Abstract
In tropical forests growing on nutrient poor and acid soils nutrient cycling is tight and ecosystem nutrient losses are low. In this chapter the effects of selective logging on leaf decomposition rates and soil nutrient leaching are evaluated. Two logging gaps of different size (730 m2 and 3440 m2) were each divided into three zones: skidder (open, disturbed soil), crown (debris, no soil disturbance) and undisturbed (small trees still present, no soil disturbance).
Decomposition and nutrient release from brown (recently shed) Chlorocardium rodiei leaves was slower than from green (fresh) leaves. In the skidder zone of the large gap, decomposition was slower than in closed forest. No difference in decomposition rate was found between leaves in the crown zone of the gap and in closed forest.
The soils in the gaps were wetter than in closed forest, especially during dry periods. This led to about 50% more water percolation through the soil in the skidder zone of the gaps during the first two years. The concentrations of NO3-N, Al, Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Na and Cl in percolating water in the gaps were significantly higher, and the pH lower than in closed forest, particularly during the first 15 months after logging. In the large gap, nutrient losses through leaching were greater and extended for a longer period than in the medium gap. The logging induced nutrient losses decreased in the order: skidder zone, crown zone, undisturbed zone.
The absence of living roots through soil disturbance and by removing a group of trees is a more important cause for increased leaching than the sudden addition of large amounts of fresh, rapidly decomposable organic matter to the ground surface. After logging, nitrification is a key process since it enhances cation leaching and induces soil acidification and increased Al solubility.
Leaching losses may contribute up to 50% of the total nutrient losses associated with logging in case of a large gap, but significantly less in smaller gaps. Therefore, sustainable forest management systems should aim to reduce leaching as much as possible. Limitation of skidder activity to prevent excessive soil disturbance and avoiding the creation of large canopy gaps are crucial to minimise leaching losses.
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Brouwer, L.C., Riezebos, H.T. (1998). Nutrient dynamics in intact and logged tropical rain forest in Guyana. In: Schulte, A., Ruhiyat, D. (eds) Soils of Tropical Forest Ecosystems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03649-5_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03649-5_7
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