Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Forest Disturbances and Soil Degradation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Forest Soils

Abstract

Forests have been disturbed by natural and anthropogenic agents from the day they evolved on this planet. Harvesting , fuelwood collection , windthrow , insect and disease outbreak, flooding , fires, shifting cultivation , grazing etc. are the main forest disturbance processes. Some disturbances are, however, required even for desirable forest development. At some time in the past, damages caused by natural disturbances of forests could be mended by natural healing processes, but recently natural calamities such as cyclones and floods have become drastic and frequent due to human interferences. People collect timber, fuel wood, thatching materials, canes, mushrooms , rhizomes, fruits, honey, medicines, etc. for their own consumption and for trading. Due to the ever-increasing human population and biomass needs, thrust on the forest resources has become enormous. So, forests are being degraded and deforested at an alarming rate at present with the concomitant degradation of the watersheds including their vegetation, soil, and water.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abbasi MK, Rasool G (2005) Effects of different land-use types on soil quality in the hilly area of Rawalakot Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica 55(3):221–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Abbasi MK, Zafar M, Khan SR (2007) Influence of different land-cover types on the changes of selected soil properties in the mountain region of Rawalakot Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 78(1):97–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Abril A, Bucher EH (2001) Overgrazing and soil carbon dynamics in the western Chaco of Argentina. Appl Soil Ecol 16:243–249

    Google Scholar 

  • Alake B, Alamgir M, Haque SMS, Osman KT (2011) Study of soils under shifting cultivation and other land use categories in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. J For Res 22(3):623–630

    Google Scholar 

  • Angelsen A (1994) Shifting Cultivation and “Deforestation” A Study from Sumatra, Indonesia. Working Paper, Chr. Michelsen Institute Development Studies and Human Rights, Bergen, Norway

    Google Scholar 

  • Asner GP, Broadbent EN, Oliveira PJC, Keller M, Knapp DE, Silva JNM (2006) Proc Natl Acad Sci 103:12947–12950

    Google Scholar 

  • Auld TD, Denham AJ (2006) How much seed remains in the soil after a fire? Plant Ecol 187:15–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Basaran M, Erpul G, Tercan AE, Canga MR (2008) The effects of land use changes on some soil properties in Indagi Mountain Pass—Cankiri Turkey. Env Monit Ass 136:101–119

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beach T (1998) Soil catenas, tropical deforestation, and ancient and contemporary soil erosion in the Peten, Guatemala. Phys Geogr 19:378–405

    Google Scholar 

  • Benito G, Gutiérrez M, Sancho C (1991) Erosion patterns in rill and interill areas in badland zones of the Middle Ebro Basin, (NE-Spain). In: Sala M et al. (ed) Soil erosion studies in Spain. Geoforma ed, Logrono

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernoux M, Cerri CC, Jener CN, de Moraes FL (1998) The use of stable carbon isotopes for estimating soil organic matter turnover rates. Geoderma 82(1–3):43–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhat DM, Murali KS, Ravindranath NH (2001) Formation and recovery of secondary forests in India: a Particular reference to Western Ghats in South India. J Trop For Sci 13(4):601–620

    Google Scholar 

  • Boerner REC, Hart S, Huang J (2009) Impacts of fire and fire surrogate treatments. Ecological Applications 19(2):338–358

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bormann FH, Likens GE, Siccama TG, Pierce RS, Eaton JS (1974) The export of nutrients and recovery of stable conditions following deforestation at Hubbard Brook. Ecol Monogr 44 (3):255–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Brodie J (2003) The effects of land use on water quality in Australian Northeast coastal catchments. Australian centre for tropical freshwater research. James Cook University, Townsville.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown G, Tolsma A, Murphy S, Miehs A, McNabb E, York A (2009) Ecological impacts of firewood collection—a literature review to inform firewood management on public land in Victoria. Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruun TB, de Neergaard A, Lawrence D, Ziegler AD (2009) Environmental consequences of the demise in swidden cultivation in Southeast Asia: carbon storage and soil quality. Humn Ecol 37:375–388

    Google Scholar 

  • Burton S, Shah PB, Schreier H (1989) Soil degradation from converting forest land into agriculture in the Chitawan district of Nepal. Mt Res Dev 9(4):393–404

