Do tree species influence soil carbon stocks in temperate and boreal forests
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed and synthesized current knowledge of tree species effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in temperate and boreal forests based on common garden, retrospective paired stand and retrospective single-tree studies.
About: This article is published in Forest Ecology and Management.The article was published on 2013-12-01. It has received 299 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Forest floor & Soil carbon.
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TL;DR: Predictive understanding of plant species effects on nutrient cycling will require developing new frameworks that are broadened beyond litter decomposition to consider the full litter-soil organic matter (SOM) continuum.
Abstract: In a review published over two decades ago I asserted that, along soil fertility gradients, plant traits change in ways that reinforce patterns of soil fertility and net primary productivity (NPP). I reevaluate this assertion in light of recent research, focusing on feedbacks to NPP operating through litter decomposition. I conclude that mechanisms emerging since my previous review might weaken these positive feedbacks, such as negative effects of nitrogen on decomposition, while others might strengthen them, such as slower decomposition of roots compared to leaf litter. I further conclude that predictive understanding of plant species effects on nutrient cycling will require developing new frameworks that are broadened beyond litter decomposition to consider the full litter–soil organic matter (SOM) continuum.
385 citations
TL;DR: Bacteria contribute to a range of essential soil processes involved in the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, and mediate multiple critical steps in the nitrogen cycle, including N fixation.
Abstract: The ecology of forest soils is an important field of research due to the role of forests as carbon sinks. Consequently, a significant amount of information has been accumulated concerning their ecology, especially for temperate and boreal forests. Although most studies have focused on fungi, forest soil bacteria also play important roles in this environment. In forest soils, bacteria inhabit multiple habitats with specific properties, including bulk soil, rhizosphere, litter, and deadwood habitats, where their communities are shaped by nutrient availability and biotic interactions. Bacteria contribute to a range of essential soil processes involved in the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. They take part in the decomposition of dead plant biomass and are highly important for the decomposition of dead fungal mycelia. In rhizospheres of forest trees, bacteria interact with plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi as commensalists or mycorrhiza helpers. Bacteria also mediate multiple critical steps in the nitrogen cycle, including N fixation. Bacterial communities in forest soils respond to the effects of global change, such as climate warming, increased levels of carbon dioxide, or anthropogenic nitrogen deposition. This response, however, often reflects the specificities of each studied forest ecosystem, and it is still impossible to fully incorporate bacteria into predictive models. The understanding of bacterial ecology in forest soils has advanced dramatically in recent years, but it is still incomplete. The exact extent of the contribution of bacteria to forest ecosystem processes will be recognized only in the future, when the activities of all soil community members are studied simultaneously.
380 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors synthesize current evidence regarding the influences of 13 common forest management practices on forest soil C stocks, and identify existing gaps in knowledge and suggest research to address the gaps.
277 citations
Cites background from "Do tree species influence soil carb..."
..., 2015), while larger mineral soil C have been reported under broadleaf angiosperm species (Vesterdal et al., 2008; Vesterdal et al., 2013)....
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TL;DR: Soil carbon (C) sequestration implies transferring of atmospheric CO2 into soil of a land unit through its plants as mentioned in this paper, which is influenced by land use, soil management and farming systems.
265 citations
TL;DR: Evidence of the influence of evergreen gymnosperm (EG) and deciduous angiosperm (DA) tree species on the water balance, physical–chemical soil properties and biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients is reviewed.
Abstract: It has been recognized for a long time that the overstorey composition of a forest partly determines its biological and physical-chemical functioning. Here, we review evidence of the influence of evergreen gymnosperm (EG) tree species and deciduous angiosperm (DA) tree species on the water balance, physical-chemical soil properties and biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients. We used scientific publications based on experimental designs where all species grew on the same parent material and initial soil, and were similar in stage of stand development, former land use and current management. We present the current state of the art, define knowledge gaps, and briefly discuss how selection of tree species can be used to mitigate pollution or enhance accumulation of stable organic carbon in the soil. The presence of EGs generally induces a lower rate of precipitation input into the soil than DAs, resulting in drier soil conditions and lower water discharge. Soil temperature is generally not different, or slightly lower, under an EG canopy compared to a DA canopy. Chemical properties, such as soil pH, can also be significantly modified by taxonomic groups of tree species. Biomass production is usually similar or lower in DA stands than in stands of EGs. Aboveground production of dead organic matter appears to be of the same order of magnitude between tree species groups growing on the same site. Some DAs induce more rapid decomposition of litter than EGs because of the chemical properties of their tissues, higher soil moisture and favourable conditions for earthworms. Forest floors consequently tend to be thicker in EG forests compared to DA forests. Many factors, such as litter lignin content, influence litter decomposition and it is difficult to identify specific litter-quality parameters that distinguish litter decomposition rates of EGs from DAs. Although it has been suggested that DAs can result in higher accumulation of soil carbon stocks, evidence from field studies does not show any obvious trend. Further research is required to clarify if accumulation of carbon in soils (i.e. forest floor + mineral soil) is different between the two types of trees. Production of belowground dead organic matter appears to be of similar magnitude in DA and EG forests, and root decomposition rate lower under EGs than DAs. However there are some discrepancies and still are insufficient data about belowground pools and processes that require further research. Relatively larger amounts of nutrients enter the soil-plant biogeochemical cycle under the influence of EGs than DAs, but recycling of nutrients appears to be slightly enhanced by DAs. Understanding the mechanisms underlying forest ecosystem functioning is essential to predicting the consequences of the expected tree species migration under global change. This knowledge can also be used as a mitigation tool regarding carbon sequestration or management of surface waters because the type of tree species affects forest growth, carbon, water and nutrient cycling.
