lisa; Lavigne, M. B.

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.10.002

Cited by 18 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…The reduction in SOC is similar in scale as Laiho et al [], Smaill et al . [], and Huang et al [], and TN values are within ranges of studies by Thiffault et al [], Zummo and Friedland [], Prest et al [], and Kellman et al []. Our values are also consistent with a meta‐analysis by Achat et al [] in which the effect of harvest intensity on soil organic matter and nutrient stocks was compiled from 140 articles and 168 experimental forest sites.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…C:N ratios were not statistically impacted by differing timber harvest intensities and are similar to those reported by Smaill et al . [], Diochon et al [], Zummo and Friedland [], and Prest et al []. This could be explained by proportional SOC and TN losses following timber harvest where increased rates of biogeochemical cycling following harvest result in C loss through increased heterotrophic respiration, while a proportional amount of N is simultaneously being mineralized, oxidized, and subsequently lost through leaching or volatilization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Responses of SOC and TN stocks in surface and subsurface mineral soils may be particularly relevant in the context of timber harvesting, whose legacy effects may last for decades to centuries [ Chen et al , ; Kellman et al , ; Prest et al , ; Dean et al , ]. Both SOC and TN are important indicators of soil quality due to their ability to influence soil structure, nutrient concentrations, water‐holding capacity, and microbial activity [ Lal , ; Bationo et al , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decadal‐scale changes in forest soil carbon and nitrogen storage are influenced by organic matter removal during timber harvest

Mushinski

Boutton

2017

JGR Biogeosciences

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This study investigates whether different intensities of organic matter removal associated with timber harvest influence decadal‐scale storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in the top 1 m of mineral soil 18 years postharvest in a Pinus taeda L. forest in the Gulf Coastal Plain. We quantified forest harvest‐related changes in SOC, TN, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and nitrogen (MBN) pools (0–100 cm) in unharvested control stands and in two organic matter removal treatment stands subjected to either (i) merchantable bole/stem‐only harvest or (ii) whole‐tree harvest + forest floor removal. In addition, δ13C of SOC and δ15N of TN were measured in mineral soil to provide insights regarding mechanisms that might explain changes in SOC and TN pool sizes. Soils were sampled seasonally for 1 year. Increasing organic matter removal intensity reduced SOC, TN, MBC, and MBN relative to the unharvested control. Furthermore, soils from whole‐tree harvest + forest floor removal stands had lower δ13C and higher δ15N values, suggesting that increasing organic matter removal may decrease heterotrophic activity as well as increase rates of N loss. Seasonal variabilities in SOC and TN were correlated to changes in forest biological properties such as root biomass and forest floor mass. These results indicate that more intensive harvest methods may lead to decade‐scale decreases in SOC and TN storage in surface and subsurface soils which could influence rates of biogeochemical processes, the availability of soil nutrients, and potential forest productivity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decadal‐scale changes in forest soil carbon and nitrogen storage are influenced by organic matter removal during timber harvest

Mushinski

Boutton

2017

JGR Biogeosciences

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“…Given the long-lasting impacts of fire, we suggest that the logging-related depletion of key soil measures may act as a precursor for longer-term, and potentially severe changes in soil composition33. Multi-decadal logging impacts occur in other large-tree, slow turnover forests, such as boreal forests (which experience losses in soil carbon and nitrogen), and can take up to a century to recover3, 9,18,19,28,33,35. The longlasting impacts of both fire and clearcut logging in mountain ash ecosystems indicate that the abiotic soil environments of this (and possibly other) forest ecosystems may be maladapted to frequent, high-intensity disturbances that exceed natural disturbance return intervals3,28.…”

Section: Implications Of Long-term Impacts On Forest Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term impacts of wildfire and logging on forest soils

et al. 2019

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Soils are a fundamental component of terrestrial ecosystems, and play key roles in biogeochemical cycles and the ecology of microbial, plant and animal communities. Global increases in the intensity and frequency of ecological disturbances are driving major changes in the structure and function of forest ecosystems, yet little is known about the long-term impacts of disturbance on soils. Here we show that natural disturbance (fire) and human disturbances (clearcut logging and post-fire salvage logging) can significantly alter the composition of forest soils for far longer than previously recognized. Using extensive sampling across a multi-century chronosequence in some of the tallest and most carbon-dense forests worldwide (southern Australian, mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests), we provide compelling evidence that disturbance impacts on soils are evident up to least eight decades after disturbance, and potentially much longer. Relative to long-undisturbed forest (167 years old), sites subject to multiple fires, clearcut logging or salvage logging were characterized by soils with significantly lower values of a range of ecologically important measures at multiple depths, including available phosphorus and nitrate. Disturbance impacts on soils were most pronounced on sites subject to compounding perturbations, such as multiple fires and clearcut logging. Long-lasting impacts of disturbance on soil can have major ecological and functional implications.

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“…The red spruce forests of this region have been the subject of several other soil C studies (e.g. [ 17 , 18 , 20 , 21 ]) as they provide useful model systems for understanding SOC dynamics in moist temperate forest soils subjected to routine clearcut harvesting disturbances [ 45 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depth-Dependent Mineral Soil CO2 Production Processes: Sensitivity to Harvesting-Induced Changes in Soil Climate

2015

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Forest harvesting induces a step change in the climatic variables (temperature and moisture), that control carbon dioxide (CO 2) production arising from soil organic matter decomposition within soils. Efforts to examine these vertically complex relationships in situ within soil profiles are lacking. In this study we examined how the climatic controls on CO 2 production change within vertically distinct layers of the soil profile in intact and clearcut forest soils of a humid temperate forest system of Atlantic Canada. We measured mineral soil temperature (0, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 cm depth) and moisture (0–15 cm and 30–60 cm depth), along with CO 2 surface efflux and subsurface concentrations (0, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 35, 50, 75 and 100 cm depth) in 1 m deep soil pits at 4 sites represented by two forest-clearcut pairs over a complete annual cycle. We examined relationships between surface efflux at each site, and soil heat, moisture, and mineral soil CO 2 production. Following clearcut harvesting we observed increases in temperature through depth (1–2°C annually; often in excess of 4°C in summer and spring), alongside increases in soil moisture (30%). We observed a systematic breakdown in the expected exponential relationship between CO 2 production and heat with mineral soil depth, consistent with an increase in the role moisture plays in constraining CO 2 production. These findings should be considered in efforts to model and characterize mineral soil organic matter decomposition in harvested forest soils.

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Mineral soil carbon and nitrogen still low three decades following clearcut harvesting in a typical Acadian Forest stand

Cited by 18 publications

References 50 publications

Decadal‐scale changes in forest soil carbon and nitrogen storage are influenced by organic matter removal during timber harvest

Decadal‐scale changes in forest soil carbon and nitrogen storage are influenced by organic matter removal during timber harvest

Long-term impacts of wildfire and logging on forest soils

Depth-Dependent Mineral Soil CO2 Production Processes: Sensitivity to Harvesting-Induced Changes in Soil Climate

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