Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Forest Soils

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Soils

Abstract

In nature, forest vegetation and soil have evolved as coupled ecosystems over a long period of time by natural succession in a place. Some abandoned croplands have also been afforested so long ago that some of their original characteristics have changed. These soils are also considered as forest soils. Forest soils have some characteristics different from agricultural soils. Forest soils include usually porous, aggregated, well-differentiated soils with plenty of organic matter, often forming a forest floor on the surface soil, and high biotic activity. Most present-day agricultural soils developed under forest in the past. The upper part of many of these soils have changed significantly due to prolonged cropping practices, but their subsoils still bear the signs of a past forest vegetation. Soil properties have a bearing on selecting tree species for plantation forestry. Tree species by occupancy in a soil for long period have an effect on the soil. Some tree species may be used for the improvement of degraded lands. Forests are efficient nutrient recyclers. Very dense forests may develop in relatively poorly fertile soils due to this nutrient recycling. Nutrients recycle within the system several times and the same nutrient atom performs the same physiological functions each time. During nutrient recycling nutrients are taken up, some proportion is retained in biomass, some proportion is returned to the soil as litter, and nutrients are released by decomposition of litter materials. Too fast and too slow nutrient recycling are both undesirable in the context of soil fertility restoration and plant nutrition. Forests are also efficient carbon sequesters. Forest and forest soil management can be used for climate change mitigation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alake Biswas M, Alamgir M, Haque SMS, Osman KT (2011) Study on soils under shifting cultivation and other land use categories in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. J For Res 22(3):261–265

    Google Scholar 

  • Allaby M (2006) Tropical forests. Chelsea House, An imprint of Infobase Publishing, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Allaby M (2008) Temperate forests. Facts on File Inc., An Imprint of Infobase Publishing, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersson C (2005) Litter decomposition in the forest ecosystem—influence of trace elements, nutrients and climate. PhD thesis, Environmental Science Section, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Kalmar, Sweden

    Google Scholar 

  • Anonymous (2008) The global carbon cycle. University of Michigan. http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/kling/carbon_cycle/carbon_cycle_new.html. Accessed on 5 Jan 2012

  • Augustoa L, Rangera J, Binkley D, Rothec A (2002) Impact of several common tree species of European temperate forests on soil fertility. Ann For Sci 59:233–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aweto AO, Dikinya O (2003) The beneficial effects of two tree species on soil properties in a semi-arid savanna rangeland in Botswana. Land Contam Reclam 11(3):339–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berg B, Staaf H (1980) Decomposition rate and chemical changes in decomposing needle litter of Scots pine. II. Influence of chemical composition. Ecol Bull 32:373–390

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berg B, Laskowski R (2006) Litter decomposition: a guide to carbon and nutrient turnover. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg B, Johansson MB, Meentemeyer V, Kratz W (1998) Decomposition of tree root litter in a climatic transect of coniferous forests in northern Europe: a synthesis. Scand J For Res 13:402–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berg B, De Santo AV, Rutigliano FA, Fierro A, Ekbohm G (2003) Limit values for plant litter decomposing in two contrasting soils—influence of litter elemental composition. Acta Oecologica 24:295–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berg B, Gundersen P, Akselsson C, Johansson MB, Nilsson A, Vesterdal L (2007) Carbon sequestration rates in Swedish forest soils—a comparison of three approaches. Silva Fennica 41(3):541–558

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhat NH, Jan S (2010) Litterfall and nutrient return in Ulmus villosa forests of Dachigam National Park, Jammu and Kashmir. Res J Agric Sci 1(4):363–365

    Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D, Sollins P, McGill WG (1985) Natural abundance of N-15 as tracer of alder-fixed nitrogen. Soil Sci Soc Am J 49:444–447

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Birdsey RA (1996) Regional estimates of timber volume and forest carbon for fully stocked timberland, average management after final clearcut harvest. In: Sampson RN, Hair D (eds) Forests and global change: vol 2. American Forests, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Bormann FH, Likens GE, Melillo JM (1977) Nitrogen budget for an aggrading northern hardwood forest ecosystem. Science 196:981–983

