Abstract
The purpose of this research was to study the influence of the vegetation on the soil C pool of forests of pines (Pinus sylvestris) and oaks (Quercus pyrenaica), located in Central-Western Spain. Horizons from selected soils located in these forests were sampled, and the soil organic C (SOC) was determined. In addition, in vitro incubation experiments were carried out, under controlled conditions, to monitor the stability of SOC against the microbial activity. Soil humus fractions were isolated following a classical procedure of chemical fractionation using alkaline solutions, before and after the incubation experiment. A deeper O horizon was found under the pine forest than under oak one; however, higher SOC content was found in the oak site than that under pine one. During the in vitro mineralization process, a lower CO2 production by the soil sample from pine forest was observed, in relation to that emitted by the oak soil. In addition, a lower humification degree was estimated for the soil humus under pines than for that under oaks. In conclusion, replacement of oaks by pines produced a decrease in SOC accumulation and a lower quality of humus in the forest soils.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the ‘Junta de Castilla y León’ (Projects VA094A06 and VA014A07) and the Spanish ‘Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia’ (Project CTM2006-02249/TECNO).
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Communicated by A. Merino.
This article belongs to the special issue “Plant-soil relationships in Southern European forests”.
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Charro, E., Gallardo, J.F. & Moyano, A. Degradability of soils under oak and pine in Central Spain. Eur J Forest Res 129, 83–91 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-009-0320-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-009-0320-4