Forest Soils—What’s Their Peculiarity?

Mankind expects from forests and forest soils benefits like pure drinking water, space for recreation, habitats for nature-near biocenoses and the production of timber as unrivaled climate-friendly raw material. An overview over 208 recent articles revealed that ecosystem services are actually the main focus in the perception of forest soil functions. Studies on structures and processes that are the basis of forest soil functions and ecosystem services are widely lacking. Therefore, additional literature was included dealing with the distinct soil structure and high porosity and pore continuity of forest soils, as well as with their high biological activity and chemical soil reaction. Thus, the highly differentiated, hierarchical soil structure in combination with the ion exchange capacity and the acid buffering capacity could be described as the main characteristics of forest soils confounding the desired ecosystem services. However, some of these functions of forest soils are endangered under the influence of environmental change or even because of forest management, like mono-cultures or soil compaction through forest machines. In the face of the high vulnerability of forest soils and increased threads, e.g., through soil acidification, it is evident that active soil management strategies must be implemented with the aim to counteract the loss of soil functions or to recover them.

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Systemic modelling of soil functions under the impact of agricultural management

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-15243 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sara König ◽

Ulrich Weller ◽

Birgit Lang ◽

Mareike Ließ ◽

Stefanie Mayer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Structure ◽

Water Distribution ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Simulation Models ◽

Crop Growth ◽

Soil Productivity ◽

Soil Functions ◽

Management Options ◽

Soil Organic Matter Turnover ◽

The Impact

The increasing demand for food and bio-energy gives need to optimize soil productivity, while securing other soil functions such as nutrient cycling and buffer capacity, carbon storage, biological activity, and water filter and storage. Mechanistic simulation models are an essential tool to fully understand and predict the complex interactions between physical, biological and chemical processes of soil with those functions, as well as the feedbacks between these functions.We developed a systemic soil model to simulate the impact of different management options and changing climate on the named soil functions by integrating them within a simplified system. The model operates on a 1d soil profile consisting of dynamic nodes, which may represent the different soil horizons, and integrates different processes including dynamic water distribution, soil organic matter turnover, crop growth, nitrogen cycling, and root growth.We present the main features of our model by simulating crop growth under various climatic scenarios on different soil types including management strategies affecting the soil structure. We show the relevance of soil structure for the main soil functions and discuss different model outcome variables as possible measures for these functions.Further, we discuss ongoing model extensions, especially regarding the integration of biological processes, and possible applications.

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THE CHANGE OF PROPERTIES OF BROWN FOREST SOILS IN 10 YEARS ON THE TRACK “SKOLE − PARASHKA” (NPP “SKOLIVSKI BESKYDY”, UKRAINIAN CARPATHIANS)

PROBLEMS OF GEOMORPHOLOGY AND PALEOGEOGRAPHY OF THE UKRANIAN CARPATHIANS AND ADJACENT AREAS ◽

10.30970/gpc.2021.1.3459 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 105-128

Author(s):

Oksana Lenevych ◽

Zinoviy Pankiv

Keyword(s):

Bulk Density ◽

Forest Soils ◽

Water Permeability ◽

Soil Structure ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Forest Litter ◽

Soil Bulk Density ◽

Soil Reaction ◽

Erosion Processes ◽

Brown Forest Soils

Carry out monitoring of the track “Skole−Parashka” by the main five criteria of degradation of the natural environment: 1) width track (І category: to 0,5 m, “Unchanged track”; II category: to 1 m, “Little−changed track”; III category: 2−3 m “Endangered track”; IV category: to 5 m “Devastated track”; V category: over 5 m, “Strongly devastated track”); 2) presence of additional/parallel paths; 3) soil density; 4) quantitative and qualitative changes in vegetation (meadow ecosystems), presence/absence of forest litter (forest ecosystems); 5) the growth of erosion processes and the microrelief of the trail. It was found that for 10 years of exploitation by tourist track “Skole − Parashka” the width of the trail increased by 0,3–1,2 m. Reveal changes in soil over physical, water-physical, physicо-chemical and biotic properties of brown forest soils. The bulk density of soil structure on trails during 2012−2014 increased by approximately 32 % compared to the control, and after 10 years it increased − to 38 %. To reveal within the roadside an increase in soil bulk density from 1,07 to 1,17 g•cm-³ for 2019−2021 years. An increase in the density of the solid phase was recorded. The results of which are characteristic of the Hp horizon of brown forest soils. On the track porosity total to appraise “unsatisfactory”. For 10 years of recreational use of the track, the water permeability on the trails has not changed and was 0,07 and 0,06 mm•min-¹ according to the periods of the study (2012-2014 and 2019-2021). Within the roadside water permeability in 2012−2014 decreased by 60−80%, then in 2019−2021 years water permeability decreased by more than 90%. The actual water permeability of the soil during the downpour rains causes the intensification of surface runoff on the trail. On the track reveal abatement C organic. On the roadside track when lay to plane surface C organic unchanged within a years (2012−2014 and 2019−2021) and even was outstanding within a control. The increase C organic on the roadside is a result of “penetration” of the crushed fractions of forest litter into the H horizon during trampling and is not the result of biochemical processes. On the track increase of soil reaction (pH 5,0) while in the control pH 4,0. As to the biotic activity parameters, among the most significant are the catalase activity indices which are mostly determined by the density of the soil structure and water permeability. Key words: soil bulk density; water permeability; C organic; biotic activity; recreation influence; monitoring; NPP “Skolivski Beskydy”.

