Fifty-year biogeochemical effects of green ash, white pine, and Norway spruce in a replicated experiment

doi:10.1016/0378-1127(91)90088-D

Forest Ecology and Management

Volume 40, Issues 1–2, 10 May 1991, Pages 13-25

https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-1127(91)90088-D Get rights and content

Abstract

Few long-term, replicated experiments are available to provide information on the effects of tree species on soil chemistry and ecosystem biogeochemistry. We examined replicated, 50-year-old plots of green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh), white pine (Pinus strobus L.), and Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] that had been planted in an abandoned agricultural field. The pH_water of the 0–5-cm soil layer under green ash was 4.6, compared with 4.2 under white pine and 3.8 under Norway spruce. The Norway spruce soil was substantially less-well buffered against further acidification than the soil under green ash, and contained less than half the quantity of exchangeable Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺ + K⁺ in the 0–15-cm depth. The decline in these cations under Norway spruce was accompanied by higher concentrations of exchangeable Al³⁺. The most important factor in the lower pH under Norway spruce was the greater acid strength of the soil organic matter, with a secondary role played by the higher saturation of the exchange complex with aluminum. Nitrogen mineralization in resin cores averaged 40 kg/ha under green ash, 84 kg/ha under white pine, and 56 kg/ha under Norway spruce. The only significant difference in litterfall biomass and chemistry was a greater content of aluminum and lower content of magnesium in litterfall in the Norway spruce plots relative to green ash plots. These major biogeochemical differences between tree species demonstrate the need for replicated experiments for assessing the mechanisms that drive long-term changes in ecosystems relative to differing species, management regimes, and atmospheric deposition.

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Twenty-seven years of soil change under four tree species in southern Ontario

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Cited by (198)

