Land use change alters the radiocarbon age and composition of soil and water-soluble organic matter in the Brazilian Cerrado

Geoderma ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 345 ◽  
pp. 38-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason N. James ◽  
Cole D. Gross ◽  
Pranjal Dwivedi ◽  
Tyler Myers ◽  
Fernanda Santos ◽  
...  
2014 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris J. Hulatt ◽  
Hermanni Kaartokallio ◽  
Eero Asmala ◽  
Riitta Autio ◽  
Colin A. Stedmon ◽  
...  

CATENA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 177 ◽  
pp. 180-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiane Pereira Machado Dias ◽  
Rodrigo Hübner ◽  
Flávia de Jesus Nunes ◽  
Wilson Mozena Leandro ◽  
Francisco Alisson da Silva Xavier

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. A. Gutorova ◽  
A. Kh. Sheudzhen ◽  
A. G. Ladatko

Author(s):  
Allison Neil

Soil properties are strongly influenced by the composition of the surrounding vegetation. We investigated soil properties of three ecosystems; a coniferous forest, a deciduous forest and an agricultural grassland, to determine the impact of land use change on soil properties. Disturbances such as deforestation followed by cultivation can severely alter soil properties, including losses of soil carbon. We collected nine 40 cm cores from three ecosystem types on the Roebuck Farm, north of Perth Village, Ontario, Canada. Dominant species in each ecosystem included hemlock and white pine in the coniferous forest; sugar maple, birch and beech in the deciduous forest; grasses, legumes and herbs in the grassland. Soil pH varied little between the three ecosystems and over depth. Soils under grassland vegetation had the highest bulk density, especially near the surface. The forest sites showed higher cation exchange capacity and soil moisture than the grassland; these differences largely resulted from higher organic matter levels in the surface forest soils. Vertical distribution of organic matter varied greatly amongst the three ecosystems. In the forest, more of the organic matter was located near the surface, while in the grassland organic matter concentrations varied little with depth. The results suggest that changes in land cover and land use alters litter inputs and nutrient cycling rates, modifying soil physical and chemical properties. Our results further suggest that conversion of forest into agricultural land in this area can lead to a decline in soil carbon storage.


Author(s):  
Kelsey Watts

Soils play a critical role to society as a medium that facilitates crop production and also contributes to the energy and carbon balance of the Earth System. Land-use change and improper land-use is one of the dominant factors affecting soil erosion and nutrient loss in soils. We examined the effects of land-use change on an Elmbrook clay/clay-loam soil on a farm in Ameliasburg on the northern part of Prince Edward County. Three cover types were examined: a sod field (established for over 10 years), a wheat field (part of a wheat/corn/soybean rotation for 30 years) and an undisturbed deciduous forest. Under each land-use type, cores to a depth of 40 cm were collected along three random 30 m transects (at 8, 16 and 24 m), then divided them into 10 cm increments, combining all similar depth increments along one transect. Soil quality was assessed by analyzing various soil physical and chemical properties. Bulk density of the soil was much higher (1.55 vs. 0.95 g/cm3) in both agricultural ecosystems compared to the forest, but only in the 0-10 cm layer. Soil moisture at 60% water holding capacity was much greater for the forest than the sod and wheat soils. Soil pH was slightly lower in the forest compared to the sod and wheat fields. The sod and wheat fields showed losses of ~52% and ~53% organic matter, respectively, in contrast to the forested area. The greatest differences in organic matter and total carbon were found in the top 10 cm, likely due to the greater accumulation of litter at the ground surface in the forest compared to the agricultural sites. It appears that long-term (10 year) agricultural production has led to a decline in some, but not all, soil quality measures, particularly soil organic matter, bulk density and water holding capacity. These findings are consistent with much of the literature concerning the effects of land-use change on soil quality, and highlight the need to develop improved management systems to minimize losses in soil quality that can lead to declines in the productivity potential of soils over time.


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