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Serviços ecossistêmicos prestados por recifes de coral nas ilhas de Tinharé e Boipeba, Baixo Sul da Bahia, Brasil

10.31237/osf.io/za7c9 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Carla Isobel Elliff

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Current Model ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Management Actions ◽

Shoreline Protection ◽

Fringing Reefs ◽

Integrated Valuation ◽

Reef Decline

Coral reefs provide important ecosystem services to coastal communities. The Archipelago of Tinhar?e andBoipeba, Bahia, Brazil, are mostly surrounded by fringing reefs, which have undergone several chronichuman impacts. The objective of the present study was to apply an ecosystem-based approach byanalyzing the ecosystem services provided by the coral reefs of the Archipelago of Tinhar?e and Boipeba inorder to support management actions and serve as a tool for coastal management. Ecosystem serviceswere assessed through the observation of environmental indicators of their occurrence and by using asuite of models from the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) softwarecombined with data from the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol database. Theservices of greatest occurrence were food provision, habitat maintenance, shoreline protection andrecreation. While the main stressful factors were tourism activities, the absence of a sewage system andfisheries. The coral reefs presented potential for shoreline protection along 50.5% of the islands. Moreover,46.8% of the shoreline would present moderate to high vulnerability in case of coral reef disappearance.The coincidence of areas with high risk of loss in the capacity to provide services and highvulnerability in the scenario of absence of reefs is concerning. Thus, the current model for tourism usedin the area should be altered, as should new management strategies be implemented, which can bringbenefits and avoid reef decline.

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Exploring the Use of Ecosystem Services Conceptual Models to Account for the Benefits of Public Lands: An Example from National Forest Planning in the United States

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12030267 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 267

Author(s):

Lydia Olander ◽

Katie Warnell ◽

Travis Warziniack ◽

Zoe Ghali ◽

Chris Miller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Public Lands ◽

The United States ◽

Forest Planning ◽

National Forest ◽

Planning Team ◽

National Forest Planning

A shared understanding of the benefits and tradeoffs to people from alternative land management strategies is critical to successful decision-making for managing public lands and fostering shared stewardship. This study describes an approach for identifying and monitoring the types of resource benefits and tradeoffs considered in National Forest planning in the United States under the 2012 Planning Rule and demonstrates the use of tools for conceptualizing the production of ecosystem services and benefits from alternative land management strategies. Efforts to apply these tools through workshops and engagement exercises provide opportunities to explore and highlight measures, indicators, and data sources for characterizing benefits and tradeoffs in collaborative environments involving interdisciplinary planning teams. Conceptual modeling tools are applied to a case study examining the social and economic benefits of recreation on the Ashley National Forest. The case study illustrates how these types of tools facilitate dialog for planning teams to discuss alternatives and key ecosystem service outcomes, create easy to interpret visuals that map details in plans, and provide a basis for selecting ecosystem service (socio-economic) metrics. These metrics can be used to enhance environmental impact analysis, and help satisfy the goals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 2012 Planning Rule, and shared stewardship initiatives. The systematic consideration of ecosystem services outcomes and metrics supported by this approach enhanced dialog between members of the Forest planning team, allowed for a more transparent process in identification of key linkages and outcomes, and identified impacts and outcomes that may not have been apparent to the sociologist who is lacking the resource specific expertise of these participants. As a result, the use of the Ecosystem Service Conceptual Model (ESCM) process may result in reduced time for internal reviews and greater comprehension of anticipated outcomes and impacts of proposed management in the plan revision Environmental Impact Statement amongst the planning team.