    Google Scholar 

  • Buschbacher RJ (1986) Tropical deforestation and pasture development. Bioscience 36:22–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Buschbacher RJ, Uhl C, Serrao EAS (1987) Large-scale development in eastern Amazonia. In: Jordan CF (ed) Amazonian rain forests. Ecosystem disturbance and recovery. Springer-Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler R (2006) A place out of time: tropical rainforests and the perils they Face. http://www.mongabay.com/. (Accessed on 12 Feb, 2012)

  • Campbell GS, Jungbauer JD Jr, Bidlake WR, Hungerford RD (1994) Predicting the effect of temperature on soil thermal conductivity. Soil Sci 158:307–313

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carter MR, Gregorich EG, Anderson DW, Doran JW, Janzen HH, Pierce FJ (1997) Concepts of soil quality and their significance. In Gregorich EG, Carter MR (eds) Soil quality for crop production and ecosystem health. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavelier J, Mitchell T, Aide M, DupuyJM, Eusse AM, Santos C (1999) Long-term effects of deforestation on soil properties and vegetation in a tropical lowland forest in Colombia. Ecotropicos 12(2):57–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Celik I (2005) Land-use effects on organic matter and physical properties of soil in a southern Mediterranean highland of Turkey. Soil Till Res 83:270–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Certini G (2005) Effects of fire on properties of forest soils: a review. Oecologia 143:1–10

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chandler C, Cheney P, Thomas L, Williams D (1983) Fire in foresty Vol 1. Forest fire behaviour and effects. John Wiley & Sons, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Craswell ET, Sajjapongse A, Howlett DJB, Dowling AJ (1997) Agroforestry in the management of sloping lands in Asia and the Pacific. Agrofor Syst 38:121–137

    Google Scholar 

  • DeBano LF (1981) Water repellant soils: a state-of-the-art. Gen Tech Rep PSW-46. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Berkeley, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • DeBano LF (2000) The role of fire and soil heating on water repellence in wildland environments: a review. J Hydrol 231:195–206

    Google Scholar 

  • DeBano LF, Neary DG, Ffolliott PF (1998) Fire effects on ecosystems. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Desjardins T, Barros E, Sarrazin M, Girardin C, Mariotti A (2004) Effects of forest conversion to pasture on soil carbon content and dynamics in Brazilian Amazonia. Agric Ecosyst Env 103:365–373

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Detwiler RP, Hall CAS (1988) Tropical forest and global carbon cycle. Science 239:42–47

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz-Fierros F, Benito E, Perez R (1987) Evaluation of the USLE for prediction of erosion in burnt forest areas in Galicia (N.W. Spain). Catena 14:189–199

    Google Scholar 

  • Dominski AS (1971) Nitrogen transformations in a northern hardwood podzol on cutover and forested sites. Dissertation, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Doran JW, Parkin TB (1994) Defining and assessing soil quality. In: Doran JW (ed.) Defining Soil Quality for a Sustainable Environment. Soil Science Society of America Special Publication No. 35. Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI, pp.–3–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Eastmond A, Faust B (2006) Farmers, fires, and forests: a green alternative to shifting cultivation for conservation of the Maya forest. Landsc Urban Plan 74:267–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Eden MJ, Furley PA, McGregor DFM, Milliken W, Ratter JA (1991) Effect of forest clearance and burning on soil properties in northern Roraima, Brazil. For Ecol Manage 38:283–290

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlich PR, Wilson EO (1991) Biodiversity studies: science and policy. Science 253:758–762

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2006) Global forest resources assessment 2005. Progress towards sustainable forest management. FAO Forestry Paper 147. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside PM (1985) Predominant land uses in Brazilian Amazonia. In: Anderson AB (ed) Alternatives to deforestation: steps toward sustainable use of the Amazon rain forest. Columbia University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Fearnside PM (1990) Predominant land uses in Brazilian Amazonia. In: Anderson AB (ed) Alternatives to deforestation: steps toward sustainable use of the Amazon rain forest. Columbia University Press, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth TJ (1994) The use of Cesium-137 measurements of soil erosion and farmer’s perceptions to indicate land degradation amongst shifting cultivators in northern Thailand. Mountain Res Dev 14:229–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Franklin JF, Berg DR, Thornburgh DA, TappeinerJC (1997) Alternative silvicultural approaches to timber harvesting: variable retention harvest systems. In: Kohm KA, Franklin JF (eds) Creating a forestry for the 21st century. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Frelich LE, Reich PB (1998) Disturbance severity and threshold responses in the boreal forest. Conservation Ecology [online] 2(2):7

