Authors: L Vittori Antisari G Falsone S Carbone G Vianello
Publish Date: 2012/06/05
Volume: 49, Issue: 2, Pages: 165-173
Abstract
Soil organic matter SOM pools and soil available calcium Caexch were monitored during a 4year period in an experimental chestnut stand treated for the restoration of timber production In 2004 the stand was cut and stumps were grafted Before the forestry operations the biocycling process seemed to contrast soil nutrient loss returning Ca to mineral soil through plant activity Therefore we hypothesized that the regrowing vegetation after forestry operations would supply Ca to the soil surface and maintain a certain soil fertility level In fact from 2005 a progressive recovery of 460 mg Caexch kg−1 year−1 at the soil surface was found corresponding to about 5 of the Ca of the leaf litter 8605 mg Ca kg−1 chestnut leaves sampled in 2007 However the Caexch seemed to depend on the humified C r 2 = 0858 p 001 At the soil surface the humified C decreased Therefore other processes involving SOM dynamics may be taken into account After the first year the scarce presence of litter layer at the soil surface could have exacerbated soil erosion and reduction of SOM content as shown by the change in horizon thickness and C amount In later years a litterfall layer was present due to the regrowing vegetation and soil erosion was reduced but SOM turnover did not change In parallel the amount of microbial biomass C and soil respiration increased Because the addition of new C source from regrowing vegetation can stimulate soil microbial activity we hypothesized that the occurrence of a priming effect in our soil could further affect soil C and nutrient availability in later years management change
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