Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone

In the context of the specificity of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in afforested land, nutrient-poor Arenosols and nutrient-rich Luvisols after afforestation with coniferous and deciduous tree species were studied in comparison to the same soils of croplands and grasslands. This study analysed t...

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Autores principales:	Iveta Varnagirytė-Kabašinskienė, Povilas Žemaitis, Kęstutis Armolaitis, Vidas Stakėnas, Gintautas Urbaitis
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	Arenosols Luvisols afforested land cropland grassland soil organic carbon Plant ecology QK900-989
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b34c8457659a421fa45a1243f7c4f122
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b34c8457659a421fa45a1243f7c4f1222021-11-25T17:38:48ZSoil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone10.3390/f121115621999-4907https://doaj.org/article/b34c8457659a421fa45a1243f7c4f1222021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/11/1562https://doaj.org/toc/1999-4907In the context of the specificity of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in afforested land, nutrient-poor Arenosols and nutrient-rich Luvisols after afforestation with coniferous and deciduous tree species were studied in comparison to the same soils of croplands and grasslands. This study analysed the changes in SOC stock up to 30 years after afforestation of agricultural land in Lithuania, representing the cool temperate moist climate region of Europe. The SOC stocks were evaluated by applying the paired-site design. The mean mass and SOC stocks of the forest floor in afforested Arenosols increased more than in Luvisols. Almost twice as much forest floor mass was observed in coniferous than in deciduous stands 2–3 decades after afforestation. The mean bulk density of fine (<2 mm) soil in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer of croplands was higher than in afforested sites and grasslands. The clear decreasing trend in mean bulk density due to forest stand age with the lowest values in the 21–30-year-old stands was found in afforested Luvisols. In contrast, the SOC concentrations in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer, especially in Luvisols afforested with coniferous species, showed an increasing trend due to the influence of stand age. The mean SOC values in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer of Arenosols and Luvisols during the 30 years after afforestation did not significantly differ from the adjacent croplands or grasslands. The mean SOC stock slightly increased with the forest stand age in Luvisols; however, the highest mean SOC stock was detected in the grasslands. In the Arenosols, there was higher SOC accumulation in the forest floor with increasing stand age than in the Luvisols, while the proportion of SOC stocks in mineral topsoil layers was similar and more comparable to grasslands. These findings suggest encouragement of afforestation of former agricultural land under the current climate and soil characteristics in the region, but the conversion of perennial grasslands to forest land should be done with caution.Iveta Varnagirytė-KabašinskienėPovilas ŽemaitisKęstutis ArmolaitisVidas StakėnasGintautas UrbaitisMDPI AGarticleArenosolsLuvisolsafforested landcroplandgrasslandsoil organic carbonPlant ecologyQK900-989ENForests, Vol 12, Iss 1562, p 1562 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Arenosols Luvisols afforested land cropland grassland soil organic carbon Plant ecology QK900-989
spellingShingle	Arenosols Luvisols afforested land cropland grassland soil organic carbon Plant ecology QK900-989 Iveta Varnagirytė-Kabašinskienė Povilas Žemaitis Kęstutis Armolaitis Vidas Stakėnas Gintautas Urbaitis Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone
description	In the context of the specificity of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in afforested land, nutrient-poor Arenosols and nutrient-rich Luvisols after afforestation with coniferous and deciduous tree species were studied in comparison to the same soils of croplands and grasslands. This study analysed the changes in SOC stock up to 30 years after afforestation of agricultural land in Lithuania, representing the cool temperate moist climate region of Europe. The SOC stocks were evaluated by applying the paired-site design. The mean mass and SOC stocks of the forest floor in afforested Arenosols increased more than in Luvisols. Almost twice as much forest floor mass was observed in coniferous than in deciduous stands 2–3 decades after afforestation. The mean bulk density of fine (<2 mm) soil in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer of croplands was higher than in afforested sites and grasslands. The clear decreasing trend in mean bulk density due to forest stand age with the lowest values in the 21–30-year-old stands was found in afforested Luvisols. In contrast, the SOC concentrations in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer, especially in Luvisols afforested with coniferous species, showed an increasing trend due to the influence of stand age. The mean SOC values in the 0–30 cm mineral topsoil layer of Arenosols and Luvisols during the 30 years after afforestation did not significantly differ from the adjacent croplands or grasslands. The mean SOC stock slightly increased with the forest stand age in Luvisols; however, the highest mean SOC stock was detected in the grasslands. In the Arenosols, there was higher SOC accumulation in the forest floor with increasing stand age than in the Luvisols, while the proportion of SOC stocks in mineral topsoil layers was similar and more comparable to grasslands. These findings suggest encouragement of afforestation of former agricultural land under the current climate and soil characteristics in the region, but the conversion of perennial grasslands to forest land should be done with caution.
format	article
author	Iveta Varnagirytė-Kabašinskienė Povilas Žemaitis Kęstutis Armolaitis Vidas Stakėnas Gintautas Urbaitis
author_facet	Iveta Varnagirytė-Kabašinskienė Povilas Žemaitis Kęstutis Armolaitis Vidas Stakėnas Gintautas Urbaitis
author_sort	Iveta Varnagirytė-Kabašinskienė
title	Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone
title_short	Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone
title_full	Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone
title_fullStr	Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone
title_full_unstemmed	Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone
title_sort	soil organic carbon stocks in afforested agricultural land in lithuanian hemiboreal forest zone
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/b34c8457659a421fa45a1243f7c4f122
work_keys_str_mv	AT ivetavarnagirytekabasinskiene soilorganiccarbonstocksinafforestedagriculturallandinlithuanianhemiborealforestzone AT povilaszemaitis soilorganiccarbonstocksinafforestedagriculturallandinlithuanianhemiborealforestzone AT kestutisarmolaitis soilorganiccarbonstocksinafforestedagriculturallandinlithuanianhemiborealforestzone AT vidasstakenas soilorganiccarbonstocksinafforestedagriculturallandinlithuanianhemiborealforestzone AT gintautasurbaitis soilorganiccarbonstocksinafforestedagriculturallandinlithuanianhemiborealforestzone
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Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Afforested Agricultural Land in Lithuanian Hemiboreal Forest Zone

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