Abstract
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries large peatland areas of the Stolowe Mountains were drained for the forestry use. The aim of the study was to assess the real impact of the natural (climate) and anthropogenic (forestry drainage) factors on the actual nitrogen mineralization in the shallow organic soils in the Stolowe Mountains National Park (SMNP). For the needs of the study, two research transects were established on the fen peatlands located in the central part of the SMNP. Each transect consisted of three sampling plots. The soil samples for the basic soil properties analysis were sampled in April, while undisturbed soil samples for mineral nitrogen were collected in April (spring), July (summer) and October (autumn) to show the seasonal dynamics of nitrogen mineralization. The obtained results revealed that the currently investigated fen peatland soils were rather slightly affected by the drainage network remains. A vast domination of ammonium over the nitrate form observed in the study soils during the growing season might indicate a periodical soil moisture increase limiting the mineralization process. The amount of precipitation and soil moisture had dominant impact on the N mineralization process, especially on the N-NO3 concentrations.
Highlights
The peatland soils, primarily for the last two centuries, were exposed to drainage for agricultural or forestry use (Ferrati et al 2005; Limpens et al 2008)
Based on the field survey and the basic laboratory analysis (Tab. 2) the investigated shallow organic soils were classified as Sapric Histosols, with addition of various principal and supplementary qualifiers (IUSS Working Group WRB, 2015)
Moorsh horizons with aggregate structure observed in the topsoil of profiles 1, 3 and 6 constitute a visible effect in soil morphology of the long-term forestry drainage in Stołowe Mountains National Park (SMNP)
Summary
The peatland soils, primarily for the last two centuries, were exposed to drainage for agricultural or forestry use (Ferrati et al 2005; Limpens et al 2008) This harmful process concerned mountain peatlands, drained mainly for forestry use (Bogacz et al 2012; Łajczak 2013). A rapid decrease of the groundwater table is observed (Ferrati et al 2005) This phenomenon increases aerobic conditions in organic soils, which promotes physical and chemical changes (Sokołowska et al 2005; Markiewicz et al 2015). In Poland, up till the aforementioned problem was described mainly with respect to lowland peatlands drained for agriculture (e.g., Pawluczuk 2006; Pawluczuk 2008; Smólczyński and Orzechowski, 2009) It is an important problem for degraded mountain mires ecosystems (e.g., Basiliko et al 2005; Bayley and Thorman 2005; Gao et al 2009)
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