Soil Enzyme Activity Changes in Different-Aged Spruce Forests of the Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Activities of selected soil enzymes (invertase, acid phosphatase, proteinase,catalase, peroxidase and polyphenoloxi-dase) were determined under different spruce forests withrestoration histories of 5, 13, 18, 23, 27 years and an old growth forest over 400 years old in theeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China, and their possible use as indicators of ecosystems healthwere analyzed. Plots 10 X 10 m with 4 replications were established to investigate three hypotheses:soil enzyme activities a) would increase with the restoration process; b) would be greater insurface soils than at lower depths; and c) would be correlated to selected physicochemicalproperties. Results showed that as the forests developed after restoration, invertase and peroxidaseactivities usually increased up to the 23 year point. Also soil enzyme activities were associatedwith surface soils and decreased with depths, suggesting that in earlier restoration stages surfaceaddition of organic fertilizer to soils might be more effective than additions at depth. In the 0-20cm soil, there were significant correlations (P < 0.01 or < 0.05) between some soil enzymeactivities and some selected chemical properties. Therefore, temporal changes in enzyme activitiesshould be included as an indicator when evaluating sustainable forest management practices.

Measured Sap Flow and Estimated Evapotranspiration of Tropical Eucalyptus urophylla Plantations in South China

During the period of September 12, 1999 to September 24, 2000, we measured sap flow ofeucalyptus (Euca/yptus urophylla S.T. Blake) plantations using heat pulse technique, and the relevantenvironmental vaiables, such as soil evaporation and canopy interception, etc, at Hetou and Jijia sites,Leizhou Peninsula, Guangdong Province. Based on the measurements of sap flow and estimates ofevapotranspiration, the following can be concluded: (1) the maximum of diurnal xylem sap flux density (SFD)at Hetou, where covered with coarse-textured soils formed on Quaternary sediments, was almost twice ofthat at Jijia, where located on clay-rich soils derived from basalt; (2) SFD was highly correlated to watervapor pressure deficit (VPD) of ambient air near the canopy layer, (3) the correlation between SFD and airtemperature also depends on soil properties and soil water potential; (4) the relative differences betweenmeasured and modeled evapotranspiration were small, being 5.26% at Hetou and 6.14% at Jijia; (5) theplantation transpiration accounted for 62.2% and 51.3% of the evapotranspiration at Hetou and Jijia,respectively; and (6) the averaged SFD per unit leaf area (ASPULA) was a good index to estimate theamount of water consumption of tree species.

Changes of Soil Enzyme Activities in Different Restoration Ages of Spruce Forests on the Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Six soil enzymes (invertase, acid phosphatase, proteinase, catalase,peroxidase and polyphenoloxidase) were chosen for investigation under different spruce forests withrestoration ages of 4, 10, 16 years and an old-growth spruce forest over 400 yearsold in the easternQinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. Results showed that the activities of invertase, phosphatase,proteinase, catalase and peroxidase decreased in newly restored forests except forpholyphenoloxidase. With the development of forests after restoration, the activities of invertase,acid phosphadase, proteinase increased gradually. Our study also indicated that the soil enzymeactivities were associated with surface soils and decreased with depths. This result suggested thatin the earlier restoration stage the application of organic fertilizer may be more effective bysurface addition to soils than deep addition.