Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/31679
Appears in Collections:Biological and Environmental Sciences Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: Soil organic matter stabilization and carbon-cycling enzyme activity are affected by land management
Author(s): Blonska, Ewa
Lasota, Jaroslaw
da Silva, Gilka Rocha Vasconcelos
Vanguelova, Elena
Ashwood, Frank
Tibbett, Mark
Watts, Kevin
Lukac, Martin
Keywords: enzyme activity
soil carbon accumulation
soil organic matter fraction
Issue Date: 2020
Date Deposited: 16-Sep-2020
Citation: Blonska E, Lasota J, da Silva GRV, Vanguelova E, Ashwood F, Tibbett M, Watts K & Lukac M (2020) Soil organic matter stabilization and carbon-cycling enzyme activity are affected by land management. Annals of Forest Research, 63 (1), pp. 71-86. https://doi.org/10.15287/afr.2019.1837
Abstract: Increasing carbon (C) storage in soil is a key aspect of climate change mitigation strategies and requires an understanding of the impacts of land management on soil C cycling. The primary aim of this study is to investigate how land management impacts key soil organic matter stabilization and cycling processes affecting soil C storage. Soil sampling was undertaken across seven transects crossing the boundary between agriculture and forestry. The transects covered 3 pasture (AP) and 4 arable (AA) fields combined with 3 young secondary woodlands (50-60 years old - WY) and 4 mature/ancient semi-natural woodlands (110 to >400 years old – WM). Physical fractionation of soil organic matter pools was performed, together with pH, carbon and nitrogen content, as well as activity of four enzymes associated with C transformation in the soil. Woodland soils were associated with significantly higher content of light fraction C and greater enzyme activity in comparison to agricultural soils. Enzyme activity and soil organic C decreased with soil depth regardless of land-use type. We did not, however, observe any effect of the distance from the land use boundary on either enzyme activity and soil C pools. Our results indicate that analysis of soil organic matter (SOM) fractions can act as an indicator of decomposition rates of SOM in forest and agricultural ecosystems.
DOI Link: 10.15287/afr.2019.1837
Rights: All the papers published in Annals of Forest Research are available under an open access policy (Gratis Gold Open Access Licence), which guaranty the free (of taxes) and unlimited access, for anyone, to entire content of the all published articles. The users are free to "read, copy, distribute, print, search or refers to the full text of these articles", as long they mention the source. Also, "users can use, reuse and build upon the material published in the journal but only for non-commercial purposes".

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