Effects of natural forest conversion and plantation tree species composition on soil macrofauna communities in Northeast China mountains

As primary and secondary forests are being replaced by plantations across the globe,the soil macrofauna community structure is also affected,but little is known about the impact of mixed culture plantations compared with monocultures on the soil macrofauna.To determine the impact of forest conversion on soil macrofauna,we surveyed the soil macrofauna in two broad-leaved and three coniferous monoculture stands and four coniferous-broadleaved mixed stands,and in adjacent reserved secondary stands as a reference.Soil macro fauna community composition was significant affected by forest type,season and their interaction(P<0.05).The abundance,taxa richness and diversity of soil macro fauna changed to different degrees depending on the plantation type.Broadleaved monoculture stands and secondary stands had similar macrofauna abundance and taxa richness,but values were lower in coniferous stands than in secondary stands.The Shannon index for macrofauna in coniferous stands was also the lowest,but the Pielou index did not differ between forest types.The negative effects of the conifer monoculture on soil macro fauna were not present in the mixed stands with broad-leaved trees.Forest conversion impacted soil properties;soil moisture,NO_(3)^(-),and pH were significant drivers of soil macrofauna community structure.The impact of forest conversion on soil macrofauna was closely dependent on tree species composition and diversity.The macro fauna community structure in the broadleaved and the mixed stands were relatively similar to that in the natural forest,and thus recommended for forest conversion in the study area.

Effects of tropical forest conversion into oil palm plantations on nitrous oxide emissions:A meta-analysis

Oil palm plantations have dramatically expanded in tropical Asia over the past decades.Although their establishment has been projected to increase nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)emissions,earlier reports have shown inconsistent results.This study analyzed these previously published data to compare N_(2)O emissions in oil palm plantations to reference forests.A linear mixed-eff ects model was used to examine the signifi cance of the eff ect of establishing oil palm plantations on N_(2)O emissions,rather than to calculate mean eff ect sizes because of limitations in the data structure.The results indicated that N_(2)O emissions were signifi cantly greater from oil palm plantations than from reference forests,as expected.This is the fi rst study to report the eff ect of oil palm plantations on N_(2)O emissions by synthesizing previously published data.To quantify the size of this eff ect,additional studies with frequent and long-term monitoring data are needed.

Taxonomic and community composition of epigeal arthropods in monoculture and mixed tree species plantations in a deciduous forest of Ghana

Tropical forests provide several ecosystem services and functions and support approximately two-thirds of the world’s biodiversity but are seriously threatened by deforestation.Approaches to counteract this menace have revolved around aff orestation with several or a single tree species.We thus investigated how plantation forests with either a single or several tree species infl uenced arthropod taxonomic and community composition using pitfall traps to sample selected groups of epigeal arthropods(Araneae,Coleoptera,Orthoptera and Hymenoptera)and with environmental variables assessed simultaneously.Our results revealed 54 taxonomic groups with signifi cantly higher taxonomic richness,activity density,and diversity in the mixed stands than in the monoculture stands.The significant differences in community composition were mainly driven by families including Lycosidae,Formicidae,Staphylinidae,Scotylidae,Hydrophilidae,Gryllidae and Scarabaeidae and were explained by distinct habitat characteristics(canopy openness,litter depth,deadwood volume,and tree height).While the diverse tree communities and heterogeneous vegetation structure off ered food and habitat resources for diverse arthropod groups,the allelopathic nature coupled with homogenous stand characteristics of the Tectona grandis stands in the monoculture suppressed the growth of understorey vegetation that could otherwise serve as food and habitat resources for arthropods,which might have led to limited activities and diversity of arthropods in the monoculture plantation stands.The fi ndings thus highlight the need to promote mixed tree plantations in degraded tropical areas,especially when restoring biodiversity is the prime management focus.

