The variations of aluminium species in mountainous forest soils and its implications to soil acidification

Abstract

Aluminium (Al) speciation is a characteristic that can be used as a tool for describing the soil acidification process. The question that was answered is how tree species (beech vs spruce) and type of soil horizon affect Al speciation. Our hypotesis is that spruce and beech forest vegetation are able to modify the chemical characteristics of organic horizon, hence the content of Al species. Moreover, these characteristics are seasonally dependent. To answer these questions, a detailed chromatographic speciation of Al in forest soils under contrasting tree species was performed. The Jizera Mountains area (Czech Republic) was chosen as a representative mountainous soil ecosystem. A basic forestry survey was performed on the investigated area. Soil and precipitation samples (throughfall, stemflow) were collected under both beech and spruce stands at monthly intervals from April to November during the years 2008-2011. Total aluminium content and Al speciation, pH, and dissolved organic carbon were determined in aqueous soil extracts and in precipitation samples. We found that the most important factors affecting the chemistry of soils, hence content of the Al species, are soil horizons and vegetation cover. pH strongly affects the amount of Al species under both forests. Fermentation (F) and humified (H) organic horizons contain a higher content of water extractable Al and Al(3+) compared to organo-mineral (A) and mineral horizons (B). With increasing soil profile depth, the amount of water extractable Al, Al(3+) and moisture decreases. The prevailing water-extractable species of Al in all studied soils and profiles under both spruce and beech forests were organically bound monovalent Al species. Distinct seasonal variations in organic and mineral soil horizons were found under both spruce and beech forests. Maximum concentrations of water-extractable Al and Al(3+) were determined in the summer, and the lowest in spring.

Chinese fir genome and the evolution of gymnosperms

“…5c ). These inhibitory effects are similar to those of other plants growing in acidic red soil 73–75 . Interestingly, low concentrations of astringent seed extraction can alleviate these inhibitory effects ( Supplementary Note 2 and Fig.…”

Distribution of aluminium fractions in acid forest soils: influence of vegetation changes

“…These projects were located in two mountainous areas in the north of the Czech Republic (Fig. 1), where soil acidification has been observed and studied (Drábek et al 2007, Dlouhá et al 2009, Bradová et al 2015. The altitude of the Jizera Mountains ranges between 400 and 1100 m a.s.l., and the altitude of Giant Mountains ranges between 400 and 1600 m. In both areas, the average annual precipitation is between 1200 and 1300 mm, and the average annual temperature is 4-7 °C.…”

“…-Fig. 1), described in detail by Bradová et al 2015. The first plot is covered by an oldgrowth beech forest, typical for that location, and the second one is covered by a 100-year-old Norway spruce forest, which had artificially replaced a beech forest.…”

Temporal changes in soil chemical compositions in acidified mountain forest soils of Czech Republic

“…The composition of the forest tree species in Jizera Mountains in between 2012 and 2020 ranged from 7.7 to 14.9% in beech forest and from 48.8 to 69.1% in spruce forest (Podrázský et al 2014;Zemědělstvi 2021). The sampling locality is called Paličník (50.8683900N, 15.2527000E), where it has been monitored for a long time (Borůvka et al 2009;Bradová et al 2015;Tejnecký et al 2010Tejnecký et al , 2013; therefore, it was selected for this research as a long-term observation. The elevation of the sampling locality ranges from 635 to 680 m a.s.l.…”

“…Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and spruce (Picea abies L.) are the most abundant forest tree species in Central Europe and have been studied for their various influences on longterm changes in soil physical, biological, chemical properties after acidification (Berger and Berger 2012;Pavlů et al 2018;Tejnecký et al 2013). Generally, forest tree species differ in the soil properties such as pH, exchangeable cations, nutrient cycle, soil fertility, and SOC stabilization due to their quality and quantity of litter, root exudation, nutrients uptake, and litter decomposition, depositional processes (interception of deposition such as throughfall, bulk deposition, and stemflow) canopy uptake and leaching (Bradová et al 2015;Habumugisha et al 2018). For instance, forest litter such as leaves, branches, and roots from beech and spruce varies in its composition, quality, and quantity.…”