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Effects of Urbanization on Ecosystem Services in the Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration, in China: The Case of Weifang City

Urban Science ◽

10.3390/urbansci5030054 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 54

Author(s):

Yuejuan Yang ◽

Hao Zhang ◽

Xinquan Zhao ◽

Zhizhang Chen ◽

Aiguo Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Population Data ◽

Raw Material ◽

Nutrient Cycle ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Impact Of Urbanization ◽

Academy Of Sciences ◽

The Impact

Ecosystem services are the material basis of economic and social development, and play essential roles in the sustainable development of ecosystems. Urbanization can remarkably alter the provision of ecosystem services. Most studies in this area have focused on densely populated metropolises with poor ecological environments, while comparatively few studies have focused on cities with low ecological pressures. Therefore, to avoid continuing to engage in the repetitive pattern of destroying first and rehabilitating later, quantitative analyses of urbanization and ecosystem services should be carried out in representative cities. In this study, based on partial least squares-discriminant analysis, kernel density estimation, and correlation analysis, we quantitatively evaluated the impact of urbanization on ecosystem services in Weifang city. The Data Center for Resources and Environmental Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research provided remote sensing data on land use, the gross domestic production (GDP), population data, and ecosystem services. The results were as follows: (1) The variation in population, GDP, and built-up areas consistently increased throughout the study period, whereas the ecosystem service values (ESVs) decreased; (2) food production, raw material production, nutrient cycle maintenance, and soil conservation were decisive ecosystem services that led to vast reductions in ESVs during the process of urbanization; and (3) the negative correlation coefficient between built-up areas and ecosystem services was greater than that between the population or GDP and ecosystem services, which indicated that the impacts of population and economic urbanization on ecosystem services lagged behind the impact of land urbanization. This study provides references for fully recognizing the ecological effects of urbanization, and make suggestions regarding the application of ecosystem services in sustainable development.

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Trends and Evolution in the Concept of Marine Ecosystem Services: An Overview

Water ◽

10.3390/w13152060 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 2060

Author(s):

Elvira Buonocore ◽

Umberto Grande ◽

Pier Paolo Franzese ◽

Giovanni F. Russo

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Alternative Assessment ◽

Natural Capital ◽

Marine Ecosystem ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Marine Ecosystems ◽

Global Ocean ◽

Coastal Protection ◽

Policy Dialogue ◽

Marine Ecosystem Services

The biotic and abiotic assets of the marine environment form the “marine natural capital” embedded in the global ocean. Marine natural capital provides the flow of “marine ecosystem services” that are directly used or enjoyed by people providing benefits to human well-being. They include provisioning services (e.g., food), regulation and maintenance services (e.g., carbon sequestration and storage, and coastal protection), and cultural services (e.g., tourism and recreational benefits). In recent decades, human activities have increased the pressures on marine ecosystems, often leading to ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss and, in turn, affecting their ability to provide benefits to humans. Therefore, effective management strategies are crucial to the conservation of healthy and diverse marine ecosystems and to ensuring their long-term generation of goods and services. Biophysical, economic, and sociocultural assessments of marine ecosystem services are much needed to convey the importance of natural resources to managers and policy makers supporting the development and implementation of policies oriented for the sustainable management of marine resources. In addition, the accounting of marine ecosystem service values can be usefully complemented by their mapping to enable the identification of priority areas and management strategies and to facilitate science–policy dialogue. Given this premise, this study aims to review trends and evolution in the concept of marine ecosystem services. In particular, the global scientific literature on marine ecosystem services is explored by focusing on the following main aspects: the definition and classification of marine ecosystem services; their loss due to anthropogenic pressures, alternative assessment, and mapping approaches; and the inclusion of marine ecosystem services into policy and decision-making processes.