Bird communities reveal the ecological value of non-native Norway spruce plantations in Massachusetts, USA
2023, Forest Ecology and Management
The establishment of monoculture plantations of non-native tree species is a common practice for supplementing native timber stocks. Since native wildlife species may lack co-evolved traits needed to successfully exploit non-native tree species, non-native plantations are expected to provide inferior habitat for native biodiversity. However, some studies report that plantations may increase net biodiversity at the landscape scale by introducing novel habitats or supplementing existing natural forests. We used point counts to sample birds in 2016 and 2017 in mature Norway spruce (Picea abies) plantations in western Massachusetts, as well as representative native forest types, to evaluate bird use of these plantations relative to native forest types. Our findings showed that overall species richness for spruce plantations was similar to that of native forest habitats, and that several native conifer-dependent species (red-breasted nuthatch (Sitta canadensis), golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa), blackburnian warbler (Setophaga fusca), and brown creeper (Certhia americana) were significantly more abundant in spruce plantations relative to native deciduous, hemlock, and mixed stands. Bird species reported to associate with eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), such as blue-headed vireo (Vireo solitarious) and black-throated green warbler (Setophaga virens), were observed using spruce plantations at similar levels as eastern hemlock stands. These results demonstrate that Norway spruce plantations can provide suitable habitat for native species associated with conifers, which is significant given projected continued decline of eastern hemlock in response to the hemlock wooly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). Although large-scale conversion of native forest to plantations would likely lead to a loss in biodiversity, land managers could be justified in allowing small-scale plantations to persist without suffering negative impacts to native biodiversity.
Biomass productivity, forest stability, carbon balance, and soil transformation of agricultural land afforestation: A case study of suitability of native tree species in the submontane zone in Czechia
2022, Catena
The increasing trend of afforestation is described in almost all European countries, however, the knowledge of the growth parameters of particular tree species on abandoned agricultural land is still incomplete. Therefore, the characteristics of young forest stands which are afforested with 5 native tree species (Norway spruce, European beech, English oak, sycamore maple, and small-leaved lime) were analyzed 14 years after afforestation. Afforestation had a positive influence on the soil physical characteristics with the highest porosity (58.2%) in spruce stands and water saturation (48.5%) in oak stands. Maple had the fastest initial growth and production with the highest mean annual increment (12.1 m³ ha⁻¹ y^-1) and total biomass production (200.8 t ha⁻¹). Contrarily, the lowest production parameters were found in the beech stands with a low mean annual increment (1.4 m³ ha⁻¹ y^-1) and total biomass production (28.4 t ha⁻¹). The most abundant carbon quantity in the soil and tree biomass together was sequestered in lime (125.1 t ha⁻¹) followed by maple stands (124.5 t ha⁻¹). On average, the total carbon balance was 67.4% stored in the tree biomass, and 32.6% in the soil for tree species evaluated together. The amount of carbon sequestered in the soil will increase in the following years in relation to overlying humus development, incorporation of soil organic carbon in the mineral soil horizons, as well as with tree biomass production. The study demonstrated a significant difference in growth potential, biomass production, soil transformation and carbon sequestration in native tree species stands established on former agricultural lands. Most importantly, the differences in carbon sequestration should be considered in future agricultural land afforestation to mitigate the negative impact of global climate change.
Increases in substrate availability and decreases in soil pH drive the positive effects of nitrogen addition on soil net nitrogen mineralization in a temperate meadow steppe
2021, Pedobiologia
Nitrogen (N) deposition is projected to increase over the coming decades, with consequences on soil N transformation. Soil N mineralization is an important process regulating soil N availability. However, it is unclear how the responses of soil N mineralization to increasing N deposition are controlled by biotic and abiotic factors. Here, we examined the effects of increasing N addition rates on soil net N mineralization, net nitrification, and N-cycling functional gene abundance in a temperate meadow steppe after six years treatments. We found that N addition significantly increased the rates of soil net N mineralization and nitrification. Nitrogen addition rates were positively correlated with the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria amoA gene, but negatively correlated with that of other N-related functional genes. The N-induced enhancement of net N transformations were predominantly driven by the enhanced quantity and quality of soil substrates, but not by N-related functional genes. Decreased soil pH also contributed to the enhancement of net N transformations. Our findings highlight the importance of soil substrate availability and soil pH in driving grassland soil N transformation processes under the scenario of increasing N deposition.
Litter quality and microtopography as key drivers to topsoil properties and understorey plant diversity in ancient broadleaved forests on decalcified marl
2019, Science of the Total Environment
Citation Excerpt :
Litter quality may also affect habitat factors such as pH and soil moisture, which are important to plant diversity (Ellenberg et al., 1974). In tree plantations and common garden experiments, pH values of the topsoil usually decrease under trees with low-degradable litter, due to retarded decomposition and production of organic acids (e.g., Binkley and Valentine, 1991; Neirynck et al., 2000; Aubert et al., 2004; Mueller et al., 2012). Under trees with high-degradable litter, however, pH values may be relatively high, possibly because the trees retrieve base cations from deeper soil layers by the roots (Duvigneaud and Denayer-De, 1970; Mohr and Topp, 2005).
In forest ecosystems, litter quality is a major driver for soil and understorey characteristics, but elevation, microtopography and subsoil properties may also be important. We tested the importance of each factor in two ancient mixed forests on decalcified marl, dominated by trees with different litter quality such as European hornbeam, with high-palatable litter, and beech, with low-palatable litter. We mapped elevation, differences in local height (microtopography), tree distribution and understorey cover on slopes ranging from crest to bottom, and sampled 200 7 × 7 m grid cells for characteristics of litter input, understorey, topsoil and subsoil. In both forests, elevation decreased gradually, but microtopography showed irregular patterns of depressions and mounds of a few cm below or above average local height. Tree distribution was not affected by elevation or subsoil properties, but clearly by microtopography. Adult beech was abundant on local mounds, while hornbeam was more common in local depressions. Topsoil and understorey characteristics were mainly affected by litter quality (tree species dominance) and microtopography. Litter quality had separate effects from microtopography, but could reinforce this. High litter quality (hornbeam) and low local height both led to high earthworm activity, low litter mass, high erosion, impermeable clay layers close to the surface, high pH, high soil moisture and high diversity of the understorey. Low litter quality (beech) and high local height both led to low earthworm activity, high litter mass, low erosion, low pH, low soil moisture and low plant diversity. Beech and hornbeam may act as ecosystem engineers, which change habitat conditions and local hydrology, and make habitats more suitable to themselves, and/or unsuitable to the other. However, they also increased spatial complexity of the forest and length of the habitat gradient. This may increase forest biodiversity as a whole, but also resilience to prolonged wet or dry periods.
Forest conversion to conifers induces a regime shift in soil process domain affecting carbon stability
2019, Soil Biology and Biochemistry
A substantial part of forests worldwide is located on acidic soils. Acidification processes are typically characterized by non-linear responses of soils to external drivers. Acid buffer ranges and thresholds in soils are widely acknowledged, yet these non-linearities are rarely incorporated into our understanding of soil carbon dynamics. Here, we studied the effect of conversion of broadleaved mixed forest to Norway spruce monocultures on different functional compartments of the belowground carbon cycle, i.e. litter layers, soil fauna and soil micro-organisms, and examined how in turn they affect soil biochemical characteristics and ultimately, soil carbon stability. By studying this effect chain along a soil buffering gradient, we were able to evaluate the relative significance of forest management versus edaphic constraints on soil carbon processing. The effects of conversion are extensive and change trajectories are larger for forests that shifted from one buffering domain to another upon conversion. In the latter, conversion leads to a larger buildup of the litter layer, significantly stronger acidification, and a decrease in microbial functional diversity and earthworm biomass in the mineral soil, mirrored by a collapse of the base saturation. Although topsoil total carbon concentrations increased under spruce, this soil carbon is stored in less stable carbon pools compared to broadleaved forests. These are carbon pools where carbon is not occluded in aggregates or bound to soil minerals and therefore more vulnerable to environmental factors. Our findings show that changes in forest composition can, depending on the initial distance from a threshold in acid buffering, cascade through different compartments of the soil carbon cycle and eventually alter the way carbon is stored.
Plant-soil-water interactions: Implications from U-Th-Ra isotope analysis in soils, soil solutions and vegetation (Strengbach CZO, France)
2019, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
This study presents U-Th-Ra isotope data for soils, soil grain size fractions, soil solutions, throughfall, rainwater and tree samples from two experimental plots under spruce and beech trees, in the Strengbach catchment (France) that highlight the importance of the ²³⁸U-²³⁴U-²³⁰Th-²²⁶Ra nuclides and the (²³⁰Th/²³²Th) for the tracing of biogeochemical cycles in the plant-soil-water system of the critical zone (CZ).
The results underscore the very contrasting impact of trees on the U-Th and Ra (Ba) budgets in forest ecosystems with Ra-Ba being strongly and U-Th very little cycled by vegetation, leading to high (²²⁶Ra/²³⁰Th) and (²²⁶Ra/²³⁸U) in trees. Thorium-Ra(Ba) fractionations in soil solutions and soils are therefore strongly influenced by tree uptake and litter decay but U-Th fractionations are little influenced. Compared to other classical isotope systems such as Sr or Nd that are routinely used in the study of the CZ and significantly affected by vegetation cycling, U-Th isotopes are probably among the few tracers to be specific tracers of water-rock interactions in the CZ. The Th activity ratios of soil minerals, especially of minor and secondary mineral phases, show a large range of variation, from 0.7 to 5 in the Strengabch case. These different characteristics give Th activity ratio an important role for tracing the sources of chemical fluxes in soils, soil solutions and vegetation that is currently under-exploited. The Strengbach study illustrates the utility of this approach and the methodology is further strengthened by the combination of U, Th activity ratios and Sr isotope ratios, which also provides additional constraints on the weathering processes affecting the Strengbach bedrocks and the nature of the reservoirs involved in the plant-soil-water transfers. The results emphasize that minor mineral phases such as zircon, sulfate and phosphate are important sources of the U-Th fluxes circulating in soil solutions and significantly control the U and Th budget of the Strengbach soil samples and their Th activity ratios. Furthermore, the comparison of the U-Th-Sr isotopic characteristics of soil solutions and soil grain size fractions allows the recognition of two stages of weathering of the bedrock i.e. 1- dissolution of the primary minerals and formation of the secondary ones in the deep soil horizons, and 2- dissolution of both primary and secondary minerals mainly from the finest soil grain size fractions in the nearest surface soil horizons. The latter might be related to recent modifications of the weathering processes in the catchment, stronger and older under the spruce than the beech plot. We propose that degree of weathering modification is related to the nature of tree cover because spruce plantations have caused an increase of soil acidity and hence of weathering intensity of some minerals and likely also of Ca leaching from the Ca-poor Strengbach soils over the past decades. The U-Th-Sr results of this study also point to the occurrence of isotopically different reservoirs of these elements for trees and gravity soil solutions collected by lysimetric plates. This further suggests that for the Strengbach watershed the gravity soil solutions cannot be the main tree nutrient reservoir.