    Google Scholar 

  • Fu BJ, Chen LD, Ma KM (2000) The relationship between land use and soil conditions in the hilly area of Loess Plateau in Northern Shanxi. Catena 39:69–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Gafur A (2001) Effects of shifting cultivation on soil properties, erosion, nutrient depletion, and hydrological responses in small watershed of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. PhD Dissertation, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen

    Google Scholar 

  • Gafur A, Borggaard OK, Jensen JR, Petersen L (2000) Changes in soil nutrient content under shifting cultivation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish J Geogr 100:37–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Giovannini G (1991) The effects of fire on soil quality. Proceedings of the conference on soil erosion and degradation as a consequence of forest fires. September 1991, Barcelona and Valencia

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomez-Pompa A, Vasquez-Yanes C (1974) Studies on the secondary succession of tropical lowlands: the life cycle of secondary species. In: van Dobben WH, Lowe-Mcconell (eds) Proceedings of the first international congress of ecology, Junk, The Hague

    Google Scholar 

  • Grogan P, Lalnunmawia F, Tripathi SK (2012) Shifting cultivation in steeply sloped regions: a review of management options and research priorities for Mizoram state, Northeast India. Agroforest Syst 84:163–177

    Google Scholar 

  • Hajabbasi MA, Jalalian A, Karimzadeh HR (1997) Deforestation effects on soil physical and chemical properties, Lordegan, Iran. Plant Soil 190:301–308

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hatch T (1982) Shifting cultivation in Saravak (a review), Technical paper no 8, soil division research branch. Department of Agriculture, Saravak

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoinka KP, Carvalho A, Miranda AI (2009) Regional-scale weather patterns and wildland fires in central Portugal. Int J Wildland Fire 18:36–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Houghton RA (1991) Tropical deforestation and atmospheric carbon cycle. Climate Change 19:99–118

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ice GG, Neary DG, Adams PW (2004) Effects of wildfire on soils and watershed processes. J Forest 102: 16–20

    Google Scholar 

  • ICRAF (1998) The alternatives to Slash-and-Burn Programme. http://198.93.235.8/training/icraft/sys_wide/asb1.htn

  • Jusoff K (1989) Physical soil-properties associated with recreational use of forested reserve area in Malaysia. Environ Conserv 16:339–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaimowitz D (2003) Forest law enforcement and rural livelihoods. Int Forest Rev 5(3):199–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Keenan RJ, Hambleton A, Robson K, Webb M (1998) Growth response of three rainforest cabinet timber to fertilizer application in plantations in North Queensland. In: Schulte A, Ruhiyat D (eds) Soils of tropical forest ecosystems: characteristics, ecology and management. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller M, Jacobs DJ, Wofsy SC, Harris RC (1991) Effects of tropical deforestation on global and regional atmospheric chemistry. Climate change 19:139–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Khresat S, Al-Bakri J, Al-Tahhan R (2008) Impacts of land use/cover change on soil properties in the Mediterranean region of northwestern Jordan. Land Degrad Dev 19(4):397–407

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiese K, Papen H, Zumbusch E, Butterbach-Bahl L (2002) Nitrification activity in tropical rainforest soils of the coastal lowlands and Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia. J Plant Nutr 165, 682–685

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klopatek JM (1987) Nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in mineral soils of pinyon ± juniper ecosystems. Soil Sci Soc Am J 51:453–457

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kodandapani N, Cochrane MA, Sukumar R (2004) Conservation threat of increasing fire frequencies in the Western Ghats, India. Conserv Biol 18(6):1553–1561

    Google Scholar 

  • Koutika LS, Bartoli F, Andreux F, Cerri CC, Burtin G, Chone T, Philippy R (1997) Organic matter dynamics and aggregation in soils under rain forest and pastures of increasing age in the eastern Amazon Basin. Geoderma 76:87–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Koziell I, Saunders J (eds) (2001) Living off biodiversity: exploring livelihoods and biodiversity. IIED, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurz WA, Apps MJ (1999) A 70-year retrospective analysis of carbon fluxes in the Canadian forest sector. Ecol Appl 9:526–547

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurz WA, Apps MJ, Beukema SJ, Lekstrum T (1995) 20th century carbon budget of Canadian forests. Tellus 47B:170–177

