AI Article Synopsis
- Research in an old-growth forest in Dinghushan Nature Reserve, Southern China, examined how natural forest succession affects soil physical and chemical properties across three forest types: pine, mixed pine and broadleaf, and monsoon evergreen broadleaf.
- Soil samples were taken from various depths and analyzed for multiple factors like soil water storage, organic matter, microbial biomass carbon, and several essential nutrients over a 10-year period.
- The study found that advanced successional stages had higher levels of essential nutrients and organic matter, while early stages had higher pH and phosphorus; these results suggest that soil properties can indicate the forest's successional stage, though caution is advised due to the study's design limitations.
Article Abstract
Background: Natural forest succession often affects soil physical and chemical properties. Selected physical and chemical soil properties were studied in an old-growth forest across a forest successional series in Dinghushan Nature Reserve, Southern China.
Methodology/principal Findings: The aim was to assess the effects of forest succession change on soil properties. Soil samples (0-20 cm depth) were collected from three forest types at different succession stages, namely pine (Pinus massoniana) forest (PMF), mixed pine and broadleaf forest (PBMF) and monsoon evergreen broadleaf forest (MEBF), representing early, middle and advanced successional stages respectively. The soil samples were analyzed for soil water storage (SWS), soil organic matter (SOM), soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), pH, NH4(+)-N, available potassium (K), available phosphorus (P) and microelements (available copper (Cu), available zinc (Zn), available iron (Fe) and available boron (B)) between 1999 and 2009. The results showed that SWS, SOM, SMBC, Cu, Zn, Fe and B concentrations were higher in the advanced successional stage (MEBF stage). Conversely, P and pH were lower in the MEBF but higher in the PMF (early successional stage). pH, NH4(+)-N, P and K declined while SOM, Zn, Cu, Fe and B increased with increasing forest age. Soil pH was lower than 4.5 in the three forest types, indicating that the surface soil was acidic, a stable trend in Dinghushan.
Conclusion/significance: These findings demonstrated significant impacts of natural succession in an old-growth forest on the surface soil nutrient properties and organic matter. Changes in soil properties along the forest succession gradient may be a useful index for evaluating the successional stages of the subtropical forests. We caution that our inferences are drawn from a pseudo-replicated chronosequence, as true replicates were difficult to find. Further studies are needed to draw rigorous conclusions regarding on nutrient dynamics in different successional stages of forest.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3828269 | PMC |
| http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0081359 | PLOS |
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