Effects of Stand Features and Soil Enzyme Activity on Spontaneous Pedunculate Oak Regeneration in Scots Pine Dominated Stands – Implication for Forest Management

Abstract BackgroundA challenge in current forestry is adaptation of managed forests to climate change, which is likely to alter the main processes of forest dynamics, i.e. natural regeneration. Scots pine will probably lose some parts of its distribution area in Europe. However, two native oaks, pedunculate and sessile may maintain or expand the area of their occurrence in central Europe. The utilization of spontaneous (not initialized by foresters) oak regeneration in Scots pine stands for the creation of next generation stands is one of the adaptation methods to climate change. Many factors influencing pedunculate oak regeneration are well known, but there is a lack of knowledge on the relation between soil enzyme activity and the establishment and development of the species. The aim of the study was to identify the relationships among stand characteristics, herb species composition, soil enzyme activity and the establishment or recruitment of oak regeneration in Scots pine-dominated stands. ResultsThe one of the most influential factors shaping the oak seedling count was dehydrogenase activity in the humus horizon. We found that plots without litter and fern cover had higher seedling density. The raspberry ground cover and birch crown projection area had a positive influence on oak seedling number. The factor indicating good conditions for high density of oak saplings was phosphatase activity in the organic horizon. The same enzyme activity but in humus horizon described conditions in which more numerous recruits were observed.ConclusionsThe activity of soil enzymes can be treated as a predictor of site conditions but also as a predictor of the establishment and advancement of oak regeneration. The general density of spontaneous oak regeneration was not sufficient for the creation of new generation forest stands dominated by oak, but it is possible to use them as admixtures in new generation stands.

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Effects of stand features and soil enzyme activity on spontaneous pedunculate oak regeneration in Scots pine dominated stands – implication for forest management

Forest Ecosystems ◽

10.1186/s40663-021-00317-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Dobrowolska Dorota ◽

Kurek Przemysław ◽

Olszowska Grażyna ◽

Leszek Bolibok

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Enzyme Activity ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Humus Horizon ◽

Soil Enzyme ◽

Soil Enzyme Activity ◽

Pedunculate Oak ◽

Oak Regeneration ◽

The Creation ◽

New Generation

Abstract Background A challenge in current forestry is adaptation of managed forests to climate change, which is likely to alter the main processes of forest dynamics, i.e. natural regeneration. Scots pine will probably lose some parts of its distribution area in Europe. However, two native oaks, pedunculate and sessile may maintain or expand the area of their occurrence in central Europe. The utilization of spontaneous (not initialized by foresters) oak regeneration in Scots pine stands for the creation of next generation stands is one of the adaptation methods to climate change. Many factors influencing pedunculate oak regeneration are well known, but there is a lack of knowledge on the relation between soil enzyme activity and the establishment and development of the species. The aim of the study was to identify the relationships among stand characteristics, herb species composition, soil enzyme activity and the establishment or recruitment of oak regeneration in Scots pine-dominated stands. Results The one of the most influential factors shaping the oak seedling count was dehydrogenase activity in the humus horizon. We found that plots without litter and fern cover had higher seedling density. The raspberry ground cover and birch crown projection area had a positive influence on oak seedling number. The factor indicating good conditions for high density of oak saplings was phosphatase activity in the organic horizon. The same enzyme activity but in humus horizon described conditions in which more numerous recruits were observed. Conclusions The activity of soil enzymes can be used as the predictor of the establishment and advancement of oak regeneration but also could be seen as a new dimension of oak regeneration. The general density of spontaneous oak regeneration was not sufficient for the creation of new generation forest stands dominated by oak, but it is possible to use them as admixtures in new generation stands.

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Response of soil enzyme activity to warming and nitrogen addition in a meadow steppe

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr14140 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 242 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Shiwei Gong ◽

Tao Zhang ◽

Rui Guo ◽

Hongbin Cao ◽

Lianxuan Shi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Enzyme Activity ◽

Phosphatase Activity ◽

Soil Nutrients ◽

Soil Enzymes ◽

Cellulase Activity ◽

Soil Enzyme ◽

Soil Enzyme Activity ◽

N Addition ◽

Soil C

Soil enzymes play vital roles in the decomposition of soil organic matter and soil nutrient mineralisation. The activity of soil enzymes may be influenced by climate change. In the present study we measured soil enzyme activity, soil microclimate and soil nutrients to investigate the response of soil enzyme activity to N addition and experimental warming. Warming enhanced phosphatase activity (35.8%), but inhibited the cellulase activity (30%). N addition significantly enhanced the activities of urease (34.5%) and phosphatase (33.5%), but had no effect on cellulase activity. Significant interactive effects of warming and N addition on soil enzyme activity were observed. In addition, warming reduced soil C (7.2%) and available P (20.5%), whereas N addition increased soil total N (17.3%) and available N (19.8%) but reduced soil C (7.3%), total P (14.9%) and available P (23.5%). Cellulase and phosphatase activity was highly correlated with soil temperature and water content, whereas urease activity was determined primarily by soil N availability. The results show that climate change not only significantly affects soil enzyme activity, but also affects the mineralisation of soil nutrients. These findings suggest that global change may alter grassland ecosystem C, N and P cycling by influencing soil enzyme activity.

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