Establishing a soil quality index to assess the effect of thinning on soil quality in a Chinese fir plantation

Ye, Yuqian; Sun, Xiaodan; Zhao, Jiahao; Wang, Meiquan; Guan, Qingwei

doi:10.1007/s10342-022-01471-7

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The site comprises evergreen and deciduous broadleaved forest vegetation, with P. massoniana, Cunninghamia lanceolate, and Quercus variabilis being the dominant tree species. The main understory vegetation consists of Trachelospermum jasminoides and Serissa japonica [16,41]. The geomorphological features comprise low-mountain and hilly areas, with an average elevation of approximately 100 m above sea level [39].…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the present study, forest thinning overall promoted soil nutrient level and reduced water content (Table 2). The decrease in stand and canopy density after thinning alters the forest microclimate, accelerates the decomposition of organic matter, and thus increases soil nutrient concentration [39,41]. Although thinning increased throughfall, the reduction in litter quality and the elevated temperature after thinning exacerbated soil moisture loss [55].…”

Section: Fine Root Morpholofical Traits Variationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Forest thinning directly reduces stand density and thereby increases the light intensity, temperature, and throughfall inside the stand [5,37]. The changes in the remaining trees and microclimate after thinning accelerate plant litter decomposition and nutrient release, which improves the level of soil resources [38][39][40][41]. Therefore, we first hypothesized that forest thinning promotes soil resources such as water and nutrient concentration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responses of Fine Root Morphological and Chemical Traits among Branch Orders to Forest Thinning in Pinus massoniana Plantations

Zhao,

Sun,

Wang

et al. 2024

Forests

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Fine roots play an essential role in biogeochemical cycling in forest ecosystems; however, little is known about the response of fine root morphology and chemistry in different root orders to forest management activities such as forest thinning. We investigated the fine root morphological and chemical traits in different root orders of Pinus massoniana under different thinning intensities, namely no thinning, low-intensity thinning (LIT), middle-intensity thinning (MIT), and high-intensity thinning (HIT) (0%, 25%, 45%, and 65% of individual trees eliminated, respectively). We found that forest thinning increased the root diameter (RD) of absorptive roots and decreased that of transport roots, while the trend for the specific root length (SRL) was the opposite. LIT and MIT could increase specific surface area (SSA), especially the SSA of absorptive roots in the MIT treatment. The root tissue density (RTD) of all root sequences in the LIT treatment decreased but increased in the HIT treatment. For the fine root chemical traits, thinning increased the root carbon concentration (RCC) of absorptive roots. The root nitrogen concentration (RNC) and root phosphorus concentration (RPC) of first- to fourth-order roots increased in the LIT and MIT treatments after thinning. Meanwhile, thinning increased root lignin, cellulose, and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) concentrations. Soil temperature, nitrate, and microbial biomass carbon were factors affecting variations in fine root morphology and chemistry. Forest thinning was likely to shift the absorptive roots’ foraging strategy into a resource-conserving one. Thinning increased fine root chemical traits in most root orders. These findings contributed to our ability to predict how belowground ecological processes are mediated by fine roots under forest management activities.

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Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fine Root Morpholofical Traits Variationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responses of Fine Root Morphological and Chemical Traits among Branch Orders to Forest Thinning in Pinus massoniana Plantations

Zhao,

Sun,

Wang

et al. 2024

Forests

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“…Plantations, as one of the most important forest resources on earth, play a vital role in providing timber production and ecosystem services and mitigating climate change [26,27]. The active afforestation policy in China has led to the largest planted forest area in the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Soil Quality in the Transformation from Pure Chinese Fir Plantation to Mixed Broad-Leaved and Cunninghamia lanceolata Plantation in Subtropical China

Cao,

Zhang,

Yan

et al. 2023

Forests

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To assess the alterations in soil properties resulting from the interplanting of broad-leaved tree species within coniferous forests, we conducted an investigation into soil quality in a mixed Chinese fir and broad-leaved forest, as well as in a Chinese fir pure forest (used as a control) in subtropical China. A total of 15 soil physicochemical properties were assessed across three soil depths—0–15 cm, 15–30 cm, and 30–45 cm—for the two forest types in the experimental study. Principal component analysis in conjunction with the Norm value was employed to create a minimal data set (MDS) for assessing six indicators, including bulk density (BD), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphate (TP), available potassium (AK), soil pH, and catalase (CAT). The soil quality index (SQI) was calculated for both forest types. The results demonstrated that following the interplanting of broad-leaved tree species in the Chinese fir forest, all soil physicochemical indicators were significantly improved compared to the control, and significant differences were also observed in the 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm soil layers (p < 0.05). The overall average of the SQI of the mixed forest (0.8523, 0.6636) was significantly higher than that of the control (0.4477, 0.3823) (p < 0.05) in the 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm soil layers, respectively. However, there was no significant difference in the SQI in the 30–45 cm soil layer (p > 0.05) between the two forest types. The results indicated that the SQI based on the minimal dataset (MDS) can reflect the SQI of the total dataset (TDS) when assessing soil quality in forests. Our research provides valuable scientific insights into soil science and an understanding of the relationships between soil properties, forest structure, and species composition in sustainable forest management.

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Developing soil quality indices to investigate degradation impacts of different land use types in Northern Ethiopia

Kahsay,

Haile,

Gebresamuel

et al. 2025

Heliyon

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Establishing a soil quality index to assess the effect of thinning on soil quality in a Chinese fir plantation

Cited by 6 publications

References 56 publications

Responses of Fine Root Morphological and Chemical Traits among Branch Orders to Forest Thinning in Pinus massoniana Plantations

Responses of Fine Root Morphological and Chemical Traits among Branch Orders to Forest Thinning in Pinus massoniana Plantations

Assessment of Soil Quality in the Transformation from Pure Chinese Fir Plantation to Mixed Broad-Leaved and Cunninghamia lanceolata Plantation in Subtropical China

Developing soil quality indices to investigate degradation impacts of different land use types in Northern Ethiopia

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