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (1987) Need for approaches to and consequences of land clearing and development in the tropics. In: IBSRAM (ed) Tropical land clearing for sustainable agriculture. Proceedings of an IBSRAM inaugural workshop held in Jakarta and Bukittingi, Indonesia 27 Aug–3 Sept, 1985. IBSRAM, Bangkok

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (1997) Degradation and resilience of soils. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B—Biological Sciences 352:869–889

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal R, Bruce JP (1999) The potential of world cropland soils to sequester C and mitigate the greenhouse effect. Environ Sci Policy 2:177–185

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laughlin DC, Bakker JD, Stoddard MT, Daniels ML, Springer JD, Gildar CN, Green AM, Covington W (2004) Toward references conditions: Wildfire effects on flora in an old-growth ponderosa pine forest. Forest Ecol Manag 119:137–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence D, Peart DR, Leighton M (1998) The impact of shifting cultivation on a rainforest landscape in West Kalimantan: spatial and temporal dynamics. Landscape Ecol 13:135–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence D, Schlesinger WH (2001) Changes in soil phosphorus during 200 years of shifting cultivation in Indonesia. Ecology 82:2769–2780

    Google Scholar 

  • Leite FF, Gonçalves AB, Vieira A, da Vinhac L (2011) The frequency of fires and land degradation—Cabeço da Vessada do Monte, Serra da Cabreira. In: Gonçalves AB, Vieira A (eds) Fire effects on soil properties. Proceedings of the 3rd international meeting of fire effects on soil properties. 15–19 March 2011, University of Minho, Guimaraes, Portugal

    Google Scholar 

  • Leite FF, Gonçalves BAJ (2008) Alterações no ciclo de fogo na serra da Cabreira. Actas XI Colóquio Ibérico de Geografia, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Espanha

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu D, Moran E, Mausel P (2002) Linking Amazonian secondary succession forest growth to soil properties. Land Degrad Dev 13:331–343

    Google Scholar 

  • Lugo AE, Sanchez MJ, Brown S (1986) Land use and organic carbon content of some subtropical soils. Plant and Soil 96:185–196

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Madhusudan MD (2005) The global village: linkages between international coffee markets and grazing by livestock in a south Indian wildlife reserve. Conserv Biol 19(2):411–420

    Google Scholar 

  • Mangas VJ, Sánchez JR, Ortiz C (1992) Effects of a fire on runoff and erosion on Mediterranean forest soils in SE-Spain. Pirineos 140:37–51

    Google Scholar 

  • McMahon S, Simcock R, Dando J, Ross C (1999) A fresh look at operational soil compaction. New Zeal J Forest 44(3): 33–37

    Google Scholar 

  • McNabb DH, Swanson FJ (1990) Chap. 14. Effects of fire on soil erosion. In: Walstad JD, et al. (ed) Natural and prescribed fire in Pacific Northwest forests. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis

    Google Scholar 

  • Megahan WF, Seyedbagheri KA, Mosko TL, Ketcheson GL (1986) Construction phase sediment budget for forest roads on granitic slopes in Idaho. In: Hadley RF (ed) Drainage basin sediment delivery, proceedings. Albuquerque, IAHS Publication 159. Wajlingford, Oxon

    Google Scholar 

  • Meher-Homji VM (1991) Probable impact of deforestation on hydrological processes. Clim Change 19:163–173

    Google Scholar 

  • Minore D, Weatherley HG (1990) Effects of site preparation on Douglas-fir seedling growth and survival. West J Appl For 5(2):49–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy G (1984) A survey of soil disturbance caused by harvesting machinery in New Zealand plantation forests. Bulletin 69, Forest Research Institute, New Zealand

    Google Scholar 

  • Murty D, Kirschbaum MUF, McMurtrie RE, McGilvary H (2002) Does conversion of forest to agricultural land change soil carbon and nitrogen? A review of the literature. Glob Change Biol 8:105–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers N (1989) Deforestation rates in tropical forest and their climatic implications. Friends of the Earth, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers N (1991) Tropical forests: present status and future outlook. Climatic Change 19:3–32

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Myers N (1993) Tropical forests: the main deforestation fronts. Env Conserv 20:9–16

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nagaland Environmental Protection and Economic Development (NEPED), International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) (1999) Building upon traditional agriculture in Nagaland, India. Nagaland, India and Silang, Cavite

