Version 1
: Received: 20 September 2024 / Approved: 23 September 2024 / Online: 23 September 2024 (13:00:57 CEST)
How to cite:
Toledo, S.; Martínez Pastur, G.; Rodríguez-Souilla, J.; Peri, P. L. Years-After-Harvesting and Retention Levels Influence over Soil Microbial Activity and Biomass in Southern Patagonian Forests. Preprints2024, 2024091760. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1760.v1
Toledo, S.; Martínez Pastur, G.; Rodríguez-Souilla, J.; Peri, P. L. Years-After-Harvesting and Retention Levels Influence over Soil Microbial Activity and Biomass in Southern Patagonian Forests. Preprints 2024, 2024091760. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1760.v1
Toledo, S.; Martínez Pastur, G.; Rodríguez-Souilla, J.; Peri, P. L. Years-After-Harvesting and Retention Levels Influence over Soil Microbial Activity and Biomass in Southern Patagonian Forests. Preprints2024, 2024091760. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1760.v1
APA Style
Toledo, S., Martínez Pastur, G., Rodríguez-Souilla, J., & Peri, P. L. (2024). Years-After-Harvesting and Retention Levels Influence over Soil Microbial Activity and Biomass in Southern Patagonian Forests. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1760.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Toledo, S., Julián Rodríguez-Souilla and Pablo Luis Peri. 2024 "Years-After-Harvesting and Retention Levels Influence over Soil Microbial Activity and Biomass in Southern Patagonian Forests" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1760.v1
Abstract
Variable retention harvesting (VRH) was designed for timber purposes and biodiversity conservation in natural forests. This system was globally tested, but few studies are related to soil microbial components. The objective was to evaluate different retention types (aggregated and dispersed retention) considering different years-after-harvesting (6, 9, 16 YAH) on soil microbial community attributes compared with unmanaged primary forests (PF) in Nothofagus pumilio forests of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). We also evaluated the influence of climate, soil and understory vegetation. Results showed that aggregated retention increased microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and soil basal respiration (SBR) compared to dispersed retention, but with similar values than PF. However, harvested areas decreased MBC:MBN values compared with PF. We found an overall decreasing of microbial biomass and activity in 9 YAH stands, with a positive recovery at 16 YAH. Soil pH, mean annual temperature and understory vegetation cover showed a positive relationship with MBC, MBN, and SBR. The recovery after 16 YAH reaching to a different microbial community. Therefore, maintenance of retention components in managed stands for longer periods is needed. Our results highlight some advantages of VRH as a tool for conservation of forest-dwelling soil microorganisms (microbial biomass and activity).
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
