Soil carbon storage in Mediterranean forest stands: implications in the restoration of eroded soils
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The study assesses soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in Mediterranean forest stands and its implications for restoring eroded soils. Findings indicate high SOC values across various sites, with differences attributed to vegetation types and management practices, emphasizing the role of afforestation in soil restoration and erosion prevention. Overall, the research suggests that appropriate agro-forest management can support soil quality and carbon storage.
Soil carbon storage in Mediterranean forest stands: implications in the restoration of eroded soils
- 1. Title Author(s) and affiliation(s) Soil carbon storage in Mediterranean forest stands: implications in the restoration of eroded soils Giovanni Di Matteo, Gabriella Rossi Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Center for Agriculture and Environment, Rome, Italy; giovanni.dimatteo@crea.gov.it, gabriella.rossi@crea.gov.it We found high SOC values, typical of forest stands; No risk of soil alteration due to erosive processes in the case studies; Differences in SOC values among sites are due to the type of vegetation, site conditions and the effects of the different agro-forest management; Afforestation plans could be a valid tool for restoring degraded soils, recovering soil organic matter and nutrients and preventing soil erosion; The considered different agro-forest managements of this study could be applied in afforested areas without negative effects, in the long time, on SOC. CONCLUSIONS OBJECTIVE This study aims to compare the capacity of some forest soils subjected to different land use in storing atmospheric CO2 in SOC The study rationale is to use the information from these case studies to highlight the risk in the long time of soil erosion due to a reduction of SOC Table 1. Summary of the agro-forest managements carried out in the six agro-forest sites Soil sampling was carried out by taken cylindrical soil cores (10 soil sample per site) sized diameter 8 cm, length 15 cm, and core volume 750 cm3 to get soil bulk density and consequently soil mass was determined by soil weight-to-sampling volume ratio. Fifteen-centimeter topsoil samples were sieved to 2 mm to separate out root component. A solution of 10% hydrochloric acid (HCl) was used to eliminate carbonates from soil samples. Total soil organic carbon (TOC%) was measured by an Elemental Analyzer (Thermo Fisher Scientific, model FlashEA 1112 NC Analyzers, Bath, UK). Soil carbon content (SOC) was calculated by multiplying soil mass to total organic carbon concentration. Figure 1. Sampling of soil cores at the PP forest site Soil organic carbon stock (SOC) maintains soil physical and biochemical quality; Soils with degraded structure are often subject to loss of organic carbon; Improper management practices in agricultural and forest areas can lead to changes in SOC and cause, in the long time, erosion phenomena; SOC in eroded topsoils was lower than in less disturbed grassland, cultivated and forest soils; Forest environment protects the soil from erosive phenomena due to mechanical actions and for its high concentration of SOC compared to other land use scenarios Afforestation of degraded land can reverse some degradation processes through the storage of carbon in soil and phytomass. Site TOC (%) SOC (Mg C ha-1) CA 4.22 82.29 PP 4.65 90.67 MF 12.10 217.80 MV 6.40 115.20 TM 9.50 185.25 NPA 6.40 115.20 METHODOLOGY We compared soil C storage values in six Mediterranean forest soils subjected to different agro-forest managements in central Italy (Table 1). Site Species Management CA Quercus cerris L. abandoned coppice after coppicing PP Quercus cerris L. abandoned coppice after coppicing MF Fagus sylvatica L. unperturbed MV Quercus cerris L. unperturbed TM Fagus sylvatica L. coppiced and pastored NPA Quercus spp. touristic use Table 2. Total soil organic carbon and soil carbon content values RESULTS The results showed that SOC values ranging from 82.3 to 217.8 Mg C ha-1 (Table 2). The differences showed in MF and MV (unperturbed sites) are probably due to both the type of vegetation cover and species that could influence the chemical characteristics of the litter and soil itself. CA and PP sites (abandoned oak coppices) showed lower SOC values compared to the rest of sites. Intra- differences between CA and PP in SOC values are due to age and soil fertility. In TM site (coppiced and pastored), the SOC value was probably influenced by the high input rates of fresh substrate (leaves and cattle manure). NPA site (touristic use) showed intermediate SOC value. It is a site subjected to a constant anthropic disturbance, this could lead to a greater compaction of the soil.