scholarly journals Comparison of Physical, Chemical and Biological Soil Properties under Norway Spruce, European Beech and Sessile Oak – a Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-63
Author(s):  
Bálint Heil ◽  
Dávid Heilig ◽  
Gábor Kovács

This study examined the interaction of tree species and soil development in litter and the 0-10 cm mineral topsoil layer in European beech, Norway spruce, and sessile oak forests. It also compared the main soil chemical, physical, and selected microbiological indicators as well as the microbial biomass, basal and substrate induced respiration, lipid phosphate content, phospholipid fatty acid profiles (PLFA), and respiratory quinones (RQ). With Norway spruce, soil pH, clay, and silt content were significantly lower, while exchangeable acidity was higher. This leads to a major loss of exchangeable cations of the upper soil layer resulting in lower base saturation. The microbial metabolic activity and microbial biomass of deciduous forest soils were significantly higher. The respiratory quotient (q) was highest in spruce, indicating disadvantageous circumstances for microbial activity. Our results demonstrate the importance of a complex study of physicochemical and biological soil parameters when investigating the impact of forest management on soil by, for example, providing data for the development of forest condition monitoring activities.

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 293-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Petráš ◽  
J. Mecko

Correlations of increment indexes with average monthly temperatures and total monthly precipitation were studied on annual ring series of 455 trees of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.), sessile oak (Quercus petrea Liebl.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). Data on precipitation from the period 1901–2005 and on temperatures from the period 1931–2005 were used. Statistically significant dependences with correlation coefficients in the range of 0.2–0.5 were confirmed. All tree species react positively to precipitation mainly in June and July. An increase in precipitation by 1 mm when compared with the long-term average results in an increase in increment index of spruce almost by 0.13%. This index in oak and beech increases only by a half value of the value for spruce. Precipitation from the second half of the vegetation period of the previous year is also important. Higher temperatures during the vegetation period affect increment changes mostly negatively. With temperature increase by 1°C, when compared with the long-term average, the increment index of trees decreases by about 1–2%.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guizhou Liu ◽  
Man Jin ◽  
Chuantao Cai ◽  
Chaonan Ma ◽  
Zhongsuzhi Chen ◽  
...  

Amomum tsaoko is cultivated in forests of tropical and subtropical regions of China, and the planting area is expanding gradually. However, little attention has been paid to the impact of A. tsaoko cultivation on the soil characteristics of the regions. We analyzed the effects of the A. tsaoko-forest agroforestry system (AFs) on the composition of soil microbial communities with increasing stand ages. We also compared the soil physicochemical properties, microbial biomass, and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) composition between native forest (NF) and AFs. The results showed that the level of total carbon, nitrogen, and organic matter dramatically dropped in AFs with increasing stand ages. pH affected other soil properties and showed close correlation to total carbon (P = 0.0057), total nitrogen (P = 0.0146), organic matter (P = 0.0075), hydrolyzable nitrogen (P = 0.0085), available phosphorus (P < 0.0001), and available potassium (P = 0.0031). PLFAs of bacteria (F = 4.650, P = 0.037), gram-positive bacteria (F = 6.640, P = 0.015), anaerobe (F = 5.672, P = 0.022), and total PLFA (F = 4.349, P = 0.043) were significantly affected by different treatments, with the greatest value for NF treatment, and least value for AF5. However, the microbial biomass declined during the initial 5 years of cultivation, but it reached the previous level after more than 10 years of cultivation. Our research suggests that AFs is a profitable land-use practice in the Gaoligong Mountains and that AFs showed a recovering trend of the soil nutrient condition with increasing stand ages. However, the severe loss of nitrogen in the soil of AFs requires additional nitrogen during cultivation to restore it to pre-cultivation levels.


