Canopy gap impacts on soil organic carbon and nutrient dynamic: a meta-analysis

作者：Ran Tong, Biyong Ji, G. Geoff Wang, Chenyang Lou, Cong Ma, Nianfu Zhu, Wenwen Yuan, Tonggui Wu · 发表于：Annals of Forest Science · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1186/s13595-024-01224-z · 被引用次数：33 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Rangeland and Wildlife Management、Plant responses to elevated CO2

Abstract Key message The forest canopy gaps, formed by natural or anthropogenic factors, have been found to reduce soil carbon content and increase nutrient availability. The magnitudes of these effects have been observed to increase with gap age and size, and are largely influenced by changes in temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation. Context Local studies have illustrated the influence of canopy gaps on the spatial heterogeneity of soil carbon and nutrients, playing a pivotal role in driving forest regeneration and succession. Nevertheless, it remains largely unknown whether the response of soil carbon and nutrient content to gap formation is consistent across forest ecosystems at global scale. Aims The aim of this paper is to assess the homogeneity of the observed responses of soil carbon and nutrients following gap formation among a wide array of forest ecosystems and climatic regions. Methods We performed a meta-analysis synthesizing 2127 pairwise observations from 52 published articles to quantify the changes in in soil physical, chemical, and microbial variables resulting from gap creation in natural forests and plantations spanning tropical to boreal regions. Results Canopy gaps resulted in significant decrease of soil organic carbon ( C org ) and microbial carbon ( C mic ). The concentrations of ammonium (NH 4 + ), nitrate (NO 3 − ), and available phosphorus (available P) increased following gap creation. These changes mainly occurred in the growing season a...