An Edge-assisted, Object-oriented Random Forest Approach for Refined Extraction of Tea Plantations Using Multi-temporal Sentinel-2 and High-resolution Gaofen-2 Imagery

As a consumed and influential natural plant beverage,tea is widely planted in subtropical and tropical areas all over the world.Affected by(sub)tropical climate characteristics,the underlying surface of the tea distribution area is extremely complex,with a variety of vegetation types.In addition,tea distribution is scattered and fragmentized in most of China.Therefore,it is difficult to obtain accurate tea information based on coarse resolution remote sensing data and existing feature extraction methods.This study proposed a boundary-enhanced,object-oriented random forest method on the basis of high-resolution GF-2 and multi-temporal Sentinel-2 data.This method uses multispectral indexes,textures,vegetable indices,and variation characteristics of time-series NDVI from the multi-temporal Sentinel-2 imageries to obtain abundant features related to the growth of tea plantations.To reduce feature redundancy and computation time,the feature elimination algorithm based on Mean Decrease Accuracy(MDA)was used to generate the optimal feature set.Considering the serious boundary inconsistency problem caused by the complex and fragmented land cover types,high resolution GF-2 image was segmented based on the MultiResolution Segmentation(MRS)algorithm to assist the segmentation of Sentinel-2,which contributes to delineating meaningful objects and enhancing the reliability of the boundary for tea plantations.Finally,the object-oriented random forest method was utilized to extract the tea information based on the optimal feature combination in the Jingmai Mountain,Yunnan Province.The resulting tea plantation map had high accuracy,with a 95.38%overall accuracy and 0.91 kappa coefficient.We conclude that the proposed method is effective for mapping tea plantations in high heterogeneity mountainous areas and has the potential for mapping tea plantations in large areas.

Designing near-natural planting patterns for plantation forests in China

Background: China has a long tradition of managing planted forests. Different species of Populus, Eucalyptus, Larix, Cunninghamia and Pinus are planted to satisfy the local demand for wood products and provide ecological services at the same time. Evidence of the greater resilience of natural forests provides the motivation to develop asymmetric planting patterns, which is the focus of this study. We present a new method for designing plantation patterns that follow those observed in natural ecosystems and to maintain some regularity for operational convenience. Methods: Based on the uniform angle index, we analyzed the spatial structure of six natural forests in different regions of China. The uniform angle index describes the degree of spatial uniformity of the n nearest neighbors of a given reference tree. Accordingly, we identified all possible patterns of a neighborhood group within a regular planting pattern and developed a method to optimize planting point arrangements that contain some randomness as well as a minimum degree of regularity. Results:(1) There are 13 types of structural units in a regular planting, including seven random units, five even units and one cluster unit;(2) Five near-natural arrangements are presented with a minimum proportion of 50% of random units. These five arrangements represent a combination of regularity for operational convenience and asymmetry. Conclusions: The new planting patterns developed in this study are expected to increase the asymmetric competition and resilience of these important ecosystems. Some experimental plantings, based on our findings, have already been established, e.g., in Pinus tabulaeformis plantations in Tianshui, Gansu Province, and in a Populus deltoides plantation in Fangshan near Beijing.

Effect of forest thinning on soil net nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in a Cryptomeria japonica plantation in Taiwan

We investigated the effect of forest thinning on soil nitrogen mineralization, nitrification and transformation in a Cryptomeria japoni-ca plantation at high elevation to provide basic data for forest manage-ment. We chose four study plots for control, light, medium and heavy thinning treatment, and three sub-plots for buried bag studies at similar elevations in each treatment plot to measure the net N mineralization and nitrification rates in situ. The contents of soil inorganic N （ammonium and nitrate） were similar between treatments, but all varied with season, reaching maxima in September 2003 and 2004. The seasonal maximum net Nmin rates after four treatments were 0.182, 0.246, 0.303 and 0.560 mg？kg-1？d-1 in 2003, and 0.242,0.258,0.411 and 0.671 mg？kg-1？d-1in 2004, respectively. These estimates are approximate with the lower annual rates of N mineralization for this region. Forest thinning can enhance net N mineralization and microbial biomass carbon. The percentage of annual rates of Nmin for different levels of forest thinning compared with the control plot were 13.4%, 59.8%and 154.2%in 2003, and 0.1%, 58.8%and 157.7%in 2004 for light, medium, and heavy thinning, respectively. These differences were related to soil moisture, temperature, precipita-tion, and soil and vegetation types. Well-planned multi-site comparisons, both located within Taiwan and the East-Asia region, could greatly im-prove our knowledge of regional patterns in nitrogen cycling.

