Forest soil monitoring in the UK - European Commissionec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/biosoil_conf/pres_vanguelova.pdfChanges in UK Forest soils ... • Global warming rising

Evaluation of the Quality and Changes in UK Forest soils

Elena Vanguelova

Centre for Forestry and Climate Change

Forest Research, UK

BioSoil, Brussels, 9 November, 2009

Soil quality in UK forestry

Soil Sustainability ResearchStrategy

Forest Management Practices

•Whole Tree harvesting•Short Rotation Forestry•Continuous Cover Forestry•Brash Management•Wood Ash Application

Climate change and C sequestration

•Forest C balance•Soil C stocks and changes•Peat soils

Atmospheric pollution (acidification and eutrophication)

•Critical Loads•N and forest edge effect•Belowground tree responses•Soil acidification/recovery

Soil Quality Indicators•Chemical•Physical•Biological

Forest soil monitoring

•Level I•Level II•BioSoil



Processes and cycling in Forest Ecosystems



Extensive and intensive forest monitoring networks

Level II - 20 plots in the UKBioSoil - 167 plots in the UK

EU/ICP Monitoring plotsLevel I - 67 plots in the UK



UK BioSoil plot locations - 167 plots

Gleysol

Podzol

Histosol

• The largest single soil monitoring exercise implemented so far at the EU scale.

Soil module + biodiversity

module.

• It is based on a 16 x 16 km grid under woodland.

167 plots - UK72 - England 26 - Wales 69 - Scotland

BioSoil is funded by EU 70% and Forest Research 30%



BioSoil aims and objectives• To establish an improved common European baseline of forest

soils for environmental applications (e.g. acidification and/or eutrophication; C stock assessments, impacts of climate changes)

• To finalise the common European methodology for forest soil monitoring and to upgrade the quality of the existing forest soil database and its evaluation

• To improve the existing QA/QC strategy for European forest soil condition survey

• To quantify spatial variability on the basis of information available and supplementary field experiments.

• To detect and explain temporal changes in forest soils.

• To evaluate the applicability of the methodology adopted by the European forest soil monitoring programme before setting up the monitoring for other land use types







Soil classification at BioSoil plots

• A full soil profile description according to the FAO guidelines (1990) and classified according to the World Reference Base WRB (2006).

• Soil classification according to England and Wales and the Scottish soil classification systems.

Gleysol Histosol Podzol



Measurements and analyses are performed on:1)organic soil horizons and 2) the mineral soil layers and soil depths 0-5 cm, 5-10 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm and 40-80 cm.

• Analyses performed at National level by laboratories that performed well in interlaboratory comparison exercises following the analytical procedures described in the EU soil manual. A 20 %of plots samples from benchmark BioSoil sites analysed in parallel by a central European laboratory.

Main Soil Analysis in BioSoil

Oxalate extractable Al and Fe

Total elements

Aqua regia

Exchangeable cations, acidity & H+

Modified Kjeldalh N

Total NOrganic CarbonCarbonatespHParticle size analysisSoil moisture content

Bulk density



0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

SS AH BI OK

SY BE JL SP

Haw

thor

n DF EL NS

GF

AR CP

Haz

el

Fiel

d M

aple

Row

an SC WH

Willo

w

Che

rry

HL

Lim

e LP

Rho

dode

ndro

n

POP

Tree species

Bio

Soil

plot

s England Wales Scotland

Species distribution in the BioSoil plots in each country



• Forest management practices that disturb the soil can promote carbon loss while climate change can have both positive and negative impacts

Why we need to monitor and evaluate forest soil C ?

• Forest soils represent a major carbon store with carbon stocks exceeding those under most other land uses so the stability of this store is of primary importance to climate change mitigation

• Global warming rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere can enhance forest growth, which in turn could increase soil organic matter through greater litter input

• Conversely, increasing soil temperatures are predicted to promote microbial activity and therefore decomposition and loss of soil organic matter.