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bosatta E, Staaf H (1982) The control of nitrogen turnover in forest litter. Oikos 39:143–151

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brooker MIH, Connors JR, Slee AV, Duffy S (2002) EUCLID: eucalypts of southern Australia (CD Rom). CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood

    Google Scholar 

  • Brubaker LB (1986) Responses of tree populations to climatic change. Vegetatio 67:119–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler RA (2006) Diversities of image—rainforest biodiversity. Mongabay.com/A place out of time: tropical rainforests and the perils they face http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0305.htm

  • Chave J, Navarrete D, Almeida S, lvarez EA, Araga LEOC, Bonal D, Chatelet P, Silva-Espejo JE, Goret JY, von Hildebrand P, Jimenez E, Patino S, Penuela MC, Phillips OL, Stevenson P, Malhi Y (2010) Regional and seasonal patterns of litterfall in tropical South America. Biogeosciences 7:43–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chundamannii M (1998) Teak plantations in Nilambur—an economic review. KFRI research report no. 144. Kerala Forest Research Institute, India

    Google Scholar 

  • Detwiler RP, Hall CAS (1988) Tropical forests and the global carbon cycle. Science 239:42–47

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ding YX, Chen JL (1995) Effect of continuous plantation of Chinese fir on soil fertility. Pedosphere 5L:57–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans J (2009) Planted forests: uses, impacts and sustainability. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations/CABI, Oxfordshire

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2006) Global planted forests thematic study, results and analysis. Planted forests and trees working paper FP38E, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2010a) Global forest resources assessment 2010—key findings (Brochure), Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2010b) Planted forests in sustainable forest management. A statement of principles (Brochure), Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrelly N, Dhubhain ÁN, Nieuwenhuis M (2011) Site index of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) in relation to different measures of site quality in Ireland. Can J For Res 41:265–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fensham RJ, Bowman DMJS (1995) A comparison of foliar nutrient concentration in trees from monsoon rainforest and savanna in northern Australia. Aust J Ecol 20(2):335–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finzi AC, Canham CD, van Breemen N (1998) Canopy tree–soil interactions within temperate forests: species effects on pH and cations. Ecol Appl 8(2):447–454

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisher RF, Binkley D (2000) Ecology and management of forest soils, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gafur A, Borggaard OK, Jensen JR, Petersen L (2000) Changes in soil nutrient content under shifting cultivation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Danish J Geogr 100:37–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffith AL, Gupta RS (1948) Soils in relation to teak with special reference to laterisation. Indian Forest Bulletin no. 141

    Google Scholar 

  • Hailu T, Negash L, Olsson M (2000) Millettia ferruginea from southern Ethiopia: impacts on soil fertility and growth of maize. Agrofor Syst 48:9–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harmand JM, Njiti CF, Bernhard-Reversat F, Puig H (2004) Aboveground and belowground biomass, productivity and nutrient accumulation in tree improved fallows in the dry tropics of Cameroon. For Ecol Manage 188:249–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoover MD, Lunt HA (1952) A key for the classification of forest humus types. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 14:353–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang J, Wang X, Yan E (2007) Leaf nutrient concentration, nutrient resorption and litter decomposition in an evergreen broad-leaved forest in eastern China. For Ecol Manage 239:150–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ICRAF (1994) Annual report for 1993. ICRAF, Nairobi, pp 80–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007) Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansson MB (1986) Chemical composition and decomposition pattern of leaf litters from forest trees in Sweden with special reference to methodological aspects and site properties. Reports in forest ecology and forest soils. Report no. 56. Department of Forest Soils, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansson MB, Berg B, Meentemeyer V (1995) Litter mass-loss rates in late stages of decomposition in a climatic transect of Pine forests—long-term decomposition in a Scots Pine forest. IX. Can J Bot 73:1509–1521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DW, Lindberg SE (1992) Atmospheric deposition and forest nutrient cycling. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kaosa-ard A (1981) Teak: its natural distribution and related factors. Nat His Bull Siam Soc 29:55–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuennecke BH (2008) Temperate forest biomes. Greenwood Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (2001) The potential of soil carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems to mitigate the greenhouse effect. In: Soil carbon sequestration and the greenhouse effect. SSSA special publication no 57. Soil Science Society of America, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Laskowski R, Niklinska M, Nycz-Wasilec P, Wojtowicz M, Weiner J (2003) Variance components of the respiration rate and chemical characteristics of soil organic layers in Niepolomice Forest, Poland. Biogeochemistry 64:149–163

