Abstract
Trees have a large impact on the topsoil chemistry and the strength and direction of this impact depend on the identity of the tree species. Tree species with nutrient-poor litter have the potential to degrade soil fertility, which is characterized by high acidity, low availability of essential nutrients for plant growth, and high levels of available Al and Fe. In contrast, species with more easily decomposing, nutrient-rich litter can ameliorate the soil quality. In this study, we are investigating the effects of tree species identity on topsoil chemistry on a small spatial scale. Our study site, situated in Białowieża Forest in Poland, replicates mature monocultures and two-species mixtures, using a pool of four tree species. Soil was sampled at a metre distance to the base of a tree and in the centre along a transect between two trees. We found that the total C concentration, plant available P and base cation concentration, and C/N ratio were all larger close to the tree. The pH was unaffected by the distance. We identified clear species identity effects on this distance effect. In particular, we found that the pH and base cations were affected more negatively by the proximity to a tree nearby nutrient-poor trees in comparison with nutrient-rich trees. However, no non-additive diversity effects in mixtures could be distinguished. Our results highlight the ameliorating effects of admixing nutrient-rich species with nutrient-poor species and the importance of tree species choice in regard to the topsoil chemical composition on a small within-stand scale.
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Acknowledgements
E.D. holds a doctoral fellowship and P.D.S. a postdoctoral fellowship of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). We would like to thank Kris Ceunen, Tobias Malfroy, and Michele Coppens for the help with the soil sampling. Many thanks go to Ireneusz Smerczynski and Łukasz Dawidziuk-Iwacik for technical help during fieldwork. We also would like to thank Luc Willems and Greet De Bruyn for performing the chemical analyses. The research was conducted in cooperation with the International Center for Research on Forest Ecosystems of the University of Warsaw. We would also like to thank the anonymous reviewer for their insightful and helpful comments.
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Financial support was received from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO).
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ED, LB, PDS, and KV conceived the conceptual idea and outline. BJ maintained the observational site. ED performed the statistical analysis and wrote the original draft. LB, PDS, BJ, and KV reviewed and edited the manuscript.
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Dhiedt, E., Baeten, L., De Smedt, P. et al. Tree neighbourhood-scale variation in topsoil chemistry depends on species identity effects related to litter quality. Eur J Forest Res 141, 1163–1176 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-022-01499-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-022-01499-9