The balance of these processes remains uncertain



Carbon Pools in UK Forests (Million Tonnes)

150

640

80 trees

soil and litter

timber & woodproducts



CARBON STOCKS: Soil carbon stocks (t C ha-1) at the BioSoil sites for each main soil group

Deep peats > Peaty gleys/Podzols > Rankers and redzinas > Ground water gleys > Surface water gleys > Podzols > Brown earths

Vanguelova et al, 2009

Soil type Brown Earths Podzols and Surface water Ground water Rankers and Peaty gleys/ Deep peats68 Ironpans 10 gleys 13 gleys 9 rendzinas 3 Podzols 32 12

Soil depth 0-5 cm 24 22 27 24 50 41 315-10 cm 15 15 18 16 24 36 3310-20 cm 25 29 27 35 37 61 6720-40cm 37 39 34 43 48 102 13540-80 cm 34 32 40 37 18 81 182Total (0-80 cm) 135 138 147 152 162 313 435



0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Brown E

arths

Podzo

ls an

d Iron

pans

Surfac

e wate

r gley

sGrou

nd w

ater g

leys

Rendz

inas a

nd ra

nkers

Peaty

gleys

/podz

ols

Deep p

eats

Soil type

Soil

C s

tock

(t C

ha-1

)

CARBON STOCKS: Variability of soil C stock in each soil group


Forest soil C stocks related to peat layer depth

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

0 20 40 60 80 100

Peat depth (cm)So

il C

sto

ck (t

C h

a-1)



Soil pH in main soil groups

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Deep p

eats

Peaty gleys

/podzols

Podzols

Ground

water gleys

Cambiso

lSurfa

ce w

ater gleys

S o il type

Soil

pH (H

20)

0-5 c m5-10 cm10-20 c m20-40 c m40-80 c m



Averaged total C stocks in Litter and F layerHow much stable and how much liable soil C is there?

Carbon stocks in Litter and F layer from BioSoil plots

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Litter F L+F

Car

bon

stoc

ks (t

C h

a-1 )


L

F



National forest soil carbon stocks

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Conifer Broadleaves Conifer Broadleaves Conifer BroadleavesTota

l C s

tock

s (0

-80

cm s

oil d

epth

) Mt C

O2 e

q.

Scotland WalesEngland

Scotland - peaty gleys and deep peatsWales - brown earths and podzolic soilsEngland - brown earths and surface water gleys



Soil quality in UK forestryCHANGES: Soil carbon change under broadleaved woodland from the

ECN Oak sites (1994, 1999 and 2004) and chronosequence study

Benham, 2008

Soil depth

Soil horizon

Soil C accumulation rate between 0.2-0.3 t/ha/a

Pitman et al, 2009

Soil C density in 0-15 cm mineral soil in Alice Holt Forest

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

50.0

55.0

60.0

young mid-rot old

oak

Car

bon

t ha-1



Morison et al, 2008

Processes and fluxes maintaining or modifying the different stocks of carbon in a forest



Standard thin & fell, 50 year rotation

Minimum Intervention

Afforestation: Sitka spruce, peaty gley, YC 12, previously grassland



Standard thin & fell, 80 year rotation

Minimum Intervention

Afforestation: oak, brown earths, YC 6, previously grassland


Soil quality in UK forestryTime averaged C stocks in key forest components (and associatedharvested wood products) for a Forest Management cycle

First rotation yield class 12 Sitka spruce, managed for production (thinning and felling) on a 35 year rotation, in t CO2 eq ha-1

First rotation yield class 4 oak managed for minimum intervention, in t CO2 eq ha-1.

Morison et al, 2008


Soil quality in UK forestryBioSoil plots in UK

Peaty Gleysoil

Coniferous Broadleaf

Pressure on forest soils in UK



Current guidelines for best practices in the UK

Future directions and needs:1) Comprehensive scientific underpinning 2) Site specific soil nutrient balances3) National mapping of forest