264 citations
Cites background from "Do tree species influence soil carb..."
...1; see for instance Borken & Beese (2005b), Finzi, Van Breemen & Canham (1998b), France, Binkley & Valentine (1989), Graham &Wood (1991), Ovington (1954), Trum et al. (2011), Vesterdal et al. (2013) and Vesterdal & Raulund-Rasmussen (1998)]....
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...…al., 2003; Binkley & Menyailo, 2005; Ladegaard-Pedersen et al., 2005; De Santo et al., 2009; Guckland et al., 2009; Berger, Inselsbacher & Zechmeister-Boltenstern, 2010; Chodak & Niklinska, 2010; Homann, 2012; McIntosh, Macdonald & Gundale, 2012; Prescott & Grayston, 2013; Vesterdal et al., 2013)....
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...…accumulation of carbon in soils (i.e. forest floor+mineral soil) differs between the two types of tree species (Augusto et al., 2003; Vesterdal et al., 2008; Achat et al., 2013; Laganière et al., 2013) as differences in forest floor and mineral soil may offset each other (Vesterdal et al., 2013)....
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..., 2013) as differences in forest floor and mineral soil may offset each other (Vesterdal et al., 2013)....
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...Owing to their higher N (and Ca) content and the favourable conditions they create for earthworms, some DA species may enhance accumulation of stable carbon stocks in soils (Berg et al., 1996; Prescott, 2010; Cotrufo et al., 2013; Vesterdal et al., 2013)....
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References
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United States Geological Survey1, University of Arizona2, University of Batna3, Oregon State University4, Los Alamos National Laboratory5, Centre national de la recherche scientifique6, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research7, Natural Resources Canada8, University of California, Berkeley9, University of Granada10, Northern Research Institute11, Forest Research Institute12, Food and Agriculture Organization13, University of Montana14, Northern Arizona University15
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the first global assessment of recent tree mortality attributed to drought and heat stress and identify key information gaps and scientific uncertainties that currently hinder our ability to predict tree mortality in response to climate change and emphasizes the need for a globally coordinated observation system.
5,811 citations
"Do tree species influence soil carb..." refers background in this paper
...Climate change and associated disturbances are also expected to influence the species composition in temperate and boreal forests (Allen et al., 2010; Lindner et al., 2010) and could be important in regions where natural disturbances control regeneration and C cyling processes....
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University of Zurich1, University of California, Berkeley2, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory3, University of Oldenburg4, Max Planck Society5, Leibniz University of Hanover6, University of Antwerp7, Oregon State University8, Technische Universität München9, Cornell University10, Newcastle University11, University of Florence12, Weizmann Institute of Science13
TL;DR: In this article, a new generation of experiments and soil carbon models were proposed to predict the SOM response to global warming, and they showed that molecular structure alone alone does not control SOM stability.
Abstract: Globally, soil organic matter (SOM) contains more than three times as much carbon as either the atmosphere or terrestrial vegetation. Yet it remains largely unknown why some SOM persists for millennia whereas other SOM decomposes readily—and this limits our ability to predict how soils will respond to climate change. Recent analytical and experimental advances have demonstrated that molecular structure alone does not control SOM stability: in fact, environmental and biological controls predominate. Here we propose ways to include this understanding in a new generation of experiments and soil carbon models, thereby improving predictions of the SOM response to global warming.
4,219 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a review of the mechanisms that are currently, but often contradictorily or inconsistently, considered to contribute to organic matter (OM) protection against decomposition in temperate soils is presented.
Abstract: Summary
Mechanisms for C stabilization in soils have received much interest recently due to their relevance in the global C cycle. Here we review the mechanisms that are currently, but often contradictorily or inconsistently, considered to contribute to organic matter (OM) protection against decomposition in temperate soils: (i) selective preservation due to recalcitrance of OM, including plant litter, rhizodeposits, microbial products, humic polymers, and charred OM; (ii) spatial inaccessibility of OM against decomposer organisms due to occlusion, intercalation, hydrophobicity and encapsulation; and (iii) stabilization by interaction with mineral surfaces (Fe-, Al-, Mn-oxides, phyllosilicates) and metal ions. Our goal is to assess the relevance of these mechanisms to the formation of soil OM during different stages of decomposition and under different soil conditions. The view that OM stabilization is dominated by the selective preservation of recalcitrant organic components that accumulate in proportion to their chemical properties can no longer be accepted. In contrast, our analysis of mechanisms shows that: (i) the soil biotic community is able to disintegrate any OM of natural origin; (ii) molecular recalcitrance of OM is relative, rather than absolute; (iii) recalcitrance is only important during early decomposition and in active surface soils; while (iv) during late decomposition and in the subsoil, the relevance of spatial inaccessibility and organo-mineral interactions for SOM stabilization increases. We conclude that major difficulties in the understanding and prediction of SOM dynamics originate from the simultaneous operation of several mechanisms. We discuss knowledge gaps and promising directions of future research.
2,332 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the most important potential impacts of climate change on forest goods and services are summarized for the Boreal, Temperate Oceanic, TOC, Mediterranean, and mountainous regions.
1,831 citations
"Do tree species influence soil carb..." refers background in this paper
...However, with the increasing emphasis on ecosystem services other than wood from forestry and increasing focus on adaptation to climate change (Lindner et al., 2010) there is a need to provide a wider basis for informed decisions regarding tree species selection....
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...Climate change and associated disturbances are also expected to influence the species composition in temperate and boreal forests (Allen et al., 2010; Lindner et al., 2010) and could be important in regions where natural disturbances control regeneration and C cyling processes....
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