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Chemical composition of forest floor and consequences for nutrient availability after wildfire and harvesting in the boreal forest

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Abstract

In boreal forests of eastern Canada, wildfire has gradually been replaced by clearcut harvesting as the most extensive form of disturbance. Such a shift in disturbance may influence the chemical properties of the forest floor and its capacity to cycle and supply nutrients, with possible implications for forest productivity. We compared the effects of stem-only harvesting (SOH), whole-tree harvesting (WTH) and wildfire on the chemical composition of forest floor organic matter and nutrient availability for plants, 15–20 years after disturbance in boreal coniferous stands in Quebec (Canada). The forest floor on plots of wildfire origin was significantly enriched in aromatic forms of C with low solubility, whereas the forest floor from SOH and WTH plots was enriched with more soluble and labile C compounds. The forest floor of wildfire plots was also characterized by higher N concentration, but its high C:N and high concentration of 15N suggest that its N content could be recalcitrant and have a slow turnover rate. Total and exchangeable K were associated with easily degradable organic structures, whereas total and exchangeable Ca and Mg were positively correlated with the more recalcitrant forms of C. We suggest that the bulk of Ca and Mg cycling in the soil–plant system is inherited from the influx of exchangeable cations in the forest floor following disturbance. The buildup of Ca and Mg exchangeable reserves should be greater with wildfire than with harvesting, due to the sudden pulse of cation-rich ash and to the deposition of charred materials with high exchange capacity. This raises uncertainties about the long-term availability of Ca and Mg for plant uptake on harvested sites. In contrast, K availability should not be compromised by either harvesting or wildfire since it could be recycled rapidly through vegetation, litter and labile organic compounds.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT grant to A.D. Munson and D. Paré) for financial support, to the Canadian Forest Service for technical support and for scientific and linguistic reviews, to Mokpo National University, Republic of Korea, for financial support and for access to the NMR facility, and to Abitibi-Consolidated Mauricie for technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laurentian Forestry Centre, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, 1055 du P.E.P.S., P.O. Box 10380, Stn. Sainte-Foy, Québec, QC, G1V 4C7, Canada

    E. Thiffault & D. Paré

  2. Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    K. D. Hannam & S. A. Quideau

  3. Department of Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    N. Bélanger

  4. Department of Chemistry, Mokpo National University, Muan, Chonnam, 534-729, Republic of Korea

    S.-W. Oh

  5. Centre d’étude sur la forêt, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada

    A. D. Munson

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  1. E. Thiffault
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  2. K. D. Hannam
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  3. S. A. Quideau
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  4. D. Paré
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  5. N. Bélanger
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  6. S.-W. Oh
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  7. A. D. Munson
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Correspondence to E. Thiffault.

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Thiffault, E., Hannam, K.D., Quideau, S.A. et al. Chemical composition of forest floor and consequences for nutrient availability after wildfire and harvesting in the boreal forest. Plant Soil 308, 37–53 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9604-6

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