2021 ◽  
Vol 845 (1) ◽  
pp. 012057
Author(s):  
A G Kaluzhskikh ◽  
A G Belyaev ◽  
N V Dolgopolova ◽  
N M Timofeeva ◽  
E V Malysheva

Abstract The authors of the paper found that the nature and direction of the seasonal dynamics of the content of microbial biomass in typical black soil in grain-fallow crop rotation differ depending on the slope direction, the cultivation system and the soil layer. The characteristics of the dynamics of the content of microbial biomass in typical black soil in the agroecosystem of grain-fallow crop rotation, depending on the slope direction and the type of soil cultivation are revealed. The influence of the slope direction on the dynamics of the microbial biomass in the soil is more pronounced in the layer of 10-20 cm. The need to ensure the supply of a sufficient amount of post-harvest residues and organic fertilizers to the soil is shown. The increase in the uniformity of the upper layer of typical black soil is associated with the constant mechanical man-made impact on it. The obtained results about the nature of the impact of the studied factors on the seasonal and spatial variability of microbial biomass can be used in the development of systems for the management of the biological activity and reproduction of organic matter in black soils in order to improve their ecological state. The results of studies of the ecologically and agronomically important soil component i.e. microbial biomass are necessary for the development of systems for the regulation of soil fertility in order to increase their productivity, as well as for the development of a control system for the content of microbial biomass in black soils. The experimental data can serve as the basis for a database on the microbial pool of various soils and ecosystems, which is advisable to use for model predictive calculations, including in different ecological scenarios. The assessment of the state of organisms living in the soil and their biodiversity are important in the solution of the problems of environmental practice: identification of zones of ecological disadvantage, calculation of damage caused by man-made activities, determination of the stability of the ecosystem and the impact of certain anthropogenic factors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Meyer ◽  
D. Diehl ◽  
G. E. Schaumann ◽  
K. Muñoz

Abstract Plastic mulching (PM) has become a widely applied agricultural practice to optimize plant growth. However, it is still under debate how PM influences biogeochemical soil processes and thus important factors of soil quality, such as soil organic matter (SOM) composition, aggregate stability and microbial biomass. Our objective was to identify the impact of PM on biogeochemical soil processes. Therefore, we compared a plastic-covered strawberry cultivation system (PC) with an uncovered system (NC) in three soil layers (0–10, 10–30 and 30–60 cm) at three dates during a 4-month period of strawberry establishment from their transplanting in summer to the beginning of winter. The PC shifted the microclimate of the soil towards higher temperatures but lower moistures in the 0–35 cm soil layer compared to uncovered soil. Predominantly in the surface layer, the PC reduces leaching processes, which can improve nutrient (fertilizer) use efficiency. PC increased SOM and shifted SOM to a more stable SOM. The higher SOM under PC despite larger microbial biomass and elevated temperatures, indicate that belowground biomass inputs compensate the potential SOM losses by an enhanced SOM decomposition under PC. We demonstrated that PC influenced soil processes already within the 4-month period of strawberry establishment, partially down to the 30–60 soil layer. Further, long-term studies are required to estimate the influence of multi-annual PM application on biogeochemical soil processes and on soil quality.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. S. Demyanyuk ◽  
О. V. Sherstoboeva ◽  
A. A. Bunas ◽  
O. V. Dmitrenko

Groups of microorganisms in soils perform the role of global biogeochemical membrane which provides metabolism of substances and energy between the pedosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and living organisms. Сlimate change has resulted in a complex combination of unpredictable changeability of the environment, which is a serious test for the stability and productivity for the natural and anthropogenically transformed ecosystems. Changeability of the hydrothermal factors causes serious changes in the structure and metabolic activity of soil microorganisms, the quality and properties of soil. We studied the impact of hydrothermal factors on the content of carbon, microbial biomass and organic substance in deep chernozem of a natural ecosystem (fallow) and an agroecosystem under different systems of fertilization of winter wheat. A close relationship (r = 0.69–0.79) was determined between the content of microbial biomass in soil and hydrothermal factors (air temperature and moisture). Excessive drought and high parameters of air temperature led to decrease in the content of microbial biomass by 1.5–2.8 times compared to the years with optimum parameters of hydrothermal regime (HTC = 1.0). Leveling out the impact of high temperatures on the productivity of the soil microbiota occurs at a sufficient amount of moisture, and also available nutrients. Drought (HTC = 0.4) and excessive moisture (HTC = 2.0) following heightened air temperatures reduce the release of СО2 from soil. Fallow soil usually has a high content of microbial carbon in the organic compounds of soil (Сmic/Сorg was 2%). In the agroecosystem, there was recorded a decrease by 26–32% of the Сmic specific share in the content of the organic compound of the soil compared to the natural analogue. With organic and organic-mineral systems of fertilization, an increase in Сmic/Сorg parameter occurs and the soil parameters become close to the soil of a natural ecosystem. The calculated ecological coefficients of the orientation of microbial processes in soil indicate a possibility of a balanced functioning of the microbial group and introducing organic and organic-mineral fertilizers, creating optimum conditions for the productivity of winter wheat.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 34-37
Author(s):  
Anis Naushi ◽  
Ajay Kumar Arya