Soil Nitrogen Status of Larch Plantations in Comparison with SecondaryBroad-leaved Forest

Soils were collected from.three neighboring forest sites: 36-year-old larch plantation, 11-year-old larch plantation, and natural secondary broad-leaved forest (as control). Soil pH, total C. totaI N, C/N ratio. and available N (NO3-N and NH4-N) were measured. Laboratory incubations of soil samples were conducted during a 50 days period for the measurement of nitrogen mineralization rate and nitrification potenial. The results proved a degeneration in soil nitrogen status with stand age of larch plantations, which implicated one important aspect of soil degradation when natural forest was replaced by coniferous plantations.

Past,present and future of industrial plantation forestry and implication on future timber harvesting technology

Plantation forests are established,and expanding,to satisfy increasing global demand for timber products.Shifting societal values,such as safety,productivity,environmental,quality and social are influencing the plantation forestry sector.This is primarily driven through an ever increasing world population,which in turn influences the way nations view the value systems by which they live.More people require more resources-also forest products.Also,the availability of information is influencing the pace of technological development.These changes could result in a difference in the management of plantations that could affect the forest engineering systems of the future.This review aimed to summarize the current status of plantation forests;summarize future developments and possible scenarios in forest plantation management for the various products;and assess whether these developments in a plantation environment could affect the harvesting systems used.Factors influencing the form of plantations include the type and nature of the plantation owner;the change in demand for different and new forest products;climate change factors,including the use of biomass for energy,carbon sequestration and trading;ecosystem services and other products and services;and sustainability certification of forest management.The impact and influence of these factors were summarised into a series of key drivers that will influence the technology used in harvesting machines,as well as the choice of harvesting machines,systems and methods.These drivers were the effect of variations in tree size,the expansion of plantation areas onto more difficult terrain,diversity in plantation design,increased attention towards site impacts and the increased use of biomass for energy.Specific information is provided regarding how the harvesting systems could be affected.

Prediction model of moisture content of dead fine fuel in forest plantations on Maoer Mountain,Northeast China

Preventing and suppressing forest fires is one of the main tasks of forestry agencies to reduce resource loss and requires a thorough understanding of the importance of factors affecting their occurrence.This study was carried out in forest plantations on Maoer Mountain in order to develop models for predicting the moisture content of dead fine fuel using meteorological and soil variables.Models by Nelson(Can J For Res 14:597-600,1984)and Van Wagner and Pickett(Can For Service 33,1985)describing the equilibrium moisture content as a function of relative humidity and temperature were evaluated.A random forest and generalized additive models were built to select the most important meteorological variables affecting fuel moisture content.Nelson’s(Can J For Res 14:597-600,1984)model was accurate for Pinus koraiensis,Pinus sylvestris,Larix gmelinii and mixed Larix gmelinii—Ulmus propinqua fuels.The random forest model showed that temperature and relative humidity were the most important factors affecting fuel moisture content.The generalized additive regression model showed that temperature,relative humidity and rain were the main drivers affecting fuel moisture content.In addition to the combined effects of temperature,rainfall and relative humidity,solar radiation or wind speed were also significant on some sites.In P.koraiensis and P.sylvestris plantations,where soil parameters were measured,rain,soil moisture and temperature were the main factors of fuel moisture content.The accuracies of the random forest model and generalized additive model were similar,however,the random forest model was more accurate but underestimated the effect of rain on fuel moisture.

Variation of nutrient fluxes by rainfall redistribution processes in the forest canopy of an urban larch plantation in northeast China

