C and N mineralization and earthworm populations in a Norway spruce forest at Hasslöv (SW Sweden), 25 years after liming

During the last decades of the 20th century, acid rain affected many areas in Europe and Northern America. Soil acidification was considered a large problem for forest ecosystems, because it was expected that tree growth would be hampered by low pH, nutrient deficiencies and high concentrations of f...

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Autor principal: Ravenek, Janneke
Formato: H2
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: SLU/Dept. of Ecology 2009
Materias:
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author Ravenek, Janneke
author_browse Ravenek, Janneke
author_facet Ravenek, Janneke
author_sort Ravenek, Janneke
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description During the last decades of the 20th century, acid rain affected many areas in Europe and Northern America. Soil acidification was considered a large problem for forest ecosystems, because it was expected that tree growth would be hampered by low pH, nutrient deficiencies and high concentrations of free Al. Furthermore low soil pH can change the soil fauna and soil microbial biomass. High acidity has also been shown to reduce C and N mineralization. Liming was expected to be a good measure against soil acidification. The present study assesses C and N mineralization and the earthworm community in the Hasslöv forest (SW Sweden; Norway spruce), 25 years after liming with a low dose of CaCO3 (1.75 t ha-1) and a low, medium and high dose (1.55, 3.45 and 8.75 t ha-1) of dolomitic lime. Soil pH correlated to the lime dose. Liming with medium and high doses of dolomitic lime increased C mineralization rates in the FH layer and the upper mineral soil. Liming did not increase N mineralization rates, though there was an increase in nitrification in the soil with the highest dose of lime. The C and N pool were lower in the heavily limed soil and to a lesser extent in the medium limed soil, compared to the control soil, mostly due to a reduction in the organic layer. Furthermore earthworm populations were larger with increasing doses of lime. The dominant species, Dendrobaena octaëdra, was present in all treatments whereas three other species were only found in the highest doses. When extrapolated to the field, both C and N mineralization expressed on an area basis were lower in soils with the highest lime treatment than in the control, and N mineralization was also lower in the medium limed soil. This can be explained by the fact that the C and N pools had been markedly reduced and that the increases in mineralization rate per gram soil could not make up for this reduction. In conclusion, addition of lime has long-lasting effects that can be seen as higher pH, higher C and N mineralization rates, lower soil pools of C and N and higher abundances of earthworms still after 25 years from the liming event. We recommend that as a measure against acidity liming should only be used with great caution.
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spelling RepoSLU5072012-04-20T14:09:53Z C and N mineralization and earthworm populations in a Norway spruce forest at Hasslöv (SW Sweden), 25 years after liming Kol- och kvävemineralisering och populationer av daggmaskar i en granskog nära Hasslöv (sydvästra Sverige), 25 år efter kalkning Ravenek, Janneke carbon nitrogen mineralization liming acidification earthworm During the last decades of the 20th century, acid rain affected many areas in Europe and Northern America. Soil acidification was considered a large problem for forest ecosystems, because it was expected that tree growth would be hampered by low pH, nutrient deficiencies and high concentrations of free Al. Furthermore low soil pH can change the soil fauna and soil microbial biomass. High acidity has also been shown to reduce C and N mineralization. Liming was expected to be a good measure against soil acidification. The present study assesses C and N mineralization and the earthworm community in the Hasslöv forest (SW Sweden; Norway spruce), 25 years after liming with a low dose of CaCO3 (1.75 t ha-1) and a low, medium and high dose (1.55, 3.45 and 8.75 t ha-1) of dolomitic lime. Soil pH correlated to the lime dose. Liming with medium and high doses of dolomitic lime increased C mineralization rates in the FH layer and the upper mineral soil. Liming did not increase N mineralization rates, though there was an increase in nitrification in the soil with the highest dose of lime. The C and N pool were lower in the heavily limed soil and to a lesser extent in the medium limed soil, compared to the control soil, mostly due to a reduction in the organic layer. Furthermore earthworm populations were larger with increasing doses of lime. The dominant species, Dendrobaena octaëdra, was present in all treatments whereas three other species were only found in the highest doses. When extrapolated to the field, both C and N mineralization expressed on an area basis were lower in soils with the highest lime treatment than in the control, and N mineralization was also lower in the medium limed soil. This can be explained by the fact that the C and N pools had been markedly reduced and that the increases in mineralization rate per gram soil could not make up for this reduction. In conclusion, addition of lime has long-lasting effects that can be seen as higher pH, higher C and N mineralization rates, lower soil pools of C and N and higher abundances of earthworms still after 25 years from the liming event. We recommend that as a measure against acidity liming should only be used with great caution. SLU/Dept. of Ecology 2009 H2 eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/507/
spellingShingle carbon
nitrogen
mineralization
liming
acidification
earthworm
Ravenek, Janneke
C and N mineralization and earthworm populations in a Norway spruce forest at Hasslöv (SW Sweden), 25 years after liming
title C and N mineralization and earthworm populations in a Norway spruce forest at Hasslöv (SW Sweden), 25 years after liming
title_full C and N mineralization and earthworm populations in a Norway spruce forest at Hasslöv (SW Sweden), 25 years after liming
title_fullStr C and N mineralization and earthworm populations in a Norway spruce forest at Hasslöv (SW Sweden), 25 years after liming
title_full_unstemmed C and N mineralization and earthworm populations in a Norway spruce forest at Hasslöv (SW Sweden), 25 years after liming
title_short C and N mineralization and earthworm populations in a Norway spruce forest at Hasslöv (SW Sweden), 25 years after liming
title_sort c and n mineralization and earthworm populations in a norway spruce forest at hasslöv (sw sweden), 25 years after liming
topic carbon
nitrogen
mineralization
liming
acidification
earthworm