This investigation was aimed toward assessing the impact of heavy metals on soil microbial cycles. The impacts of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) at various concentrations were researched over a time of about two months. Chloride salts of Pb and Cd were added independently and in blend to soil samples at room temperature (27ºC) in various polythene packs. Samples were taken from the sacks at about fourteen days span and estimations were taken of the microbial biomass carbon (MBC). The outcomes showed that there was a significant reduction in the microbial biomass carbon for all treated soils from the second week to the 6th week. However, on 8th week, increase in microbial biomass carbon was observed. At the 6th week, 2000mgkg-1Pb and 40mgkg-1Cd gave the main reduction (P < 0.05) in microbial biomass carbon of 98%. A critical decrease in biomass carbon in metal contaminated soil demonstrated that this parameter is a decent marker of toxicity of metals on soil microflora.


Author(s):  
Estela Covre Foltran ◽  
Christian Ammer ◽  
Norbert Lamersdorf

AbstractBackgroundThe establishment of economically valuable conifers into a matrix of native broadleaved tree species may serve as model systems that combine economic interests and nature conservation. However, it is not clear which effects the enrichment by conifers has on soil properties.MethodsOur study analyzed pure mature European beech (Fagus sylvatica), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands as well as mixtures of beech with either Douglas fir or spruce along a soil and climate gradient in Northern Germany. We determined chemical soil properties of the O-horizon and upper mineral soil horizons. Soil pH, concentrations and storage of exchangeable cations, base saturation (BS) as well total P contents were analyzed.ResultsWe observed lowest pH and BS in spruce stands while beech showed higher BS. The impact of Douglas fir on soil chemistry varied depending on the site. Under Douglas fir-beech mixtures, mineral soil pH and BS were higher than under the respective Douglas-fir stands at nutrient-poor sandy soils. While spruce and its admixture deplete soil exchangeable Ca and Mg more than Douglas fir mixed with. Total soil exchangeable K under mixed stands were among the highest, independent of the site condition.ConclusionsOverall, our study suggest that the enrichment of beech stands by Douglas fir does not cause unexpected and detrimental changes of soil acidity and does not strongly affect soil exchangeable base cation reserves when compared to European beech. Instead, admixtures of Douglas-fir seem to lead to smaller changes in pH, CEC and BS than those of Norway spruce. Therefore, forest management may consider mixtures of European beech and Douglas fir as a reasonable management option without apprehending negative effects on soil chemistry.


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Schäfer ◽  
Thomas Rötzer ◽  
Eric Andreas Thurm ◽  
Peter Biber ◽  
Christian Kallenbach ◽  
...  

Although several studies suggest that tree species in mixed stands resist drought events better than in pure stands, little is known about the impact on growth and the tree water deficit (TWD) in different tree heights at heavy drought. With dendrometer data at the upper and lower stem and coarse roots, we calculated the TWD and growth (ZGmax) (referring to the stem/root basal area) to show (1) the relationship of TWD in different tree heights (50% tree height (H50), breast height (BH), and roots) and the corresponding leaf water potential and (2) how mixture and drought influence the partitioning of growth and tree water. The analyses were made in a mature temperate forest of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica (L.)). Half of the plots were placed under conditions of extreme drought through automatic closing roof systems within the stand. We found a tight relationship of leaf water potentials and TWD at all tree compartments. Through this proven correlation at all tree heights we were also able to study the differences of TWD in all tree compartments next to the growth allocation. Whereas at the beginning of the growing period, trees prioritized growth of the upper stem, during the course of the year the growth of lower stem became a greater priority. Growth allocation of mixed spruces showed a tendency of a higher growth of the roots compared to the BH. However, spruces in interspecific neighborhoods exhibited a lesser TWD in the roots as spruces in intraspecific neighborhood. Beeches in intraspecific neighborhoods showed a higher TWD in BH compared to H50 as beeches in interspecific neighborhoods. Mixture seems to enhance the water supply of spruce trees, which should increase the stability of this species in a time of climatic warming.


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