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Experimental snowpack reduction alters organic matter and net N mineralization potential of soil macroaggregates in a northern hardwood forest

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Abstract

Climate change is predicted to reduce or delay annual wintertime snow pack formation in the forests of the northeastern US. Any delay in snowpack formation could increase soil freezing in winter and, thereby, alter soil characteristics and processes. We examined the hypothesis that delayed snowpack would disrupt soil structure and change organic matter bioavailability in an experimental snow removal study at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), NH, USA. Pairs of reference and snow removal treatment plots were studied in four different sites at HBEF. Snow was removed from November–January of two winters, inducing soil freezing throughout both winters. Size class distribution and organic matter concentration and content of aggregates, and carbon and nitrogen mineralization potential of size fractions were quantified for surface mineral soils in the spring of both years immediately after snowmelt. In the first year of sampling, the only significant effect of snow removal was an increase in the smallest (<53 μm) size fraction of mineral soil. In the second year, snow removal increased organic matter concentrations of macroaggregate (250–2,000 μm) and microaggregate (53–250 μm) size fractions. This change corresponded to an increase in net N mineralization potential and the ratio of N to C mineralized in the macroaggregate fraction, but there were no effects of snow removal on C mineralization. We propose that soil freezing increases the movement of organic matter from organic to mineral soil horizons and increases the N content of mineralizable substrates in mineral soil following years with delayed snowpack formation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Lisa Martel and Jim Sobieraj for assistance with field and laboratory work. This project was funded by the National Science Foundation through grant DEB 00-75387 (Ecosystem Studies) and Grant DEB 98-10221 (Long Term Ecological Research) and by support from the Heltzer Honors College at Appalachian State University. This research was conducted at the HBEF, which is owned and operated by the Northeastern Research Station, United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. This paper is a contribution to the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study.

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  1. J. Megan Steinweg

    Present address: Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

  2. Melany C. Fisk

    Present address: Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, 28608, USA

    J. Megan Steinweg, Melany C. Fisk & Benjamin McAlexander

  2. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, P.O. Box AB, Millbrook, NY, 12545, USA

    Peter M. Groffman

  3. Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA

    Janet P. Hardy

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  1. J. Megan Steinweg
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Correspondence to Melany C. Fisk.

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Steinweg, J.M., Fisk, M.C., McAlexander, B. et al. Experimental snowpack reduction alters organic matter and net N mineralization potential of soil macroaggregates in a northern hardwood forest. Biol Fertil Soils 45, 1–10 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-008-0305-3

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