Using iron metal rods to infer oxygen status in seasonally saturated soils

Owens, Phillip R.; Wilding, L. P.; Miller, W. M.; Griffin, Richard W.

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2007.07.009

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Measurements of rust formation on iron rods indicated that the aerated depth in CH forests was shallower and more variable than in HA forests. Strong correlations have been reported between steel‐rod rusting depth and water‐table depth (McKee 1978; Bridgham, Faulkner & Richardson 1991), rooting depth (Carnell & Anderson 1986) and soil oxygen concentration (Owens et al. 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships among soil moisture, aeration and plant communities in natural and harvested coniferous forests in coastal British Columbia, Canada

et al. 2012

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Summary1. This study was undertaken to address a curious ecological phenomenon that occurs over extensive areas of northern Vancouver Island, Canada. Slow tree growth and symptoms of nutrient deficiencies appear within 10 years of harvesting old-growth cedar-hemlock (CH) forests, but do not occur on adjacent hemlock-fir (HA) stands. We investigate the underlying causes of distinct differences in productivity and fertility of the two ecosystems. 2. We hypothesized that the differences in nutrient supply and tree growth arise from small, but ecologically significant, differences in soil moisture with attendant effects on redox potential (Eh), aeration, soil C stores and plant species distribution. Our field studies determined (i) whether neighbouring CH and HA forests differ in soil moisture and aeration, (ii) whether soil carbon stores differ among CH and HA forests, (iii) whether plant community composition in the two forest types is related to soil moisture and aeration and (iv) the impact of harvesting CH and HA forests on moisture and aeration conditions. 3. As hypothesized, soils in CH forests were wetter and less aerated, and had shallower aerated depth and higher frequency of anaerobic conditions compared with HA forests. About 43% of the samples taken from CH forests had average redox values <+300 mV, a threshold below which anaerobic conditions develop and root growth is impeded. Soil carbon stores and rates of decomposition of cellulose did not differ among the forest types. Soil aeration explained 25% of the variability in species composition of plant communities. 4. The two forest types responded differently to clear-cut harvesting, and there were indications that clear-cut harvesting could trigger reductions in soil aeration in some HA forest soils which could lead to paludification and a decline in site productivity of these ecosystems. 5. Synthesis. Our findings confirmed that these ecosystems bracket a critical biological threshold below which low soil oxygen availability caused by excessive moisture becomes limiting for biological processes. Recognition of this redox threshold and its ecological implications could contribute to improved ability to manage ecosystems which may be near this threshold or become so in a changing climate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships among soil moisture, aeration and plant communities in natural and harvested coniferous forests in coastal British Columbia, Canada

et al. 2012

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“…Hence, the percentage of segments indicating reducing conditions in the soil was calculated. The feature of rust was not included in the final analysis because absence of rust indicates two contrasting soil water conditions: severe dryness or waterlogging (Owens et al, 2008). Table 1 shows, how many rods were exposed during the three investigation periods.…”

Section: Redox Situation (Iron Rods)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the assessment the rod was subdivided into zones of 3 cm length. For every zone the presence of rust, matt grey surface (''patina"), and shiny surface was recorded according to the classification of Owens et al (2008). For the final analysis the number of segments with presence of patina was counted and the percentage in relation to the total number of segments was calculated.…”

Section: Redox Situation (Iron Rods)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil aeration and soil water tension in skidding trails during three years after trafficking

Fründ

Averdiek

2016

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…Steel bars were installed and later retrieved to assess aeration depth (cf. Bridgham et al, 1991;Carnell and Anderson, 1986;Owens et al, 2008). We tested the following hypotheses: (H1) blocking drainage ditches increases the height of the water table; (H2) blocking drainage ditches results in increases in cover and prevalence of specialist bog species; and (H3) these increases are greater close to the ditches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical peat loss explains limited short-term response of drained blanket bogs to rewetting

Williamson

Rowe

Reed

et al. 2017

Journal of Environmental Management

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This study assessed the short-term impacts of ditch blocking on water table depth and vegetation community structure in a historically drained blanket bog. A chronosequence approach was used to compare vegetation near ditches blocked 5 years, 4 years and 1 year prior to the study with vegetation near unblocked ditches. Plots adjacent to and 3 m away from 70 ditches within an area of blanket bog were assessed for floristic composition, aeration depth using steel bars, and topography using LiDAR data. No changes in aeration depth or vegetation parameters were detected as a function of ditch-blocking, time since blocking, or distance from the ditch, with the exception of non-Sphagnum bryophytes which had lower cover in quadrats adjacent to ditches that had been blocked for 5 years. Analysis of LiDAR data and the observed proximity of the water table to the peat surface led us to conclude that the subdued ecosystem responses to ditch-blocking were the result of historical peat subsidence within a 4-5 m zone either side of each ditch, which had effectively lowered the peat surface to the new, ditch-influenced water table. We estimate that this process led to the loss of around 500,000 m peat within the 38 km study area following drainage, due to a combination of oxidation and compaction. Assuming that 50% of the volume loss was due to oxidation, this amounts to a carbon loss of 11,000 Mg C over this area, i.e. 3 Mg C ha. The apparent 'self-rewetting' of blanket bogs in the decades following drainage has implications for their restoration as it suggests that there may not be large quantities of dry peat left to rewet, and that there is a risk of inundation (potentially leading to high methane emissions) along subsided ditch lines. Many peatland processes are likely to be maintained in drained blanket bog, including support of typical peatland vegetation, but infilling of lost peat and recovery of original C stocks are likely to take longer than is generally anticipated.

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Using iron metal rods to infer oxygen status in seasonally saturated soils

Cited by 18 publications

References 11 publications

Relationships among soil moisture, aeration and plant communities in natural and harvested coniferous forests in coastal British Columbia, Canada

Relationships among soil moisture, aeration and plant communities in natural and harvested coniferous forests in coastal British Columbia, Canada

Soil aeration and soil water tension in skidding trails during three years after trafficking

Historical peat loss explains limited short-term response of drained blanket bogs to rewetting

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