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Carbon forms and functions in forest soil. papers from the eighth North American forest soils conferences

Geoderma ◽

10.1016/0016-7061(96)00013-4 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 71 (3-4) ◽

pp. 304-305

Author(s):

M.M. Wander

Keyword(s):

Forest Soil ◽

Forest Soils ◽

North American

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Transborder interactions in the sawmill industry of Chaudière-Appalaches, Québec: A survey analysis

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc79936-5 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 79 (5) ◽

pp. 936-947

Author(s):

Debra Straussfogel ◽

Theodore Howard ◽

Sylvain Masse ◽

Difei Zhang

Keyword(s):

New England ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Mail Survey ◽

Raw Material ◽

Business Success ◽

Survey Analysis ◽

The Us ◽

Sawmill Industry ◽

Northern New England ◽

National Boundaries

The objectives of this mail survey of sawmills in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of southern Québec were (1) to establish the level of transborder interaction of these sawmills, with regard to wood sources and final markets; (2) to discover their perceptions of local versus international economic and business factors with regard to their business success; and (3) to examine the role and importance of the size of the sawmills in Chaudière-Appalaches relative to the nature of their engagement in either raw material import from or finished product export to the US. Our results demonstrate that a transborder forest economy exists and that the conception of "local" in transboundary regions must be flexible enough to permit resource management strategies, that, to some extent, ignore national boundaries. Key words: sawmill industry, transborder interaction, Chaudière-Appalaches, Québec, Northern New England

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Systemic soil modelling and the evaluation of functions

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-11129 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ulrich Weller ◽

Sara König ◽

Bibiana Betancur-Corredor ◽

Birgit Lang ◽

Mareike Ließ ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Travel Time ◽

Soil Structure ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Agricultural Management ◽

Water Dynamics ◽

Plant Production ◽

Soil Processes ◽

State Variables ◽

Soil Functions

We developed an integrated model of soil processes &#8211; the Bodium &#8211; that enables us to predict possible changes in soil functions under varying agricultural management and climatic change.The model combines current knowledge on soil processes by integrating state-of-the-art modules on plant growth, root development, soil carbon and matter turnover with new concepts with respect to soil hydrology and soil structure dynamics. The model domain is at profile scale, with 1D nodes of variable thickness and weight. It is tested with long-term field experiments to ensure a consistent output of the combined modules. The model is site-specific and works with different soil types and climates (weather scenarios).The output can be interpreted towards a broad spectrum of soil functions. Plant production and nutrient balances can be determined directly. The same is possible for water dynamics, with potential surface runoff (as infiltration surplus), storage and percolation together with travel time and groundwater recharge. In addition, nitrate losses are calculated, and the travel time distribution can help with the evaluation of pesticide percolation risk. To evaluate the habitat for biological activity, the activity is calculated in terms of carbon turnover, and the state variables carbon availability, water, air and temperature for the are accessible. Also, for macrofauna the earthworm activity is included. The comparison of scenario runs can be evaluated quantitatively in terms of potential developments of soil functions.The model is work in progress. Further modules that will be implemented are pH dynamics, more explicit microbial activity, and a more complete set of effects of agricultural management on soil structure are integrated.

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The Hidden Half: Linking microbial communities to habitat condition and vegetation management in UK blanket bogs

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-11861 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

William Burn ◽

Andreas Heinemeyer ◽

Thorunn Helgason ◽

David Glaves ◽

Michael Morecroft

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Vegetation Management ◽

Equation Model ◽

Habitat Condition ◽

Blanket Bog ◽

The Uk

Peatlands are globally valued for the ecosystem services they deliver, including water quality regulation and carbon sequestration. In the UK, blanket bogs are the main peatland habitat and previous work has linked blanket bog management, especially rotational burning of heather vegetation on grousemoors, to impacts on these ecosystem services. However, we still lack a mechanistic, process-level understanding of how peatland management and habitat status is linked to ecosystem service provision, which is mostly driven by soil microbial processes.Here we examine bacterial and fungal communities across a spectrum of &#8220;intact&#8221; to degraded UK blanket bogs and under different vegetation management strategies. Sites included grousemoors under burnt and alternative mown or uncut management along with further locations including 'near intact', degraded and restored sites across a UK climatic gradient ranging from Exmoor (South UK), the Peak District (Mid) to the Flow Country (North). Moreover, an experiment was setup at the University of York with peat mesocosms taken from all sites and management/habitat conditions to allow a comparison between field and controlled conditions and assessing root-mediated processes. Using a structural equation model, we linked grousemoor management to specific fungal/bacterial functional groups, and have started to relate this to changes in water quality provision and carbon cycle aspects. This represents a significant step in the effort to use microbial communities as indicators of peatland habitat condition in UK upland blanket bogs.&#160;&#160;

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