The effect of some soil chemical properties of the selective logging of a north Queensland rainforest

Abstract

Some of the important chemical properties of a red granitic soil occuring under tropical rainforest in north Queensland, Australia, were measured immediately after the forest was selectively logged and one, two, and four years after loggin. The site was stratified into four disturbance classes encompassing the effects of snig tracks, crown litter accumulation and penetration of light through gaps in the canopy. Soil samples were taken in each disturbance class, as well as in undisturbed areas. The sampling design permited year to year changes in undisturbed areas to be monitored and used for comparison with disturbed areas. Snig track disturbance caused the greatest changes in soil chemical characteristics with losses of organic carbon and plant nutrients in the bulldozed portions and accumulation in the mounds formed at the sides. There were significant changes in properties from year to year but after four years, the contents of N, Ca, Mg, and K over the whole site had not altered significantly from initial values, whereas organic carbon declined by about 15%.