Structural Stability and Permeability of Native Forest Soils Compared with Cultivated Areas of the Same Soil Type

Abstract. The analysis of soil phosphorus (P) in fractions of different plant availability is a common approach to characterize the P status of forest soils. However, quantification of organic and inorganic P fractions in different extracts is labor intensive and therefore rarely applied for large sample numbers. Therefore, we examined whether different P fractions can be predicted using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). We used the Hedley sequential extraction method (modified by Tiessen and Moir, 2008) with increasingly strong extractants to determine P in fractions of different plant availability and measured near-infrared (NIR) spectra for soil samples from sites of the German forest soil inventory and from a nature reserve in southeastern China. The R2 of NIRS calibrations to predict P in individual Hedley fractions ranged between 0.08 and 0.85. When these fractions were combined into labile, moderately labile and stable P pools, R2 of calibration models was between 0.38 and 0.88 (all significant). Model prediction quality was higher for organic than for inorganic P fractions and increased with the homogeneity of soil properties in soil sample sets. Useable models were obtained for samples originating from one soil type in subtropical China, whereas prediction models for sample sets from a range of soil types in Germany were only moderately useable or not useable. Our results indicate that prediction of Hedley P fractions with NIRS can be a promising approach to replace conventional analysis, if models are developed for sets of soil samples with similar physical and chemical properties, e.g., from the same soil type or study site.

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Application of Quality Indicators in the Evaluation of Subtropical Argiudolls and Hapludolls in Formosa (Argentina)

International Journal of Plant & Soil Science ◽

10.9734/ijpss/2019/v31i430217 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Juan Esteban Baridón ◽

Roberto Raúl Casas

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Particulate Organic Carbon ◽

Structural Stability ◽

Quality Indicators ◽

Native Forest ◽

Fruit Crops ◽

Particulate Carbon ◽

Agricultural Use ◽

Management Techniques

The quality indicators are suitable tools to determine the state of the soil and the effects of different uses and management on it. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the quality of sub-tropical Argiudolls and Hapludolls subjected to different uses in Formosa, using a minimum set of indicators (MSI). Changes in soil use and the application of management techniques to maximize agricultural production are frequent in the world. In Formosa, Argentina, improvements in the productive infrastructure and low market value of the land, promote that these changes occur faster than the monitoring of the ones. The effects of 25 years of continuous agricultural use, extensive livestock in implanted pastures and fruit crops, in relation to the native forest were analyzed. The MSI consisted of five variables: total organic carbon, particulate organic carbon, total nitrogen, structural stability and bulk density. The baseline of the indicators was determined and threshold values were established. The standardized MSI was analyzed graphically. Particulate carbon and structural stability were the most sensitive indicators. Continuous agriculture degraded the edaphic system, resulting in lower values of indicators than the thresholds. It produced a decrease of 74% of the particulate organic carbon and 63% of structural stability, with possible impact on the resilience of the system. Fruit crops led to a decrease in soil quality causing particulate organic carbon and structural stability to approach values that compromise their natural recovery. The implanted pasture improved the quality of the soil with respect to the degraded native forest.

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Carbon sequestration in forest soils: effects of soil type, atmospheric CO2 enrichment, and N deposition

European Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.1046/j.1365-2389.2001.00412.x ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 52 (4) ◽

pp. 619-628 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

F. Hagedorn ◽

S. Maurer ◽

P. Egli ◽

P. Blaser ◽

J. B. Bucher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Sequestration ◽

Forest Soils ◽

Soil Type ◽

Co2 Enrichment ◽

N Deposition ◽

Atmospheric Co2

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Sulfate retention and cation leaching of forest soils in response to acid additions

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x91-005 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 32-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

William J. Fasth ◽

Mark B. David ◽

George F. Vance

Keyword(s):

Adsorption Capacity ◽

Forest Soils ◽

Soil Type ◽

Base Cations ◽

Soil Types ◽

Leaching Losses ◽

Organic S ◽

Cation Leaching ◽

Vacuum Extractor ◽

S Mineralization

A vacuum extractor was used to examine the effects of increased SO42− deposition on net S retention and cation leaching in three Maine Spodosols (Berkshire, Dixfield, and Rawsonville series) and an Illinois Alfisol. Columns (leached daily for 30 days with either a simulated throughfall solution containing 80 μequiv. SO42−•L−1 (pH = 4.77) or a simulated throughfall solution plus 200 μequiv. H2SO4•L−1 (pH = 3.66)) were constructed using O horizons over upper B (Bh or Bhs) and lower B (Bhs or BC) horizons for the Spodosols and two depth increments of bulked soil (0–12 and 12–25 cm) for the Alfisol. Leachate concentrations of base cations were dominated by Ca2+ and were generally greater in the Alfisol than in the Spodosol leachates. Declining concentrations of base cations and NH4+ with time led to an increase in Al3+ concentrations and a decrease in pH for some of the Spodosol leachates (e.g., leachate Al3+ increased from 19 μequiv. Al3+ •L−1 (day 2) to 194 μtequiv. Al3+ •L−1 (day 30), and pH decreased from 5.53 to 4.41, respectively, for the Dixfield high-S treatment). Columns that received the high-S treatment retained a greater percentage of the added S than those that received the low-S treatment because of increased SO42− adsorption in the former. High rates of net organic S mineralization were found for all soil types (e.g., 169 μg organic S•g−1 over 30 days for the Rawsonville Bhl horizon, 15% of the total S); no treatment effects were found for the amount of S mineralized. Trends in net S retention across soil type (within the same treatment) reflected increases in soil SO42− from adsorption, as well as decreases in organic S from mineralization. When net S mineralization was removed from leaching losses of S, trends in net S retention closely reflected SO42− adsorption differences (50, 23, 8, and 1% of the added S retained by the Rawsonville, Dixfield, and Berkshire series, and the Alfisol, respectively, for the high-S treatment). Because of the low SO42− adsorption capacity of the Alfisol relative to the Spodosols, organic processes were more important in affecting net S retention for the Alfisol. Inorganic processes of S retention were more important for the three Spodosols studied.