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Forest Ecology and Management

Abstract

References (22)

Photosynthesis, nutrient, growth and soil investigations of a declining Norway spruce (Picea abies) stand in the Coastal Region of Northern Germany

For. Ecol. Manage.

Effects of nutrient accumulation by aspen, spruce, and pine on soil properties

Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.

Soil acidity in loblolly pine stands with interval burning

Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.

The components of nitrogen availability assessments in forest soils

Adv. Soil Sci.

Acidification of soils in mixtures of conifers and red alder

Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.

An empirical analysis of the factors contributing to 20-year decrease in soil pH in an old-field plantation of loblolly pine

Biogeochemistry

Effects of tree mixtures on earthworm populations and nitrogen and phosphorus status in Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands

Larch litter and nitrogen availability in mixed larch-spruce stands. II. A comparison of larch and spruce litters as a nitrogen source for Sitka spruce seedlings

Can. J. For. Res.

Alteration of surface soil characteristics by four tree species

Alteration of surface soil characteristics by four tree species

Ecology

Twenty-seven years of soil change under four tree species in southern Ontario

Can. J. For. Res.

Cited by (198)

Bird communities reveal the ecological value of non-native Norway spruce plantations in Massachusetts, USA

Biomass productivity, forest stability, carbon balance, and soil transformation of agricultural land afforestation: A case study of suitability of native tree species in the submontane zone in Czechia

Increases in substrate availability and decreases in soil pH drive the positive effects of nitrogen addition on soil net nitrogen mineralization in a temperate meadow steppe

Litter quality and microtopography as key drivers to topsoil properties and understorey plant diversity in ancient broadleaved forests on decalcified marl

Forest conversion to conifers induces a regime shift in soil process domain affecting carbon stability

Plant-soil-water interactions: Implications from U-Th-Ra isotope analysis in soils, soil solutions and vegetation (Strengbach CZO, France)