Atmospheric deposition(dry and wet deposition)is one of the primary sources of chemical inputs to terrestrial ecosystems and replenishes the nutrient pool in forest ecosystems.Precipitation often acts as a primary transporting agent and solvent;thus,nutrient cycles in forests are closely linked to hydrological processes.We collected precipitation data during a growing season to explore variations in nutrient cycling and nutrient balances in the rainfall redistribution process(wet deposition)in a larch plantation in northeast China.We measured nutrient(NO_(3)^(-),PO_(4)^(3−),Cl^(−),K,Ca,Na,and Mg)inputs via bulk precipitation,throughfall and stemfl ow,and used a canopy budget model to estimate nutrient fl uxes via canopy exchange.Our results suggest that the average concentrations of the base cation(K,Ca,Na,and Mg)showed the following order:stemfl ow>throughfall>bulk precipitation.Throughfall and stemfl ow chemistry dramatically fl uctuated over the growing season when net fl uxes(throughfall+stemfl ow—bulk precipitation)of NO−3,PO3−4,SO2−4,Cl−,K,Ca,Na,and Mg were−6.676 kg·ha^(-1),−1.094 kg·ha^(-1),−2.371 kg·ha^(-1),1.975 kg·ha^(-1),0.470 kg·ha^(-1),−5.202 kg·ha^(-1),−0.336 kg·ha^(-1),and 1.397 kg·ha^(-1),respectively.These results suggest that NO−3,PO3−4,SO2−4,Ca,and Na were retained,while Cl−,K,and Mg were washed off by throughfall and stemfl ow.

Response of understory plant species richness and tree regeneration to thinning in Pinus tabuliformis plantations in northern China

Background:Chinese pine(Pinus tabuliformis Carr.)is one of the major afforestation species in northern China and plays a key role in restoring forest ecosystems and preserving soil and water.However,most Chinese pine plantations are experiencing ecological problems such as the low diversity of understory plants and difficulty in natural regeneration.Thinning has been widely used to maintain and improve a variety of forest ecosystem services from plantations.To date,however,few studies have been conducted to systematically determine the effects of thinning on understory plant diversity and the regeneration of Chinese pine in plantations.Methods:We conducted a literature search,and selected 22 publications covering a total of 83 treatments related to thinning effects on the species richness of understory plants and 15 publications covering a total of 43 treatments related to thinning effects on the regeneration of Chinese pine,in tree plantations of northern China.The data from the literature were synthesized and evaluated with meta-analysis approach to determine the treatment effects.Results:Compared with the control stands,thinning increased the species richness of shrubs and herbs by an average of 25.3%and 26.5%,respectively.While the varying thinning intensities all had significantly positive effects on the species richness of understory plants,only moderate thinning(30%–50%)had a positive effect on the density of regenerating seedlings and saplings of Chinese pine(60.2%).The species richness of understory plants was greatest after 14 years of thinning with an increase of 36.3%,whereas the density of regenerating Chinese pine seedlings and saplings reached a maximum after≥11 years of thinning with an increase of 76.5%,compared to that of the unthinned stands.Thinning in the half-mature plantations had the greatest effects on the understory shrub richness(44.1%)and the density of regenerating Chinese pine seedlings and saplings(86.5%).Both single and multiple thinning were found to significantly promote the species richness of understory plants and the density of regenerating Chinese pine seedlings and saplings,and the positive effects of thinning were greater in areas with a humidity index(HI)<30 than in areas with an HI≥30.In general,age group,planting density and recovery time were prominent factors affecting the species richness of understory plants,whereas the slope,HI and recovery time were the dominant controls of the density of regenerating Chinese pine seedlings and saplings,indicating differential effects of thinning on the species richness of understory plants and the regeneration capacity of Chinese pine in plantations.Conclusion:Thinning appears to be a feasible management measure to improve the understory plant diversity and regeneration capacity of Chinese pine in plantations.We postulate that moderate thinning in half-mature forest stands with an HI<30 can help effectively promote the species diversity of understory plants and the natural regeneration of Chinese pine,thereby maintaining a more resilient stand structure and the development of Chinese pine plantations.

Active forest management accelerates carbon storage in plantation forests in Lishui,southern China