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Evaluating the effects of liming and wood-ash treatment on forest ecosystems through systematic meta-analysis

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2013-0488 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 44 (8) ◽

pp. 867-885 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Carolyn Reid ◽

Shaun A. Watmough

Keyword(s):

Soil Ph ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Forest Soils ◽

Effect Size ◽

Soil Type ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Wood Ash ◽

Trial Duration ◽

Soil C

Liming and wood-ash addition have long been used to attenuate the effects of acidic deposition on forest soils with the goal of promoting tree growth. We performed quantitative meta-analyses of treatment studies from managed forest ecosystems to assess general tendencies of effects of treatment on seven selected measures of performance thought to reasonably reflect the effects of Ca-addition treatment. We retrieved over 350 independent trials from 110 peer-reviewed liming and wood-ash addition studies that were integrated to determine soil pH, base saturation (BS), tree foliar Ca concentration, tree growth, ectomychorrhizae root colonization, soil C-to-N ratio, and microbial indices. The results were quantified through three separate meta-analysis effect size metrics: unweighted relative values and two weighted metrics, Hedges’ d and ln R. A surprising number of treatment trials (22%–85%) reported no significant effect, and soil pH and foliar Ca appeared more responsive to liming than to wood-ash addition, whereas BS and tree growth appeared more responsive to wood-ash addition. For six of the seven parameters, estimated mean effect sizes were similar in magnitude and positive in direction for all three meta-analysis metrics. Regression tree optimal models explained 38% of the variation in pH, 47% of the variation in BS, 51% of the variation in foliar Ca concentration, and 26% of the variation in tree growth. The largest predictors of effect size, within our selected group, were as follows: soil type for pH; soil type, trial duration in years, and species (hardwood or softwood) for BS; treatment dose and type for foliar Ca concentration; and trial duration, initial soil pH, and tree species for tree growth. This analysis shows that Ca additions are not universally beneficial and provides insight into when Ca additions to forest soils are likely to be most effective.

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Comparison of structural stability, carbon fractions and chemistry of krasnozem soils from adjacent forest and pasture areas in south-western Victoria

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr00106 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 283 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

M. R. Carter ◽

J. O. Skjemstad ◽

R. J. MacEwan

Keyword(s):

Nmr Spectroscopy ◽

Structural Stability ◽

Forest Soils ◽

Agricultural Soils ◽

13C Nmr Spectroscopy ◽

Soil Organic C ◽

Organic C ◽

Photo Oxidation ◽

Western Victoria

Basalt-derived krasnozems are generally well-structured soils; however, there is a concern that intensive agricultural practices may result in an adverse decline in soil organic carbon, organic matter chemistry, and structural quality over time. A study was conducted on loam to silty clay loam krasnozems (Ferrosols) near Ballarat in south-western Victoria to assess changes in soil C, soil structural stability, and C chemistry, at the 0–10 cm soil depth, under 3 paired sites consisting of adjacent long-term forest (Monterey pine or eucalyptus) v. 30 year cropping [3 year pasture–2 year crops (potato and a root crop or grain)]. Soil structural stability was also characterised in the A and B horizons under long-term eucalyptus and several cropped sites. Organic C levels in the A horizons for all the soils were relatively high, ranging from 46 to 89 g/kg. A lower organic C (30&percnt;), associated mainly with loss of the sand-sized (>53 m) macro-C fraction, and a decrease in exchangeable Ca and Mg was found in the agricultural soils, compared with forest soils. Physically protected C in the <53 m fraction, as indicated by UV photo-oxidation, was similar among soils. Wet sieving indicated a decline of both C and N concentration in water-stable aggregates and the degree of macro-aggregation under agricultural soils, compared with the forest soils. However, soil structural changes under cropping were mainly related to a decline in the >5 mm sized aggregates, with no deleterious increase in the proportion of 0.10 mm aggregates. Solid state 13C NMR spectroscopy indicated a decrease in O-alkyl and alkyl C under pasture and cropping compared with forest soils, which was in agreement with the decline in the macro-C fraction. Characterisation of C chemistry following UV photo-oxidation showed that charcoal C (dominant presence of aryl C) accounted for 30&percnt; of the total soil organic C, while other functional groups (polysaccharides and alkyl C) were probably protected within micro-aggregates. Based on soil organic C and aggregate stability determinations alone, the implications for soil physical quality, soil loss, and diffuse pollution appear minimal. macroorganic carbon, soil aggregation, charcoal, photo-oxidation, potato rotation, CP/MAS 13C NMR spectroscopy.

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