The effect of plantation silviculture on soil organic matter and particle-size fractions in Amazonia
Eucalyptus grandis and other clonal plantations cover about 3.5 million ha in Brazil. The impacts of intensively-managed short-rotation forestry on soil aggregate structure and Carbon (C) dynamics are largely undocumented in tropical ecosystems. Long-term sustainability of these systems is probably in part linked to maintenance of soil organic matter and good soil structure and aggregation, especially in areas with low-fertility soils. This study investigated soil aggregate dynamics on a clay soil and a sandy soil, each with a Eucalyptus plantation and an adjacent primary forest. Silvicultural management did not reduce total C stocks, and did not change soil bulk density. Aggregates of the managed soils did not decrease in mass as hypothesized, which indicates that soil cultivation in 6 year cycles did not cause large decreases in soil aggregation in either soil texture. Silt, clay, and C of the sandy plantation soil shifted to greater aggregate protection, which may represent a decrease in C availability. The organic matter in the clay plantation soil increased in the fractions considered less protected while this shift from C to structural forms considered more protected was not observed.
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo
2009
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| Online Access: | http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-06832009000600008 |
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