    Google Scholar 

  • Neary DG, Klopatek CC, DeBano LF, Ffolliott PF (1999) Fire effects on belowground sustainability: a review and synthesis. For Ecol Manag 122:51–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson BW (1994) Natural forest disturbance and change in the Brazilian Amazon. Remote Sens Rev 10(1–3):105–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Overpeck JT, Rind D, Goldberg R (1990) Climate-induced changes in forest disturbance and vegetation. Nature 343:51–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Parlak M (2011) Effect of heating on some physical, chemical and mineralogical aspects of forest soil. Bartın Orman Fakültesi Dergisi 19:143–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Radho-Toly S, Majer JD, Yates C (2001) Impact of fire on leaf nutrients, arthropod fauna and herbivory of native and exotics eucalypts in Kings Park, Petrh, Western Australia. Australia Ecol 26:500–506

    Google Scholar 

  • RADP (Republique Algerienne Democratique et Populaire). (1966) MARA (Ministere de I’Agriculturee t de la ReformeA graire) La Statistique A gricole. No 1. Algiers

    Google Scholar 

  • Raison RJ, Khana PK, Woods PV (1985) Transfer of elements to the atmosphere during low-intensity prescribed fires in three Australian subalpine eucalypt forests. Can J For Res 15(1):657–664

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rasiah V, Florentine SK, Williams BL, Westbrooke ME (2009) The impact of deforestation and pasture abandonment on soil properties in the wet tropics of Australia. Geoderma ISS 120:35–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasiah V, Kay BD (1995) Runoff and soil loss as influenced by selected stability parameters and cropping and tillage practices. Geoderma 68:321–329

    Google Scholar 

  • Reeves D (2011) Soil disturbance monitoring of timber harvest operations in the USDA Forest Service Northern Region. MS Thesis, University of Idaho

    Google Scholar 

  • Reiners WA, Bouwman AF, Paesons WFJ, Keller M (1994) Tropical rain forest conversion to pasture: changes in vegetation and soil properties. Ecol Appl 4(2):363–377

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades JL (2008) Impacts of deforestation and land cover change on mountain soils in Hrazdan, Armenia. MS (For) thesis, Michigan Techological University, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Rinne JN (1997) Short†term effects of wildfire on fishes and aquatic macroinvertebrates in the southwestern United States. N Am J Fish Manage 16:653–658

    Google Scholar 

  • Riswan R, Hartanti L (1995) Human impacts on tropical forest dynamics. Vegetatio 121:41–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Roder W, Phengchanh S, Maniphone S (1997) Dynamics of soil and vegetation during crop and fallow period in slash-and-burn fields of northern Laos. Geoderma 76:131–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Rudel KT, Horowitz B (1993) Tropical deforestation. Small farmers and land use clearing in the Ecuatorian Amazon. Columbia University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Saha S (2002) Anthropogenic fire regime in a tropical deciduous forest of central India. Current Science 82:101–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Sahani U, Behera N (2001) Impact of deforestation on soil physicochemical characteristics, microbial biomass and microbial activity of tropical soil. Land Degrad Dev 12:93–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Salacedo IH, Tiessen H, Sampaio EVSB (1997) Nutrient availability in soil samples from shifting cultivation sites in the semi-arid Caatinga of NE Brazil. Agric Ecosyst Environ 65:177–186

    Google Scholar 

  • Salah EZ (1994) The consequences of rapid deforestation: a North African example. Ambio 23(2):136–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Salati E, Nobre CA (1991) Possible climatic impacts of tropical deforestation. Climatic Change 19:177–196

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez LA, Ataroff M, Lopez R (2002) Soil erosion under different vegetation covers in the Venezuelan Andes. Environmentalist 22(2):161–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez PA, Bandy DE, Villachica JH, Nicholaides JJ (1982) Amazon basin soils: management for continuous crop production. Science 216:821–827

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwendenmann L, Pendall E (2006) Effects of forest conversion into grassland on soil aggregate structure and carbon storage in Panama: evidence from soil carbon fractionation and stable isotopes. Plant Soil 288:217–232

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sevink J, Imenson AC, Verstraten JM (1989) Humus form development and hillslope runoff, and the effects of fire management, under Mediterranean forest in NE-Spain. Catena 16:461–475