Background:China has committed to achieving peak CO_(2)emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060;therefore,accelerated efforts are needed to better understand carbon accounting in industry and energy fields as well as terrestrial ecosystems.The carbon sink capacity of plantation forests contributes to the mitigation of climate change.Plantation forests throughout the world are intensively managed,and there is an urgent need to evaluate the effects of such management on long-term carbon dynamics.Methods:We assessed the carbon cycling patterns of ecosystems characterized by three typical plantation species(Chinese fir(Cunninghamia lanceolata(Lamb.)Hook.),oak(Cyclobalanopsis glauca(Thunb.)Oerst.),and pine(Pinus massoniana Lamb.))in Lishui,southern China,by using an integrated biosphere simulator(IBIS)tuned with localized parameters.Then,we used the state-and-transition simulation model(STSM)to study the effects of active forest management(AFM)on carbon storage by combining forest disturbance history and carbon cycle regimes.Results:1)The carbon stock of the oak plantation was lower at an early age(<50 years)but higher at an advanced age(>50 years)than that of the Chinese fir and pine plantations.2)The carbon densities of the pine and Chinese fir plantations peaked at 70 years(223.36 Mg⋅ha^(‒1))and 64 years(232.04 Mg⋅ha^(‒1)),respectively,while the carbon density in the oak plantation continued increasing(>100 years).3)From 1989 to 2019,the total carbon pools of the three plantation ecosystems followed an upward trend(an annual increase of 0.16–0.22 Tg C),with the largest proportional increase in the aboveground biomass carbon pool.4)AFM increased the recovery of carbon storage after 1996 and 2009 in the pine and Chinese fir plantations,respectively,but did not result in higher growth in the oak plantation.5)The proposed harvest planning is reasonable and conducive to maximizing the carbon sequestration capacity of the forest.Conclusions:This study provides an example of a carbon cycle coupling model that is potentially suitable for simulating China's plantation forest ecosystems and supporting carbon accounting to monitor peak CO_(2)emissions and reach carbon neutrality.

Organic mulching promotes soil organic carbon accumulation to deep soil layer in an urban plantation forest

Background:Soil organic carbon(SOC)is important for soil quality and fertility in forest ecosystems.Labile SOC fractions are sensitive to environmental changes,which reflect the impact of short-term internal and external management measures on the soil carbon pool.Organic mulching(OM)alters the soil environment and promotes plant growth.However,little is known about the responses of SOC fractions in rhizosphere or bulk soil to OM in urban forests and its correlation with carbon composition in plants.Methods:A one-year field experiment with four treatments(OM at 0,5,10,and 20 cm thicknesses)was conducted in a 15-year-old Ligustrum lucidum plantation.Changes in the SOC fractions in the rhizosphere and bulk soil;the carbon content in the plant fine roots,leaves,and organic mulch;and several soil physicochemical properties were measured.The relationships between SOC fractions and the measured variables were analysed.Results:The OM treatments had no significant effect on the SOC fractions,except for the dissolved organic carbon(DOC).OM promoted the movement of SOC to deeper soil because of the increased carbon content in fine roots of subsoil.There were significant correlations between DOC and microbial biomass carbon and SOC and easily oxidised organic carbon.The OM had a greater effect on organic carbon fractions in the bulk soil than in the rhizosphere.The thinnest(5 cm)mulching layers showed the most rapid carbon decomposition over time.The time after OM had the greatest effect on the SOC fractions,followed by soil layer.Conclusions:The frequent addition of small amounts of organic mulch increased SOC accumulation in the present study.OM is a potential management model to enhance soil organic matter storage for maintaining urban forest productivity.

Soil Biological Changes for a Natural Forest and Two Plantations in Subtropical China

Conversion of natural forests into pure plantation forests is a common management practice in subtropical China.To evaluate the effects of forest conversion on soil fertility, microbe numbers and enzyme activities in topsoils (0-10 cm)were quantified in two 33-year-old monoculture plantations of Castanopsis kawakamii Hayata (CK) and Cunninghamia lanceolata Lamb. (Chinese fir) (CF), and compared to a neighboring relict natural C. kawakamii forest (NF), in Sanming,Fujian. Five soil samples were collected once each in January, April, July, September and November in 2000 in each forest for laboratory analysis. Over the sampling year, there were significant differences for bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes between forests and between seasons (P ＜ 0.05). The largest bacteria and fungi populations were in NF, while CF contained the greatest number of actinomycetes. There were also significant differences (P ＜ 0.05) with microbial respiration for forests and seasons. Additionally, compared with NF, urease and acid phosphatase were significantly lower (P ＜ 0.05)in CK and CF. Also, the correlations of soil hydrolysable N and available P to soil microbial and enzymatic activities were highly significant (P ＜ 0.01). Thus, to alter the traditional Chinese fir monoculture so as to mimic the natural forest conditions, managing mixed stands of Chinese fir and broadleaf trees or conducting crop rotation of conifers and broadleaf trees as well as minimizing forest disturbances like clear-cutting, slash burning and soil preparing, could be utilized.

