Soil Ecosystem Services in Loblolly Pine Plantations 15 Years after Harvest, Compaction, and Vegetation Control

Abstract

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Conifer Root Proliferation after 20 Years of Soil Compaction

“…Ludovici (2008) found a moderate, yet statistically insignificant, difference in loblolly pine root biomass between severely compacted and noncompacted plots after 10 years. Although our studies offer only a glimpse into the potential responses of tree roots to soil physical changes, they support LTSP findings that soil compaction has had neutral, and in some cases positive, effects on conifer growth in temperate-zone plantations (Ponder et al 2012, Scott et al 2014.…”

Soil C and N storage and microbial biomass in US southern pine forests: Influence of forest management

“…In contrast, a more recent meta-analysis by Nave et al (2010) found an overall decrease in forest soil C in response to tree harvesting, but it was primarily related to the loss of forest floor rather than mineral soil C-losses. Despite the generalizations that emerge from these two meta-analyses, individual studies have shown that forest harvest intensity (i.e., removal of more that the merchantable bole) may cause losses (Jones et al, 2011;Kellman et al, 2014;Li et al, 2003;), gains (Grand and Lavkulich, 2012;Vanguelova et al, 2010), or no change (Jerabkova et al, 2011;Knoepp and Swank, 1997;Mariani et al, 2006;McLaughlin and Phillips, 2006;Richter et al, 1999;Scott et al, 2014;Wall, 2008;Zerpa et al, 2010) in SOC and TN.…”

Wood Bioenergy and Soil Productivity Research

“…Most of these data are from stands that have not yet reached canopy closure and thus maximum nutrient stress, but data from the oldest stands on fairly infertile sites indicate similar resilience. By age 15, the 13 sites in the southeastern USA had all been at canopy closure for several years, yet productivity was reduced by whole-tree harvesting only on the most infertile sites [49]. Similarly, jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.)…”

“…In contrast, a few soils with clayey soil textures have reported declines in young tree growth due to compaction [51] while productivity increased on loamy and coarse-textured soils after compaction due to improvements in water holding capacity or other physical attributes [48]. Compaction effects across a range of textures in southern pine sites resulted in increased tree productivity due to a reduction in competing vegetation [49].…”

“…In addition, several investigators have been exploring questions related to how the organic matter and compaction treatments might affect plant diversity as well as how plant diversity may be affecting measures of soil quality and forest health. Across the southeastern USA, understory plant diversity in loblolly pine plantations was not affected by either compaction or whole-tree harvesting at age 15 years [49], but some species were positively or negatively affected by the more intense disturbances [53,54]. Those positively affected were generally early-successional shrubs, while those negatively affected were latersuccessional tree species.…”