Keeping thinning-derived deadwood logs on forest floor improves soil organic carbon, microbial biomass, and enzyme activity in a temperate spruce forest

Nazari, Meisam; Pausch, Johanna; Bickel, Samuel; Bilyera, Nataliya; Rashtbari, Mehdi; Razavi, Bahar S.; Zamanian, Kazem; Sharififar, Amin; Shi, Lingling; Dippold, Michaela A.; Zarebanadkouki, Mohsen

doi:10.1007/s10342-022-01522-z

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…Deadwood logs increased the SOC content by 56% (Figure 2a), although the change was not statistically significant. In another study conducted at the same site, deadwood logs enhanced the SOC content by 59% at 0–4 cm depth (Nazari, Pausch, et al, 2023), further confirming our result. The increased SOC content under deadwood logs could be due to the transportation of dissolved and particulate organic matter from slowly decaying spruce deadwood into the soil by rainwater and bioturbation (Stutz et al, 2017; Wambsganss et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The soil is acidic with low biological activity. Some characteristics of the soil (Nazari, Pausch, et al, 2023) are presented in Table 1. In 2006, the forest underwent the second thinning by cutting 20 trees per hectare.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…where Y is liquid surface tension or water repellency (mN m À1 ); ln is natural logarithm; and X is the molarity of ethanol solution (mol L À1 ). T A B L E 1 Properties of the loamy sand soil (0-4 cm depth) of the studied thinned spruce forest located in Kulmbach, Bavaria, Germany (Nazari, Pausch, et al, 2023). It is important to note that soil water repellency is measured in surface tension units, which has an inverse relationship with the degree of soil water repellency.…”

Section: Field and Laboratory Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent study investigated the influence of thinning‐derived deadwood logs on soil chemical and microbial properties in a managed spruce forest on loamy sand Podzol in Germany (Nazari, Pausch, et al, 2023). After about 15 years, the presence of deadwood logs led to considerable increases in the soil organic carbon (SOC) content at different depths (59% and 56% at 0–4 cm and 8–12 cm depths, respectively).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a follow‐up experiment to Nazari, Pausch, et al (2023) conducted at the same forest site, this research aimed to assess the impact of deadwood resulting from forest thinning on the soil physical characteristics. We hypothesized that (i) deadwood logs from thinning operations will increase the soil water content, shear strength, water repellency, field‐saturated hydraulic conductivity ( K fs ), and infiltration rate and (ii) there will be a strong relation between the deadwood‐associated increase in SOC and water contents and the measured soil physical variables.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of spruce deadwood logs on physical properties of a loamy sand Podzol in a steep temperate forest

Nazari,

Lamandé,

Weber

et al. 2024

Land Degrad Dev

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Thinned steep forests are particularly vulnerable to soil physical degradation. Retaining deadwood logs from thinning operations on the forest floor can potentially mitigate soil physical degradation by modifying its physical properties through increased carbon content in steep regions. We aimed to investigate the effect of spruce deadwood logs from thinning operations on the physical properties of a loamy sand Podzol soil in a steep (30°) temperate spruce forest in Bavaria, Germany. The soil organic carbon (SOC) content was 56% higher under deadwood logs compared to the control areas (p‐value = 0.097). Deadwood logs also increased the soil water repellency by 13% (p‐value = 0.269), while decreasing the soil shear strength by 35% (p‐value = 0.001). Shear strength and water repellency strongly correlated with SOC content, with r = −0.87 and r = 0.86, respectively. Although retaining deadwood logs seems a promising carbon sequestration strategy, it can adversely affect soil shear strength and water repellency and potentially lead to soil degradation. Therefore, the choice to keep deadwood logs on the forest floor may align with specific management goals.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Field and Laboratory Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Impact of spruce deadwood logs on physical properties of a loamy sand Podzol in a steep temperate forest

