Wu, Shuyao
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- University of British Columbia
Abstract
Mechanical site preparation is assumed to reduce soil C stocks by increasing the rate at which the displaced organic material decomposes, but the evidence is equivocal. We measured rates of C loss of forest-floor material in mesh bags either placed on the surface or buried in the mineral soil at four sites in different regional climates in British Columbia. During the 3-year incubation, buried forest-floor material lost between 5% and 15% more C mass than material on the surface, with the greatest difference occurring at the site with the lowest annual precipitation. Studies of the long-term fate of buried and surface humus are needed to understand the net effects of site preparation on soil C stocks.
Keywords
humus; decomposition; soil; carbon; site preparation
Published in
Canadian Journal of Forest Research
2017, volume: 47, number: 8, pages: 1140-1144
Publisher: CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING, NRC RESEARCH PRESS
SLU Authors
Nilsson Hegethorn, Marie-Charlotte
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
UKÄ Subject classification
Forest Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2016-0533
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/92536