scholarly journals Mercury in coniferous and deciduous upland forests in northern New England, USA: implications of climate change

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 6737-6749 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Richardson ◽  
A. J. Friedland
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Mineral Horizon ◽  
Coniferous Species ◽  
Organic Horizons ◽  
Northern New England ◽  
Total Hg ◽  
Hg Accumulation

Abstract. Climatic changes in the northeastern US are expected to cause coniferous stands to transition to deciduous stands over the next hundred years. Mercury (Hg) sequestration in forest soils may change as a result. In order to understand potential effects of such a transition, we studied aboveground vegetation and soils at paired coniferous and deciduous stands on eight mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire, USA. Organic horizons at coniferous stands accumulated more total Hg (THg; 42 ± 6 g ha−1) than deciduous stands (30 ± 4 g ha−1). Total Hg pools in the mineral horizons were similar for coniferous (46 ± 8 g ha−1) and deciduous stands (45 ± 7 g ha−1). Soil properties (C, % clay, and pH) explained 56 % of the variation in mineral soil Hg concentration when multiply regressed. Foliar and bole wood Hg concentrations were generally greater for coniferous species than deciduous species. Using allometric equations, we estimated that aboveground accumulation of Hg in foliage and woody biomass was similar between vegetation types but that coniferous stands have significantly smaller annual litterfall fluxes (0.03 g ha−1 yr−1) than deciduous stands (0.24 g ha−1 yr−1). We conclude that organic horizon Hg accumulation is influenced by vegetation type but mineral horizon Hg accumulation is primarily controlled by soil properties. Further investigations into the effect of vegetation type on volatilization, atmospheric deposition, and leaching rates are needed to constrain regional Hg cycling rates.

scholarly journals Mercury in coniferous and deciduous upland forests in Northern New England, USA: implications from climate change

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 11463-11498 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. B. Richardson ◽  
A. J. Friedland
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Organic Horizon ◽  
Soil Horizon ◽  
Coniferous Species ◽  
Organic Horizons ◽  
Northern New England ◽  
Total Hg

Abstract. Climatic changes in the northeastern US are expected to cause coniferous stands to transition to deciduous stands over the next hundred years. Mercury (Hg) sequestration in forest soils may change as a result. In order to understand potential effects of this transition, we studied aboveground vegetation and soils at paired coniferous and deciduous stands on eight mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire, US. Organic horizons at coniferous stands accumulated more Total Hg (THg) (42 ± 6 g ha−1) than deciduous stands (30 ± 4 g ha−1). Total Hg pools in the mineral horizons were similar for coniferous (46 ± 8 g ha−1) and deciduous stands (45 ± 7 g ha−1). Soil properties (C, % clay, and pH) explained 56 % of the variation in mineral soil Hg concentration when multiple regressed. Foliar and bole wood Hg concentrations were generally greater for coniferous species than deciduous species. We estimated Hg mean residence time (MRT) in the organic and mineral horizons at coniferous and deciduous stands using a simple two-box model. Organic horizon MRT were longer at coniferous stands (183 ± 44 yr) than deciduous stands (65 ± 15 yr). Mineral soil horizon MRT values were also longer for coniferous stands (386 ± 57 yr) than for deciduous stands (188 ± 27 yr). We concluded that organic horizon Hg accumulation is influenced by vegetation type but mineral horizons are primarily affected by soil properties. Further investigations into the effect of vegetation type on volatilization, atmospheric deposition, and leaching rates are needed to constrain regional Hg cycling rates.

Impact of different tree species and soil texture on physicochemical properties, carbon and macronutrient content of post-fire forest soils

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Woś ◽  
Agnieszka Józefowska ◽  
Justyna Likus-Cieślik ◽  
Marcin Chodak ◽  
Marcin Pietrzykowski
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Texture ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
C:N Ratio ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Coniferous Species ◽  
Exchangeable Acidity ◽  
Ecological Functions Of Soils ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Impact

<p>The objective of this study was to compare the impact of Scots pine (<em>Pinus sylvestris</em> L.), European larch (<em>Larix decidua</em> Mill.) and common birch (<em>Betula pendula</em> Roth) on the properties of regenerated soils in a reforested post-fire site in southern Poland (Central European conditions). The samples of O horizons (litter) and uppermost mineral soil (0-5 cm) were taken under pure stands of investigated tree species, aged from 26 to 27 years old and growing on sandy and loamy soils. In the litter samples, the pH, carbon and macronutrient (N, Ca, Mg and K) content were determined. The mineral soil samples were measured for texture, pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (N<sub>t</sub>), exchangeable acidity (Hh), basic exchangeable cations (Ca<sup>2+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, Na<sup>+</sup>) and cation exchangeable capacity (CEC). The obtained results indicated that the effect of tree species on soil properties was evident. The litter layers under birch had a higher pH and a lower C:N ratio, and they contained more N, P, Ca, and Mg than the litter layers under pine and larch. In the mineral soil, birch brought about a higher accumulation of SOC and CEC than the studied coniferous species. Higher SOC accumulation in mineral soil under birch was related to higher acidity under the species compared with the conifers. Soil texture in the studied range - from sands to loams - had only a limited effect on the properties of the studied post-fire soils. Thus, our results indicate that the tree species used for the reforestation of post-fire sites are crucial to the properties of regenerating soils and restoring the ecological functions of soils. Among the studied tree species, the common birch has the most pronounced effect on soil properties, and this is especially significant because the species has appeared by spontaneous succession.</p><p>The study was financed by The National Science Centre, Poland, Grant No. 2018/31/D/ST10/02137.</p>

