Canopy composition and site are indicative of mineral soil conditions in Patagonian mixed Nothofagus forests

Study site in mixed Nothofagus forests in Tierra del Fuego

Key message Canopy composition in mixed Patagonian Nothofagus forests has an impact on soil properties like cationic exchange capacity and pH, while most soil variables changed with site [P, cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil moisture (SM), resistance to penetration (R)]. Site conditions and canopy composition need be considered together to better understand the distribution of Nothofagus species.
Context Forests can influence soil development, changing main soil properties by several mechanisms, but this has never been investigated in mixed Nothofagus forests. Such influences can be strongly variable depending on local site conditions, and the interactions between both factors need to be clearly established.
Aims To reveal the effect on physical and chemical mineral soil properties in mixed Nothofagus forests of canopy composition and their interactions with site conditions.
Methods Two sites and three mixed forest types, with different proportion of deciduous-evergreen, were selected in coastal and mountain sites. We evaluated forest structure, litterfall and physico-chemical properties of mineral soil (N = 60), and analyzed these factors with general linear models and multivariate statistics [multi-response permutation procedure (MRPP), principal component analyses (PCA)].
Results Basal area and litterfall were significantly influenced by forest type × sites. CEC and pH value varied among forests types and sites, but sites also influenced other variables (P, SM, R). Multivariate analyses reveals a much stronger effect of site conditions than that of species mixture.
Conclusion Forest soil studies must consider environmental factors on different spatial scale and canopy species composition to better understand their influence on soil dynamics in mixed Nothofagus forests.

Keywords
Deciduous broadleaf forest, Evergreen broadleaf forest, Litter input, Mineral soil properties, Nothofagus, Site conditions

Publication
Toro-Manríquez, M., Soler, R., Lencinas, M.V. et al. Annals of Forest Science (2019) 76: 117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-019-0886-z

For the read-only version of the full text: https://rdcu.be/b1D8m

Data availability

The datasets are located at CADIC repository, or available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. The authors have requested permission to place data in the public repository SNDB (https://datos.sndb.mincyt.gob.ar/), but currently access to our data is only upon request.

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