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Forest Continuity as a Key Determinant of Soil Carbon and Nutrient Storage in Beech Forests on Sandy Soils in Northern Germany

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Abstract

Forest (or tree) age has been identified as an important determinant of the carbon (C) storage potential of forest soils. A large part of Central Europe’s current forested area was affected by land use change with long periods of cultivation in past centuries suggesting that the organic C stocks in the soil (SOC) under recent forest may partly be legacies of the past and that stand age effects have to be distinguished from forest continuity effects (that is, the time since re-afforestation). We examined the influence of mean tree age and forest continuity on the SOC pool and the stores of total N and available P, Ca, Mg, and K in the soil (mineral soil and organic layer) across a sample of 14 beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests on sandy soil with variable tree age (23–189 years) and forest continuity (50-year-old afforestation to ancient (‘permanent’) forest, that is, >230 years of proven continuity). Ancient beech forests (>230 years of continuity) stored on average 47 and 44% more organic C and total N in the soil than recent beech afforestation (50–128 years of continuity). Contrary to expectation, we found large and significant C and N pool differences between the forest categories in the mineral soil but not in the organic layer indicating that decade- or century-long cultivation has reduced the subsoil C and nutrient stores while the organic layer element pools have approached a new equilibrium after only 50–128 years. PCA and correlation analyses suggest that forest continuity cannot be ignored when trying to understand the variation in soil C stocks between different stands. Forest clearing, subsequent cultivation, and eventual re-afforestation with beech resulted in similar relative stock reductions of C and N and, thus, no change in soil C/N ratio. We conclude that the continuity of forest cover, which may or may not be related to tree age, is a key determinant of the soil C and nutrient stores of beech forests in the old cultural landscape of Central Europe.

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Acknowledgments

Ute Schlonsog, Marianne Gscheidlen, and Uta Nüsse-Hahne conducted part of the chemical analysis which is gratefully acknowledged. We thank the local forest departments and the land owners for permission to extract soil samples. Recommendations by two anonymous reviewers greatly helped to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Ecology, Albrecht von Haller Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany

    Christoph Leuschner & Dietrich Hertel

  2. Department of Land Use Systems, ZALF, Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374, Müncheberg, Germany

    Monika Wulf

  3. Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Monika Wulf

  4. Tauernallee 13, 12107, Berlin, Germany

    Patricia Bäuchler

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  1. Christoph Leuschner
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Correspondence to Christoph Leuschner.

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Author Contributions

CL and MW designed the study, PB with contribution by MW, DH, and CL conducted the field research, DH, PB, and CL analyzed the data, and CL (with contributions by MW) wrote the paper.

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Leuschner, C., Wulf, M., Bäuchler, P. et al. Forest Continuity as a Key Determinant of Soil Carbon and Nutrient Storage in Beech Forests on Sandy Soils in Northern Germany. Ecosystems 17, 497–511 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9738-0

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