Microbial biomass in subtropical forest soils： effect of conversion of natural secondary broad-leaved forest to Cunninghamia lanceolata plantation

到 Cunninghamialanceolata 种植园的自然第二等的阔叶的森林的变换是在副热带的中国的一个普通管理惯例。在这研究，我们比较了土壤物理化学的性质，在一天赋的微生物引起的生物资源第二等的 broad-leavedforest 和二 C。在土壤上估计森林变换的效果的 lanceolata 种植园地点在林地生态学的 Huitong 试验性的车站的微生物引起的生物资源，中国科学院。器官的碳，总氮， NH_4^+-N 和微生物引起的生物资源碳和氮多是的土壤的集中在 C 下面降低。lanceolata 种植园作为与自然离开 secondarybroad 的森林相比。在 C 的第一和第二旋转玷污微生物引起的生物资源 C。lanceolataplantations 仅仅是 53% ，那中的 46% 个分别地在自然第二等的阔叶的森林，和微生物引起的生物资源 N 里是 97% 和 79% 。到器官的 Cwas 也在种植园地点降低的土壤的微生物引起的生物资源 C 的贡献。然而，到总氮和 NH_4^+-N 的微生物引起的 N 的贡献在 C 是更大的。lanceolata 种植园地点。因此，到 C 的自然第二等的阔叶的森林的变换。lanceolata 种植园并且 C 的连续的种。lanceolataled 到在土壤的衰落微生物引起的生物资源和在副热带的中国的森林土的降级。

Assessing Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 spectral-temporal features for mapping tree species of northern plantation forests in Heilongjiang Province,China

Background:Accurate mapping of tree species is highly desired in the management and research of plantation forests,whose ecosystem services are currently under threats.Time-series multispectral satellite images,e.g.,from Landsat-8(L8)and Sentinel-2(S2),have been proven useful in mapping general forest types,yet we do not know quantitatively how their spectral features(e.g.,red-edge)and temporal frequency of data acquisitions(e.g.,16-day vs.5-day)contribute to plantation forest mapping to the species level.Moreover,it is unclear to what extent the fusion of L8 and S2 will result in improvements in tree species mapping of northern plantation forests in China.Methods:We designed three sets of classification experiments(i.e.,single-date,multi-date,and spectral-temporal)to evaluate the performances of L8 and S2 data for mapping keystone timber tree species in northern China.We first used seven pairs of L8 and S2 images to evaluate the performances of L8 and S2 key spectral features for separating these tree species across key growing stages.Then we extracted the spectral-temporal features from all available images of different temporal frequency of data acquisition(i.e.,L8 time series,S2 time series,and fusion of L8 and S2)to assess the contribution of image temporal frequency on the accuracy of tree species mapping in the study area.Results:1)S2 outperformed L8 images in all classification experiments,with or without the red edge bands(0.4%–3.4%and 0.2%–4.4%higher for overall accuracy and macro-F1,respectively);2)NDTI(the ratio of SWIR1 minus SWIR2 to SWIR1 plus SWIR2)and Tasseled Cap coefficients were most important features in all the classifications,and for time-series experiments,the spectral-temporal features of red band-related vegetation indices were most useful;3)increasing the temporal frequency of data acquisition can improve overall accuracy of tree species mapping for up to 3.2%(from 90.1%using single-date imagery to 93.3%using S2 time-series),yet similar overall accuracies were achieved using S2 time-series(93.3%)and the fusion of S2 and L8(93.2%).Conclusions:This study quantifies the contributions of L8 and S2 spectral and temporal features in mapping keystone tree species of northern plantation forests in China and suggests that for mapping tree species in China's northern plantation forests,the effects of increasing the temporal frequency of data acquisition could saturate quickly after using only two images from key phenological stages.

Determination of Optimal Zones for Forest Plantations in the State of Mexico Using Multi-Criteria Spatial Analysis and GIS

This work aims to develop simulation models that allow locating adequate areas for forest plantations in the state of Mexico. It combines multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) techniques and geographic information systems (GIS) to analyze and simulate future scenarios for forest plantations under three major objectives: commercial production, restoration and protection, and agroforestry. Results demonstrate the potential of this method to integrate different variables of social, economic and environmental nature, and for solve some problems of forest activities and management by locating the most suitable areas for this forestal activity.

Environmental and canopy conditions regulate the forest floor evapotranspiration of larch plantations

Background:Integrated forest-water management focusing on forest-water coordination is an important way to alleviate water use conflicts among forests and other sectors in vast dryland regions.Forest floor evapotranspiration(FE),which is an important component of forest evapotranspiration,accounts for a large proportion of the water consumed in arid forests.Elucidating how environmental and canopy conditions impact FE has important significance for guiding integrated forest-water management in a changing environment.Methods:The microlysimeter(ML)-measured evapotranspiration(FE_(ML)),reference evapotranspiration(ET_(o)),volumetric soil moisture(VSM),and canopy leaf area index(LAI)were monitored in a Larix principis-rupprechtii plantation located in the semi-humid Liupan Mountains of Northwest China in 2019(June–September)and 2021(May–September).The response functions of the FE coefficient(the ratio of daily FEML to ET_(o))to the individual factors of VSM and LAI were determined using upper boundary lines of scatter diagrams of measured data.The framework of the daily FE(FE_(ML))model was established by multiplying the response functions to individual factors and then calibrated and validated using measured data to assess the FE response to environmental and canopy conditions.Results:(1)The FE coefficient increased first rapidly and then slowly with rising VSM but decreased slowly with rising LAI.(2)The simple daily FE(FE_(ML))model developed by coupling the impacts of ET_(o),LAI,and VSM in this study performed well for predicting FE.(3)The impacts of ET_(o),LAI,and VSM were quantified using the FE(FE_(ML))model,e.g.,at a given VSM,the impact of ETo on FE increased obviously with decreasing LAI;at a given ET_(o),the impact of LAI on FE increased with rising VSM.(4)In the two study years,when directly using the microlysimeter measurement,the real FE on the forest floor was overestimated when the VSM in microlysimeters was above 0.215 but underestimated below 0.215 due to the difference in VSM from the forest floor.Thus,the VSM on the forest floor should be input into the FE model for estimating the real FE on the forest floor.Conclusions:The daily FE of larch plantation is controlled by three main factors of environmental(ET_(o) and VSM)and canopy conditions(LAI).The variation in daily FE on the forest floor can be well estimated using the simple FE model coupling the effects of the three main factors and by inputting the VSM on the forest floor into the model to avoid the errors when directly using the microlysimeter measurement with different VSMs from the forest floor.The developed FE model and suggested prediction approach are helpful to estimate the FE response to changing conditions,and to guide forest management practices when saving water by thinning is required.

Comparative study on active soil organic matter in Chinese fir plantation and native broad-leaved forest in subtropical China

Active soil organic matter (ASOM) has a main effect on biochemical cycles of soil nutrient elements such as N, P and S, and the quality and quantity of ASOM reflect soil primary productivity. The changes of ASOM fractions and soil nutrients in the first rotation site and the second rotation site of Chinese fir plantation and the native broad-leaved forest were investigated and analyzed by soil sampling at the Huitong Experimental Station of Forestry Ecology (at latitude 26°48′N and longitude 109°30′E under a subtropical climate conditions), Chinese Academy of Sciences in March, 2004. The results showed that values of ASOM fractions for the Chinese fir plantations were lower than those for the broad-leaved forest. The contents of easily oxidisable carbon (EOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) for the first rotation of Chinese fir plantation were 35.9%, 13.7%, 87.8% and 50.9% higher than those for the second rotation of Chinese fir plantation, and were 15.8%, 47.3%, 38.1% and 30.2% separately lower than those for the broad-leaved forest. For the three investigated forest sites, the contents of MBC and WSOC had a larger decrease, followed by WSC, and the change of EOC was least. Moreover, soil physico-chemistry properties such as soil nutrients in Chinese fir plantation were lower than those in broad-leaved forest. It suggested that soil fertility declined after Chinese fir plantation replaced native broad-leaved forest through continuous artificial plantation.