The effect of prescribed burning on some physical soil properties of jack pine sites in southeastern Manitoba

1976 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. P. Sims
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Severe Burn ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Moisture Contents ◽  
Permanent Wilting Point ◽  
Organic Horizons ◽  
Wilting Point

The effect of prescribed burning on physical soil properties of clear-cut areas originally supporting jack pine (Pinusbanksiana Lamb.) was studied in southeastern Manitoba.Average temperatures recorded during three burns ranged from <52 °C at 5-cm depth to 300 °C at the mineral soil – humus interface. The most severe burn increased the weight of organic horizons by 7% because of deposition of fuel residues, while the least severe burn produced a 31% reduction in the weight of the organic mantle.Soils at 3.8 and 7.6 cm under burned seedbeds reached permanent wilting point at days 9 and 23 respectively during a 30-day rain-free period. Moisture contents at similar depths on an adjacent scarified area were significantly higher than on the burn, were much less variable, and remained above permanent wilting point for the duration of the 30-day period. Burning did not significantly affect percolation rate.

Comparison of carbon and nitrogen storage in mineral soils of graminoid and shrub tundra sites, western Greenland

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 165-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea L. Petrenko ◽  
Julia Bradley-Cook ◽  
Emily M. Lacroix ◽  
Andrew J. Friedland ◽  
Ross A. Virginia
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Soil C ◽  
N Storage ◽  
C Storage ◽  
Arctic Soils ◽  
C Pools ◽  
C And N

Shrub species are expanding across the Arctic in response to climate change and biotic interactions. Changes in belowground carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage are of global importance because Arctic soils store approximately half of global soil C. We collected 10 (60 cm) soil cores each from graminoid- and shrub-dominated soils in western Greenland and determined soil texture, pH, C and N pools, and C:N ratios by depth for the mineral soil. To investigate the relative chemical stability of soil C between vegetation types, we employed a novel sequential extraction method for measuring organo-mineral C pools of increasing bond strength. We found that (i) mineral soil C and N storage was significantly greater under graminoids than shrubs (29.0 ± 1.8 versus 22.5 ± 3.0 kg·C·m−2 and 1.9 ± .12 versus 1.4 ± 1.9 kg·N·m−2), (ii) chemical mechanisms of C storage in the organo-mineral soil fraction did not differ between graminoid and shrub soils, and (iii) weak adsorption to mineral surfaces accounted for 40%–60% of C storage in organo-mineral fractions — a pool that is relatively sensitive to environmental disturbance. Differences in these C pools suggest that rates of C accumulation and retention differ by vegetation type, which could have implications for predicting future soil C pool storage.

Silvicultural treatments, microclimatic conditions and seedling response in Southern Interior clearcuts

1998 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Fleming ◽  
T. A. Black ◽  
R. S. Adams ◽  
R. J. Stathers
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Seedling Establishment ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Lower Elevation ◽  
Organic Horizons ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Microclimatic Conditions

Post-harvest levels of soil disturbance and vegetation regrowth strongly influence microclimate conditions, and this has important implications for seedling establishment. We examined the effects of blading (scalping), soil loosening (ripping) and vegetation control (herbicide), as well as no soil disturbance, on growing season microclimates and 3-yr seedling response on two grass-dominated clearcuts at different elevations in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. Warmer soil temperatures were obtained by removing surface organic horizons. Ripping produced somewhat higher soil temperatures than scalping at the drier, lower-elevation site, but slightly reduced soil temperatures at the wetter, higher-elevation site. Near-surface air temperatures were more extreme (higher daily maximums and lower daily minimums) over the control than over exposed mineral soil. Root zone soil moisture deficits largely reflected transpiration by competing vegetation; vegetation removal was effective in improving soil moisture availability at the lower elevation site, but unnecessary from this perspective at the higher elevation site. The exposed mineral surfaces self-mulched and conserved soil moisture after an initial period of high evaporation. Ripping and scalping resulted in somewhat lower near-surface available soil water storage capacities. Seedling establishment on both clearcuts was better following treatments which removed vegetation and surface organic horizons and thus enhanced microclimatic conditions, despite reducing nutrient supply. Such treatments may, however, compromise subsequent stand development through negative impacts on site nutrition. Temporal changes in the relative importance of different physical (microclimate) and chemical (soil nutrition) properties to soil processes and plant growth need to be considered when evaluating site productivity. Key words: Microclimate, soil temperature, air temperature, soil moisture, clearcut, seedling establishment

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