Initial response of soil carbon and nitrogen to harvest intensity and competing vegetation control in douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) plantations of the pacific northwest

Robert A. Slesak, Stephen H. Schoenholtz, Timothy B. Harrington, Nathan A. Meehan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

We assessed the effect of harvest type (bole-only or whole-tree) and vegetation control treatments (initial or annual application of herbicide) on soil C and N at two contrasting sites in the Pacific Northwest. Pretreatment (2003) and posttreatment (2005) soil samples were collected by depth to 60 cm, and a stratified sampling approach based on four surface conditions was used for posttreatment sampling in surface soils. Surface condition had a significant effect on soil C and N concentrations, generally decreasing with decreasing amounts of logging debris and increasing soil disturbance. There was no difference between harvest treatments in the change in soil C and N content despite differences in surface condition coverage between harvest types, indicating estimates of C and N change determined from the stratification approach were imprecise. Soil C and N content tended to increase regardless of treatment, but increases were significant only in the bole-only harvest at one site and in the whole-tree harvest at the other site. Initial vegetation control caused significantly greater positive change in soil C and N than the annual vegetation control treatment, with effects limited to surface soil at one site and all sample depths at the other site. Much of these increases occurred in deeper (>20 cm) parts of the soil profile, indicating that deep soil sampling is necessary for assessment of harvest-related change in soil C andN. For. Sci. 57(1):26-35.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)26-35
Number of pages10
JournalForest Science
Volume57
Issue number1
StatePublished - Feb 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Biomass
  • Intensive forest management
  • Soil depth
  • Stratified sampling

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