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu W, Fox JED, Xu Z (2002) Biomass and nutrient accumulation in montane evergreen broadleaf forests (Lithocarpus xylocarpus type) in Ailao Mountains SW China. For Ecol Manage 158:223–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowman MD (1988) Litterfall and leaf decay in three Australian rainforest formations. J Ecol 76:451–465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu EY, Liu YY, Yen CH (2007) Dynamics of foliar nutrients in major species of a broadleaf forest in the Fushan experimental forest, northeastern Taiwan. Taiwan J For Sci 22(3):307–319

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy PG, Lugo AE (1986) Ecology of tropical dry forest. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 17:67–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nair PKR (ed) (1989) Agroforestry systems in the tropics. Kluwer, London

    Google Scholar 

  • National Air and Space Administration (NASA) (2009) The carbon cycle features. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/CarbonCycle/carbon_cycle4.php. Accessed 11 Feb 2009

  • Okeke AI, Omaliko CPE (1994) Litterfall and seasonal patterns of nutrient accumulation in Dactyladenia barteria (Hook f ex. Oliv.) Engl. bush fallow at Ozala, Nigeria. For Ecol Manage 67:345–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osman KT, Sikder S (2000) Foliar nutrients of six forest tree species grown in brown hill soils of Bangladesh. Ind For 126:1279–1288

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pandey CB, Singh AK, Sharma DK (2000) Soil properties under Acacia nilotica trees in a traditional agroforestry system in central India. Agrofor Sys 49:53–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pandey RR, Sharma G, Tripathi SK, Singh AK (2007) Litterfall, litter decomposition and nutrient dynamics in a subtropical natural oak forest and managed plantation in northeastern India. For Ecol Manage 240:96–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips JD, Marion DA (2006) Biomechanical effects of trees on soil and regolith: beyond treethrow. Ann Assoc Am Geogr 96(2):233–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Post W, Kwon K (2000) Soil carbon sequestration and land-use change: processes and potential. Glob Chang Biol 6:317–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prescott CE (2005) Decomposition and mineralization of nutrients from litter and humus. In: Bassiri Rad H (ed) Nutrient acquisition by plants: an ecological perspective. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Pritchett WL, Fisher RF (1987) Properties and management of forest soils. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Qi G, Wang Q, Dai L, Wang X, Qi L (2010) Carbon sequestration in old-growth forest and plantations on Changbai mountain in northeast China. Bioinformatics and biomedical engineering 4th international conference 18–20 June 2010, Chengdu, China. pp 1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Rathod R, Devar KV (2003) Pattern of litter fall and contribution by various litter components to the total litter under various forest plantations. Karnataka J Agric Sci 16(3):491–493

    Google Scholar 

  • Reiners WA (1972) Nutrient content of canopy throughfall in three Minnesota forests. Oikos 23:14–22

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roos PC, Allsopp N (1997) Soil nutrient ecology associated with Acacia sieberana at different tree densities in a South African savanna. Afr J Range Forage Sci 14(2):39–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rytter L (2002) Nutrient content in stems of hybrid aspen as affected by tree age and tree size, and nutrient removal with harvest. Biomass Bioener 23(1):13–25

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Salacedo H, Tiessen H, Sampaio EVSB (1997) Nutrient availability in soil samples from shifting cultivation sites in the semi-arid Caatinga of NE Brazil. Agric Ecosyst Environ 65:177–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez EA (1995) Science in agroforestry. Agrofor Syst 30:5–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanford RL Jr (1985) Root ecology of mature and successional Amazon forests. PhD thesis. University of California