Nazari,

Lamandé,

Weber

et al. 2024

Land Degrad Dev

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From deadwood to forest soils: quantifying a key carbon flux in boreal ecosystems

Stokland,

Alfredsen

2024

Biogeochemistry

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Deadwood represents a dynamic carbon pool in forest ecosystems where microbial decomposition causes fluxes of CO2 to the atmosphere through respiration and organic carbon to the soil through leakage and fragmentation. This study characterises different stages of deadwood of Norway spruce (Picea abies). 35 Norway spruce trees were sampled and categorized on a 0–5 decay scale. For the 14 trees in classes 0–3, two stem discs were collected from two heights. For the 21 trees in classes 4 and 5, a single sample per tree was taken, because decay was relatively uniform throughout the stem. The relative amount of hemicellulose and cellulose declined moderately from decay class 1 to 3 and substantially from decay class 3 to class 4 but small amounts were still present in decay class 5. The relative lignin proportion increased substantially from decay class 3 to 4 and dominated in decay class 5. Relative carbon content increased from 50 to 56% during the decomposition process due to the increasing accumulation of lignin residuals being a typical signature of brown rot decay. A laboratory experiment including three species of brown rot fungi verified decomposition close to 70% of Norway spruce biomass and resulted in 55% carbon content. This was similar to the carbon content in decay class 4 and 5. A novel approach is presented to quantify the carbon flux from deadwood to the soil. First, we calculated the residual proportion of carbon in decayed wood compared to the initial carbon content of live trees. Subsequently, we extended the calculation to determine the amount of remaining carbon from non-decayed wood that was transferred to the soil during each decay class. The approach showed that Norway spruce wood decomposition under field conditions transfers at least 39–47% of the initial wood carbon to the soil carbon pool, depending on soil type. This strengthens the previously under-communicated fact that the carbon flux from deadwood to soil is higher from brown rot decomposition in boreal forests than the corresponding carbon flux in temperate and tropical forests where deadwood is more influenced by white rot fungi.

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The falling of a tree in the forest is the beginning of significant changes in the soil

Sokołowski,

Gawryś,

Błońska

2024

Plant Soil

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Aims The aim of the project was to determine the vertical variability of soil under the influence of deadwood (DWD) in a temperate forest ecosystem. Methods The laboratory analyses included soil layers of 0–5 cm, 5–10 cm, 10–20 cm and 20–40 cm, which were taken directly under the deadwood, as well as the forest litter layer and deadwood fragments. The control samples were taken 30 m away. Results The decomposition processes of deadwood are associated with a 55% increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) deposition to a depth of -40 cm and a 36% increase in total nitrogen (N) content compared to soils without deadwood. DWD significantly increases exchangeable cations, especially at a depth of -5 cm to -20 cm. Deadwood contains slightly more hydrogen (H+) and aluminum ions (Al3+) than forest litter, but soil acidification is related to pedogenic processes rather than decomposition of deadwood in hyperacid forest soils. The soil surface under deadwood with a high degree of decomposition is characterised by a lower bulk density (BD) value than the soil where only forest litter was present. Conclusions Our studies suggest that the physicochemical properties of forest soils change under the influence of deadwood such that the deeper layers beneath the logs take on propertie8s that make them similar to the shallower layers without deadwood. To summarise, leaving deadwood in the forest has a positive effect on soil fertility by enriching the soil with nutrients (Ca2+, K+, Na+, less Mg2+) and improving its physical properties.

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Keeping thinning-derived deadwood logs on forest floor improves soil organic carbon, microbial biomass, and enzyme activity in a temperate spruce forest

Cited by 14 publications

References 98 publications

Impact of spruce deadwood logs on physical properties of a loamy sand Podzol in a steep temperate forest

Impact of spruce deadwood logs on physical properties of a loamy sand Podzol in a steep temperate forest

From deadwood to forest soils: quantifying a key carbon flux in boreal ecosystems

The falling of a tree in the forest is the beginning of significant changes in the soil

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