Carbon accumulation in Umbrisols under Quercus pyrenaica forests: Effects of bedrock and annual precipitation

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of bedrock, mean annual precipitation and slope orientation on soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation of Quercus pyrenaica Willd forests. Twelve different oak stands, along a rainfall gradient over two bedrock types (granites and schists), were selected for this study. Properties of the diagnostic soil horizons were determined. Bedrock type was the principal factor affecting soil development and fertility. Accumulated SOC varied between 33 and 185 Mg C ha− 1, the amounts of C accumulated over schists being significantly higher than over granites because of higher soil acidity, ‘silt + clay’ content and metal complexation. The SOC content in the entire profile was over 125 times higher than the C accumulated in the stand forest litter at the schist sites and 50 times higher at the granite sites. Soil acidity and metal complexation hampered microbial decomposition of soil organic matter, producing SOC accumulation and forming thick umbric Ah/AB-horizons, being thicker at sites with high values of mean annual precipitation than at sites with low ones. Mineral N release was low in these soils.