    Google Scholar 

  • Shakesby RA, Doerr SH (2006) Wildfire as a hydrological and geomorphological agent. Earth-Sci Rev 74:269–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh J, Bora IP, Baruah A, Hussain M (2003) Effect of shifting cultivation on nutrient status of soil in Silonijan (Karbi-Anglong) Assam. Indian For 129(11):1329–1338

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinha SK, Swaminathan MS (1991) Deforestation, climate change and sustainable nutrition security: a case study of India. Clim Change 19:201–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner MF, Murphy G, Robertson ED, Firth JG (1989) Deleterious effects of soil disturbance on soil properties and the subsequent early growth of second-rotation radiata pine. In: Dyck WJ, Mees CA (eds) Research strategies for longterm site productivity. Proceedings, IEA/BE A3 Workshop, Seattle, WA, August 1988. IEA/BE A3 Report No. 8. Forest Research Institute, New Zealand

    Google Scholar 

  • Sodarak H (1999) Shifting cultivation practices by Hmong, Khamu and Lao ethnic categories in the nam Nane watershed, Nane district, Luang Prabang province, Lao PDR. MS thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Rural Development Studies, Uppsala

    Google Scholar 

  • Soler M, Sala M (1991) Runoff and erosion after clearcutting and burning. In: Conference on Soil Erosion and degradation as a consequence of forest fires. September 1991, Excursion Guide-Book: 24–26, Barcelona-Valencia

    Google Scholar 

  • Spaans EJ, Baltissen AGAM, Bouma J, Miedema R, Lansu ALE, Schoonderbeek D, Wielemaker WG (1989) Changes in physical properties of young and old volcanic surface soils in Costa Rica after clearing of tropical rain forest. Hydrol Processes 3:383–392

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer JE (1966) Shifting cultivation in southeastern Asia. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  • Splechtna BE, Gratzer G (2005) Natural disturbances in Central European forests: approaches and preliminary results from Rothwald, Austria. For Snow Landsc Res 79(1/2):57–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Suraswadi P, Thomas DE, Pragtong K, Preechapanya P, Weyerhauser H (2000) Changing land use mosaics of (former) shifting cultivators in watersheds of north Thailand. In: Sanchez P (ed) Alternatives to slash-and-burn. American Society of Agronomy, Madison

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanaka S, Kendawang JJ, Yoshida N, Shibata K, Jee A, Tanaka K, Ninomiya I, Sakurai K (2005) Effects of shifting cultivation on soil ecosystems in Sarawak, Malaysia—IV. Chemical properties of the soils and runoff water at Niah and Bakam experimental sites. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 51:525–533

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tang SM, Franklin JF, Montgomery DR (1997) Forest harvest patterns and landscape disturbance processes. Landscape Ecol 12(6):349–363

    Google Scholar 

  • Thirghood JV (1981) Man and the African Forest. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomaz EL (2009) The influence of traditional steep land agricultural practices on runoff and soil loss. Agric Ecosyst Environ 130:23–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D, Lehman C (2001) Human-caused environmental change: impacts on plant diversity and evolution. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the United States of America 98(10):5433–5440

    Google Scholar 

  • Tisadall JM, Oades JM (1980) The management of ryegrass to stabilize aggregates in a red-brown earth. Aust J Soil Res 18:415–422

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker NIJ (2000) Linkage restoration: interpreting fragmentation theory for the design of a rainforest linkage in the humid Wet Tropics of northeast Queensland. Eco Manag Rest 1:35–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker NIJ, Murphy TM (1997) The effect of ecological rehabilitation of vegetation recruitment: some observations from the wet tropics of north Queensland. J For Ecol Manag 99:133–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Turkelboom F, Van KK, Ongprasert S, Sutigoolabud P, Pelletier J (1996) The changing landscape of the Northern Thai hills: adaptive strategies to increasing land pressure. Chiang Mai University, Thailand

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner MG, Baker WL, Peterson CJ, Peet PK (1998) Factors influencing succession: lessons from large, infrequent natural disturbances. Ecosystems 1:511–523

    Google Scholar 

  • Uhl C (1987) Factors controlling succession following slash-and-burn agriculture in Amazonia. J Ecol 75:377–407