nutrient balances

S o il g ro u pS o il

ty p e

G ro u n d

d a m a g e

S o il

ca rb o n

l

S o il

in fe rtility

S o il

a c id if ica tio n

C o m b in e d

R is k

B row n ea rth s 1 , 1 d , u L L L L L

1 z L L M M M

Pod zo ls 3 , 3m L L H H H

3 p M * * M H H H

Ironpan so ils 4 , 4 p M * * M M M M * *

4 b M L M M M

4 z, 4 e M L H H H

C a lca reous so ils 1 2 b , t L L L L L

1 2 a L L H * L H *

G round -w a te r 5 M L L L M

5 p M * * M L L M * *

Pea ty g le ys 6 M M M M M

6 z M M H H H

6 p H M M M H

Su rface -w a te r 7 , 7 b M L L M M

7 z M L M M M

Ju n c u s b og s 8 a , b , H H L L H

M o lin ia b og s 9 a , b H H M M H

9 c, d , e H H H H H

U n flushed 1 1 a , b , H H H H H

R anke rs 1 3 b , z L L H H H

1 3 g M L H H H

1 3 p M M H H H

Ske le ta l so ils 1 3 s L L H H H

L itto ra l so ils 1 5 s , d , L L H H H

1 5 g , w H L H H H

L: low r isk ; M : m ed ium r isk ; H : h igh r isk . *O n ly fo r con ife r s tands , o th e rw iselow r isk . ** 3p , 4p and 5p a re h igh r isk w he re the dep th o f the p ea ty su r fa celaye r is > 25 cm .

Site suitability



• Forest management practices that disturb the soil nitrogen can promote nitrogen loss.

Why we need to monitor and evaluate forest soil N ?

• Forest soils represent a major nitrogen buffer and store for nitrogen and the stability of this store is of primary importance to tree growth, water quality and climate change mitigation.

• In the UK, nitrogen deposition is still high and long term models predict that it will still be a problem at least for the next 20-30 years despite N emission abatement policy.

•Predicted increasing soil temperatures and changes in soil water could promote microbial activity and therefore decomposition and loss of soil nitrogen to waters.

•Predicted increasing insect infestation in forestry due to changes in climate could impact on soil nitrogen dynamics.



SOIL NITROGEN STOCKS: Variability of soil N stock in each soil group

0

5

10

15

20

25

Podzo

lsGrou

nd w

ater g

leys

Cambis

olSurf

ace w

ater g

leys

Peaty

gleys

/podz

ols

Deep p

eats

Soil type

Soil

N s

tock

(t h

a-1)



UK BioSoil plot locations - 167 plots

Gleysol

Podzol

Histosol

Relationship of C/N in organic layer and dry NHx deposition

R2 = 0.46

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

M odelled 5 x 5 km dry NHx deposition

C/N

ratio

Relationship between N in litter and NHx deposition in peat soils

y = 0.0566x + 0.5814R2 = 0.8391

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

NHx deposition 5 x 5 km m odelled

Litt

er N

con

cent

ratio

ns (%

dm

)

Pollution mitigation

<25



Forest floor C:N ratio in Level I plots in 1995 and BioSoil plots in 2006

The distribution of C/N ratios in forest floor in 75 conifer BioSoil plots in GB

0

1020

3040

5060

70

<25 25-30 30-40

C/N ratio

Frag

uenc

y (%

)

Is it C or N?



Alice Holt

Thetford

N deposition and its effect on the biochemistry and nutrient cycling in woodland 4

R2 = 0.75

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

0 20 40 60 80 100120140160180200Distance from woodland edge (m)S

oil N

H4-

N (m

g/kg

ove

n dr

y so

il)

Litter decomposition under Corsican pine

y = 0.6198x + 0.24R2 = 0.89

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Distance from woodland edge

Litte

r m

ass

loss

(g)

ThetfordAlice Holt

Throughfall NH4-N and NO3-N concentrations under Corsican pine

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Distance from woodland edge (m)

Thro

ughf

all N

H 4-N

and

NO 3

-N

conc

entr

atio

ns (m

g/l)

NH4-N

NO3-NR2 = 0.57

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

4

4.2

4.4

0 50 100 150 200Distance from the woodland edge (m)

Soi

l pH

(H20

)

Litterfall of Corsican pine (30 years-old)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Total Needles Twigs & frass Flowers andsepals

Cones

Biom

ass

(kg

ha-1

a-1)

ThetfordAlice Holt



Lakes

Sherwood

Thetford

SavernakeAlice Holt

RannochLoch Awe

Coalburn

Llyn Brianne

Scots pineOakSitka spruce

Tummel

Changes in soil solution NO3 and NH4 in 9 Level II sites (1994-2006)

Nitrate Ammonium

•Decrease in soil solution NO3 only at two sites, Thetford and Sherwood due to decrease in N deposition or overall acidic pollution

•The increase in soil solution NO3 in a few sites is associated with canopy generated nitrogen, e.g. repeated insect infestations (green spruce aphids and caterpillar)

•NO3 concentrations in the soils are very dependent on water cycling at the sites, e.g. build up or leaching

•No changes in soil solution NH4 were observed in time although NH4 in deposition has declined



DON increase in soil solution - in response to recovery from acidity and increased microbial activity (possible temperature change effect?)

Oak sites Scots pine sites Sitka spruce sites

Alice Holt

R2 = 0.54

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2

10/01

/0110

/07/01

10/01

/0210

/07/02

10/01

/0310

/07/03

10/01

/0410

/07/04

10/01

/0510

/07/05

10/01

/0610

/07/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

N (m

g/l)

Grizedale

R2 = 0.44

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2

09/01

/0109

/07/01

09/01

/0209

/07/02

09/01

/0309

/07/03

09/01

/0409

/07/04

09/01

/0509

/07/05

09/01

/0609

/07/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

N (m

g/l)

Sherwood

R2 = 0.23

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2

09-Ja

n-01

15-M

ay-01

18-S

ep-01

22-Ja

n-02

28-M

ay-02

01-O

ct-02

04-Feb

-0302

-Sep

-0330

-Mar-

0403

-Aug

-0407

-Dec

-0412

-Apr-

0516

-Aug

-0519

-Dec

-0525

-Apr-

0629

-Aug

-06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

N (m

g/l)

Rannoch

R2= 0.34

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2.0

23/04

/023

/07/0

23/10

/023

/01/0

23/04

/023

/07/0

23/10

/023

/01/0

23/04

/023

/07/0

23/10

/023

/01/0

23/04

/023

/07/0

23/10

/023

/01/0

Time

Dee

p so

il so

lutio

n D

ON

(mg/

l)

Coalburn

R2 = 0.11

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

14/01

/014

/05/0

14/09

/014

/01/0

14/05

/014

/09/0

14/01

/014

/05/0

14/09

/014

/01/0

14/05

/014

/09/0

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

N (m

g/l)

Llyn Brianne

R2 = 0.50

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

11.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2

02/01

/002

/07/0

02/01

/0202

/07/02

02/01

/002

/07/03

02/01

/0402

/07/04

02/01

/002

/07/0

02/01

/0602

/07/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

N (m

g/l)

Lakes

Sherwood

Thetford

SavernakeAlice Holt

RannochLoch Awe

Coalburn

Llyn Brianne


Tummel

P<0.05 P<0.05

P<0.05P<0.05

P<0.05Possible causes:1) soil pollution recovery2) increased microbial activity, 3) increased soil temperature




Lakes

Sherwood

Thetford

SavernakeAlice Holt

RannochLoch Awe

Coalburn

Llyn Brianne


Tummel

Changes in DOC fluxes in 9 Level II sites (1994-2006)

Possible causes:1) soil pollution recovery2) increased microbial activity, 3) increased soil temperature4) additional input in throughfall as honey dew generated from aphids infestation


Alice Holt

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

06/02

/0206

/08/02

06/02

/0306

/08/03

06/02

/0406

/08/04

06/02

/0506

/08/05

06/02

/0606

/08/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

C (m

g/l)

SavernakeR2 = 0.29

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

16/01

/0216

/05/02

16/09

/0216

/01/03

16/05

/0316

/09/03

16/01

/0416

/05/04

16/09

/0416

/01/05

16/05

/0516

/09/05

16/01

/0616

/05/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

C (m

g/l)

Grizedale

R2 = 0.19

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

08/01

/0208

/07/02

08/01

/0308

/07/03

08/01

/0408

/07/04

08/01

/0508

/07/05

08/01

/0608

/07/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

C (m

g/l)

Thetford

R2 = 0.13

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

140.0

160.0

08/01

/0208

/07/02

08/01

/0308

/07/03

08/01

/0408

/07/04

08/01

/0508

/07/05

08/01

/0608

/07/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

C (m

g/l)

SherwoodR2 = 0.22

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

08-Ja

n-02

30-A

pr-02

20-A

ug-02

10-D

ec-02

15-A

pr-03

28-O

ct-03

30-M

ar-04

20-Ju

l-04

09-N

ov-04

01-M

ar-05

21-Ju

n-05

11-O

ct-05

31-Ja

n-06

23-M

ay-06

12-S

ep-06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

C (m

g/l)

Rannoch

R2 = 0.13

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

23/04

/0223

/08/02

23/12

/0223

/04/03

23/08

/0323

/12/03

23/04

/0423

/08/04

23/12

/0423

/04/05

23/08

/0523

/12/05

23/04

/0623

/08/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

C (m

g/l)

Coalburn

R2 = 0.51

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

21/05

/0221

/09/02

21/01

/0321

/05/03

21/09

/0321

/01/04

21/05

/0421

/09/04

21/01

/0521

/05/05

21/09

/0521

/01/06

21/05

/0621

/09/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

C (m

g/l)

TummelR2 = 0.26

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

02/01

/0202

/07/02

02/01

/0302

/07/03

02/01

/0402

/07/04

02/01

/0502

/07/05

02/01

/0602

/07/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

C (m

g/l)

Llyn BrianneR2 = 0.40

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

02/01

/0202

/07/02

02/01

/0302

/07/03

02/01

/0402

/07/04

02/01

/0502

/07/05

02/01

/0602

/07/06

Time

Soil

solu

tion

DO

C (m

g/l)P<0.05 P<0.05

P<0.05

P<0.05

0

5

1 0

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

3 5

4 0

4 5

5 0

C o a l b u r n

Soil

C (%

) in

H h

oriz

on

1 9 9 5

2 0 0 8

0

5

1 0

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

3 5

4 0

4 5

5 0

L l y n B r i a n n e

Soil

C (%

) in

H h

oriz

on

1 9 9 5

2 0 0 8

What more do we know about our forest soils quality and changes?

• Total averaged carbon content in forest soils across Great Britain ranged between 130 and 450 t ha-1 . Total averaged soil nitrogen content ranged between 5 and 20 t ha-1.

•Forest management can have a significant impact on soil carbon. Overall impact of forest management on GHG balances in forest ecosystems is more informative for decisions on climate change mitigation options. More empirical data and research is needed to underpin the calculations and modelling approach.

• Concerns over the N saturation of forest soils and N buffering capacity remain, particularly the potential for nitrate leaching after increased storm events in addition to the impact of N on forest soil C dynamics.

How BioSoil will help for sustainable forestry in UK?

Will test soil chemical and physical indicators and their thresholds related to soil and forest sustainability

BioSoil data will feed into to estimations and modelling of overall C and nutrient stocks of forests

Excellent platform for further research to be based on as well as national and international collaboration opportunities

BioSoil plots will be a subset of National Inventory of Woodland and Trees (NITW2) and will provide information about the sustainability of our forest soils

BioSoil is baseline of the UK forest soil conditions on which changes can be assess in the future



Thanks to:Intensive MonitoringRona PitmanSue BenhamAndy MoffatTony HutchingsDave DurrantPeter CrowNadia BarsoumTracy Houston

Technical Support Unit at all stations All at Forest Research Laboratory Alice Holt

BioSoilSoil Surveyors:Malcolm Reeves, Frank Heaven, Richard Hartnup,Andrew HipkinGordon Hudson

Tom NisbetTanja WahlleberSam BroadmeadowPaul Taylor

ManForC programmeJames MorisonRobert MattewsTim RandleMirriam WhiteSirwan Yamulki

Documents

Forest soil monitoring in the UK - European Commissionec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/biosoil_conf/pres_vanguelova.pdfChanges in UK Forest soils ... • Global warming rising