Abstract
Several rehabilitation treatments have been applied to mitigate runoff and sediment in machine trafficked areas following logging operations, while the knowledge on the consequence of these remediation techniques on the recovery of soil properties remains scarce. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of different rehabilitation treatments including sawdust mulch (SM), water diversion structure (WDS), untreated/bare trail (U), and undisturbed or control area (UND) on the recovery of soil chemical properties over a six-year period after machine-induced compaction occurred on three longitudinal trail gradients (10, 20, and 30 %).In each treatment, the following soil properties were measured: litter thickness, pH, EC, soil organic C, total N, and available P, K, Ca, and Mg. Five sampling plots (with 10 m length and 4 m width) were positioned in each trail gradient classes and three of these plots were randomly considered for soil sampling.The results demonstrate that litter thickness differed among the three treatments, with the highest amount present on the UND area and lowest on the U treatment. Meanwhile, the highest pH (6.75), EC (0.21 Ds m−1), N (0.27 %), available P (14.61 mg kg−1), available K (123.5 mg kg−1), available Ca (135.1 mg kg−1), and available Mg (42.1 mg kg−1) and the lowest C (1.21 %) and C/N ratio (7.83 %) were found on the SM with gradient of 10 % compared to other gradient classes on SM, WDS and, U treatments. The recovery value of litter depth, pH, EC, C, N, C/N ratio, and available nutrients (P, K, Ca, and Mg) were higher on the SM than the WDS at the gradient of 10 %, while significantly higher levels of these variables were measured under WDS installed on trail gradients of 30 % and 20 % when compared with the same gradients on SM. Results of the study revealed that soil chemical properties showed some evidence of recovery following SM and WDS rehabilitation treatments compared to U, although these properties did not fully recover within 6 years as compared to UND area.
Highlights
Mechanized forest harvesting systems, machines used for wood extraction, have shown trends of heavier gross mass and payloads, resulting in a potential for increased soil compaction and disturbance (Labelle and Jaeger 2011, Jourgholami et al 2014, Cambi et al 2015, Jourgholami et al 2019b)
The litter thickness under the sawdust mulch (SM) located in 10% trail gradient was significantly higher compared to water diversion structure (WDS) and U treatments, while thicker litter amounts were found on the gradients of 20 and 30% under the WDS as compared to other treatments
The highest soil pH values were found on the SM of 10% gradient (6.75) followed by 30% and 20% gradients of the WDS treatment, whereas the lowest pH values were measured on the undisturbed or control area (UND) area
Summary
Mechanized forest harvesting systems, machines used for wood extraction, have shown trends of heavier gross mass and payloads, resulting in a potential for increased soil compaction and disturbance (Labelle and Jaeger 2011, Jourgholami et al 2014, Cambi et al 2015, Jourgholami et al 2019b). M. Jourgholami et al Recovery of Forest Soil Chemical Properties Following Soil Rehabilitation Treatments ... Of soil physical properties following soil disturbance alters soil-water relations and hydrological processes under the soil upper layer, which leads to surface water flow as well as runoff and sediment deposition on downstream networks (Gökbulak et al 2008, Jourgholami et al 2017). Soil compaction may not always alter microbial processes and can, in some instances, improve soil water holding capacity on sandy soils (Shestak and Busse 2005)
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