    Google Scholar 

  • Uhl C (1988) Restoration of degraded lands in the Amazon Basin. In: Wilson EO (ed) Biodiversity. National Academy of Science, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP (1990) Human Development Report. Oxford University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • van Noordwijk M, Cerri C, Woomer PL, Nugroho K, Bernoux M (1997) Soil carbon dynamics in the humid tropical forest zone. Geoderma 79:187–225

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Van Rees KCJ, Pennock DJ, Block R (2001) Impacts of forest harvesting on soil compaction and disturbance in North-Central Saskatchewan. Final report submitted to The Prince Albert Model Forest Association

    Google Scholar 

  • Wairiu M, Lal R (2003) Soil organic carbon in relation to cultivation and topsoil removal on sloping lands of Kolombangara, Solomon Islands. Soil Tillage Res 70:19–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Walstad JD, Radosevich SR, Sandberg DV (1990) Natural and prescribed fire in the pacific Northwest forest. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan Razali WM, Tay J (2000) Forestry carbon emission offset and carbon sinks project: examples of opportunity in carbon sequestration and its implications from Kyoto Protocol. International workshop on the response of tropical forest ecosystems to long term cyclic climate change. Science and Technology Agency, Japan

    Google Scholar 

  • Watters RF (1971) Shifting cultivation in Latin America. Food and Agricultural Organization, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • White PS, Pickett STA (1985) Natural disturbance and patch dynamics: an introduction. In: Pickett STA, White PS (eds) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Orlando FL, Academic Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams M (1990) Forests. In: Turner BL II, Clark WC, Kates RW, Richards JF, Mathews JT, Meyer WB (eds) The earth as transformed by human action. Cambridge University Press, England

    Google Scholar 

  • Wronski EB, Murphy G (1994) Responses of forest crops to soil compaction. In: Soane BD, van Ouwerkerk C (ed) Soil compaction in crop production. Elsevier Science

    Google Scholar 

  • Yildiz O, Esen D, Sarginci M, Toprak B (2010) Effects of forest fire on soil nutrients in Turkish pine (Pinus brutia, Ten) Ecosystems. J Env Biol 31:11–13

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yimer F, Ledin S, Abdelkair A (2007) Changes in soil carbon and total nitrogen contents in three adjacent land use types in the Bale Mountains, south-eastern highlands of Ethiopia. For Ecol Manage 242:337–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng F, He X, Gao X, Zhang C, Tang K (2005) Effects of erosion patterns on nutrient loss following deforestation on the Loess Plateau of China. Agriculture Ecosyst Env 108:85–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng FL (2005) Effects of accelerated soil erosion on soil nutrient loss after deforestation on the loess plateau. Pedosphere 15:707–715

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu J, Liu Z (2004) A review on disturbance ecology of forest. Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao 15(10):1703–10

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler AD, Giambelluca TW, Sutherland RA, Nullet MA, Yarnasarn S, Pinthong J, Preechapanya P, Jaiaree S (2004) Toward understanding the cumulative impacts of roads in upland agricultural watersheds of northern Thailand. Agric Ecosyst Environ 104:145–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Ziegler AD, Bruun TB, Guardiola-Claramonte M, Giambelluca TW, Lawrence D, Lam NT (2009) Environmental consequences of the demise in Swidden cultivation in montane mainland Southeast Asia: hydrology and geomorphology. Hum Ecol 37:361–373

    Google Scholar 

  • Zou C, Wang K, Wang T, Xu W (2007) Overgrazing and soil dynamics in eastern Inner Mongolia of China. Ecological Research 22:135–142

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh

    Khan Towhid Osman

Authors
  1. Khan Towhid Osman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Khan Towhid Osman .

Study Questions

Study Questions

  1. 1.

    What do you mean by forest disturbance? How can some disturbances be beneficial for forests? What are the reasons of intensifying forest disturbance at present? Discuss the consequences of forest disturbances.

  2. 2.

    Mention the demands of humankind on forests. How do forest dwellers impact forest vegetation and forest soil?

  3. 3.

    Distinguish between clear-cutting and deforestation. Why does some soil degradation take place during timber harvest? Suggest how harvest-related soil degradation can be minimized.

  4. 4.

    What do you mean by wildfire? How does it differ from prescribed fire? Narrate the consequences of wildfire on vegetation and soil.

  5. 5.

    What are the causes and processes of deforestation? Discuss the impacts of deforestation on soil.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Osman, K. (2013). Forest Disturbances and Soil Degradation. In: Forest Soils. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02541-4_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation