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Special Issue "Effects of Natural Disturbances and Human Activities on Forest Soils"

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A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Soil".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2023 | Viewed by 2036

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Dr. Speranza Claudia Panico

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Guest Editor

Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
Interests: soil quality; fire; soil pollution; forest soil; urbanization; soil contamination; soil degradation
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Dr. Lucia Santorufo

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Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
Interests: soil pollution; functional traits; collembola; environmental quality; burned soil
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, environmental changes, together with land-use and natural factors, have affected the aboveground structure and composition of forests worldwide. Moreover, the health of the terrestrial ecosystem is impacted by the widespread conversion of forests into human-made ecosystems, causing habitat loss and a decrease in biodiversity. Due to the close link between the above- and below-ground parts of terrestrial ecosystems, soil biodiversity and quality are also impacted.

However, very little is known about the nature of both natural and anthropic impacts and their effects on overall biodiversity and its functionality and on the future stability of forests and soils. Through concrete commitments and actions, the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 plan puts effective restoration measures into place in order to restore degraded ecosystems, in particular those with the most potential to capture and store carbon and to prevent and to reduce the impact of natural disasters.

This Special Issue welcomes studies encompassing new approaches, data and methods concerning the following: i) the effects of human activities and their impacts on soil quality and functionality; ii) the evaluation of soil biodiversity and forest ecosystem functionality; and iii) the conservation of soil biodiversity and forest protection.

Dr. Speranza Claudia Panico
Dr. Lucia Santorufo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

soil contamination
human-managed forest
soil quality
soil conservation
recovery
soil biodeversity

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Afforestation Alters the Molecular Composition of Soil Organic Matter in the Central Loess Plateau of China

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Forests 2023, 14(7), 1502; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14071502 - 22 Jul 2023

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Abstract

Many studies have been conducted on organic carbon changes under different land use patterns, but studies and data concerning changes in the molecular composition of soil organic matter (SOM) during land use conversion are scarce. In this work, we studied the chemical composition of SOM on two Robinia pseudoacacia L. plantations and their adjacent croplands in the Loess Plateau using biomarker and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. Experimental data on the molecular composition of SOM showed that the soil microbial biomass carbon content initially decreased and then returned to the original level gradually after afforestation, while the SOM content and stocks increased over time. At the initial stage of afforestation, the content of total solvent extracts did not change significantly but changed slowly over time in the plantations without artificial disturbance. With an increase in restoration time, the concentrations of both the microbial- and plant-derived solvent extracts increased. Moreover, the concentrations of plant-derived solvent extracts were consistently lower than those of microbial-derived solvent extracts. Afforestation also significantly increased the lignin-derived phenol content in the surface soil layer (0–10 cm). However, no obvious change was observed in the lignin-derived phenols of the two adjacent croplands. These results indicate that the accumulation of aboveground litter and underground roots has the strongest effects on the lignin-derived phenol content. In contrast to cropland, the two plantations exhibited a high degree of degradation of lignin-derived phenols in the surface soil, but this remained almost unchanged over time. Moreover, in contrast to 20 years after the establishment of the R. pseudoacacia plantation, the low alkyl/O-alkyl carbon ratio of the 8-year R. pseudoacacia plantation indicated that more easily degradable components accumulated during the initial stage of afforestation. Therefore, the proportion of the unstable carbon pool was relatively high and the SOM content may decline in the early stage of afforestation. These results provide evidence illustrating the detailed changes in the chemical composition of SOM during the ecological restoration process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Natural Disturbances and Human Activities on Forest Soils)

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Open AccessArticle

Soil Quality Evaluation and Driving Factor Analysis of Hippophae rhamnoides Plantations in Coal Mine Reclamation Areas Based on Different Restoration Durations

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Forests 2023, 14(7), 1425; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14071425 - 12 Jul 2023

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Abstract

The driving factors affecting soil quality were identified to evaluate the effect of vegetation on soil quality in coal mine reclamation areas with various restoration durations. This study used Hippophae rhamnoides subsp.sinensis Rousi with different reclamation durations (3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 years) in the abandoned land area of the Juxinlong coal mine in Ordos as the research subject. Artificial and abandoned grasslands were selected as the study’s controls. A soil quality evaluation model was constructed to assess the soil quality in the reclamation area. A structural equation model was used to thoroughly analyze the driving factors affecting soil quality in the study area. The findings show that: (1) Reclamation duration significantly affected the physicochemical characteristics of the soil. As the reclamation duration increased, soil nutrients such as organic carbon accumulated while the bulk density index (BD) decreased. (2) The soil quality index of Hippophae rhamnoides forest land in China was the highest after 6 years of reclamation. The Hippophae rhamnoides forest land with the lowest soil quality index after 4 years of reclamation differed significantly from that after 6 years (p < 0.05). The soil quality index (SQI) of 6a (years) significantly increased by 67.44% compared to 4a. (3) By constructing a structural equation model, it was found that physical indicators (saturated water content and silt) and reclamation durations were the main drivers of soil quality. SQI had a strong interaction with organic matter (OM) and different restoration durations. The findings of this study will serve as important guidelines for future quantitative evaluation of soil quality following land reclamation and management during the ecological restoration process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Natural Disturbances and Human Activities on Forest Soils)

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Open AccessArticle

Soil Quality Evaluation and Dominant Factor Analysis of Economic Forest in Loess Area of Northern Shaanxi

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Forests 2023, 14(6), 1179; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14061179 - 07 Jun 2023

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Abstract

Choosing economically important trees and establishing planting patterns can improve soil quality in economic forests. To clarify the soil quality status of the main economic forest land distributed in northern Shaanxi, the research object in this study was jujube and apple economic forests, and the control was grassland. By evaluating 17 soil indicators, the minimum data set (MDS) and structural equation model (SEM) were used to analyze the soil quality status and its dominant factors under different economic forests and land preparation methods. The results showed that (1) compared with grassland, the economic forest has a certain improvement and promotion in soil’s properties, mainly in the water-holding capacity and available nutrients. Compared to the undisturbed slope, the level bench had better physical and chemical properties. (2) Six indicators were identified as the minimum data set for assessing soil quality, including the soil organic carbon, saturated water content, bulk density, alkaline nitrogen, sand, and total capillary porosity. In addition, structural equation model analysis showed that the soil organic carbon, saturated water content, alkaline nitrogen, and capillary porosity were the dominant factors affecting soil quality in the study area. (3) Jujube trees exhibited the highest soil quality and the best restoration effect, followed by apple trees, while grassland had the poorest restoration effect. The soil quality of undisturbed slopes under different land preparation methods was lower than that of the level bench land preparation. The outcomes of this study are to provide data support and a theoretical basis for improving soil quality, enhancing ecological benefits, and selecting and managing economic forest species, in the study area and similar regions in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Natural Disturbances and Human Activities on Forest Soils)

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