    Google Scholar 

  • Sayer EJ, Tanner EVJ (2010) Experimental investigation of the importance of litterfall in lowland semi-evergreen tropical forest nutrient cycling. J Ecol. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2010.01680.x

  • Schaetzl RJ, Anderson S (2005) Soils: genesis and geomorphology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH (1991) Biogeochemistry: an analysis of global change. Academic, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh B (1982) Nutrient content of standing crop and biological cycling in Pinus patula ecosystem. For Ecol Manage 4:317–332

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soil Survey Staff (1999) Soil taxonomy. A basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys, 2nd edn. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Sylvester-Bradley R, de Oliveira LA, de Podesta, Filho JA, John TV (1980) Nodulation of legumes, nitrogenase activity of roots and occurrence of nitrogen fixing Azospirillum spp. In: Representative soils of Central Amazonia. Agro Ecosyst 6:249–266

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka S, Kendawang JJ, Yoshida N, Shibata K, Jee A, Tanaka K, Ninomiya I, Sakurai K (2005) Effects of shifting cultivation on soil ecosystems in Sarawak, Malaysia—IV. Chemical properties of the soils and runoff water at Niah and Bakam experimental sites. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 51:525–533

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tans P (2008) Trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide—Mauna Loa. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas PA, Packham JR (2007) Ecology of woodlands and forests description, dynamics and diversity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Turner J, Cole DW, Gessel SP (1977) Methods employed in forest nutrient cycling studies at Cedar River. College of Forest Resources. University of Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanmechelen L, Groenemans R, Van Ranst E (1997) Forest soil condition in Europe results of a large-scale soil survey. Forest Soil Co-ordinating Centre, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

    Google Scholar 

  • Vesterdal L, Rosenqvist L, van der Salm C, Groenenberg BJ, Johansson MB, Hansen K (2006) Carbon sequestration in soil and biomass following afforestation: experiences from Oak and Norway spruce chronosequences in Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands. In: Heil G, Muys B, Hansen K (eds) Environmental effects of afforestation. Field observations, modelling and spatial decision support. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Sanford RL Jr (1986) Nutrient cycling in moist tropical forest. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 17:137–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Fahey T, Johnson DW, Swift MJ (1988) Element interactions in forest ecosystems: succession, allometry and input-output budgets. Biogeochemistry 5:7–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt KA, Grier CC, Vogt DJ (1986) Production, turnover, and nutrient dynamics of aboveground and belowground detritus of world forests. Adv Ecol Res 15:303–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA, Zachrisson O, Hornberg G, Gallet C (1997) The influence of island area on ecosystem properties. Science 277:1296–1299

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wieder WR, Cleveland CC, Townsend AR (2009) Controls over leaf litter decomposition in wet tropical forests. Ecology 90:3333–3341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang YS, Guo JF, Chen GS, Xie JS, Cai LP, Lin P (2004) Litterfall, nutrient return, and leaf-litter decomposition in four plantations compared with a natural forest in subtropical China. Ann For Sci 61:465–476

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang YS, Guo JF, Chen GS, Xie JS, Gao R, Li Z, Jin Z (2005) Litter production, seasonal pattern and nutrient return in seven natural forests compared with a plantation in southern China. Forestry 78(4):1–13

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan E, Wang X, Huang J (2006) Shifts in plant nutrient use strategies under secondary forest succession. Plant Soil 289:187–197

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou G, Guan L, Wei X, Zhang D, Zhang Q, Yan J, Wen D, Liu J, Liu S, Huang ZKG, Mo J, Yu Q (2006) Litterfall production along successional and altitudinal gradients of subtropical monsoon evergreen broadleaved forests in Guangdong. China Plant Ecol. doi:10.1007/s11258-006-9149-9

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh

    Khan Towhid Osman

Authors
  1. Khan Towhid Osman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Khan Towhid Osman .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Osman, K.T. (2013). Forest Soils. In: Soils. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5663-2_14

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation