TY - JOUR A1 - Haßler, Sibylle Kathrin A1 - Zimmermann, Beate A1 - van Breugel, Michiel A1 - Hall, Jefferson S. A1 - Elsenbeer, Helmut T1 - Recovery of saturated hydraulic conductivity under secondary succession on former pasture in the humid tropics JF - Forest ecology and management N2 - Landscapes in the humid tropics are undergoing a continuous change in land use. Deforestation is still taking its toll on forested areas, but at the same time more and more secondary forests emerge where formerly agricultural lands and pastures are being abandoned. Regarding soil hydrology, the extent to which secondary succession can recover soil hydrological properties disturbed by antecedent deforestation and pasture use is yet poorly understood. We investigated the effect of secondary succession on saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) at two soil depths (0-6 and 6-12 cm) using a space-for-time approach in a landscape mosaic in central Panama. The following four land-use classes were studied: pasture (P), secondary forest of 5-8 years of age (SF5), secondary forest of 12-15 years of age (SF12) and secondary forest of more than 100 years of age (SF100), each replicated altogether four times in different micro-catchments across the study region. The hydrological implications of differences in Ks in response to land-use change with land use, especially regarding overland flow generation, were assessed via comparisons with rainfall intensities. Recovery of Ks could be detected in the 0-6 cm depth after 12 years of secondary succession: P and SF5 held similar Ks values, but differed significantly (alpha = 0.05) from SF12 and SF100 which in turn were indistinguishable. Variability within the land cover classes was large but, due to sufficient replication in the study, Ks recovery could be detected nonetheless. Ks in the 6-12 cm depth did not show any differences between the land cover classes; only Ks of the uppermost soil layer was affected by land-use changes. Overland flow - as inferred from comparisons of Ks with rainfall intensities - is more likely on P and SF5 sites compared to SF12 and 5E100 for the upper sample depth; however, generally low values at the 6-12 cm depth are likely to impede vertical percolation during high rainfall intensities regardless of land use. We conclude that Ks can recover from pasture use under secondary succession up to pre-pasture levels, but the process may take more than 8 years. In order to gain comprehensive understanding of Ks change with land use and its hydrological implications, more studies with detailed land-use histories and combined measurements of Ks, overland flow, precipitation and throughfall are essential. KW - Land cover change KW - Forest KW - Land use KW - Overland flow KW - Soil hydrology KW - Ecosystem services Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.06.031 SN - 0378-1127 SN - 1872-7042 VL - 261 IS - 10 SP - 1634 EP - 1642 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Calitri, Francesca A1 - Sommer, Michael A1 - van der Meij, Marijn W. A1 - Egli, Markus T1 - Soil erosion along a transect in a forested catchment: recent or ancient processes? JF - Catena : an interdisciplinary journal of soil science, hydrology, geomorphology focusing on geoecology and landscape evolution N2 - Forested areas are assumed not to be influenced by erosion processes. However, forest soils of Northern Germany in a hummocky ground moraine landscape can sometimes exhibit a very shallow thickness on crest positions and buried soils on slope positions. The question consequently is: Are these on-going or ancient erosional and depositional processes? Plutonium isotopes act as soil erosion/deposition tracers for recent (last few decades) processes. Here, we quantified the 239+240PU inventories in a small, forested catchment (ancient forest "Melzower Forst", deciduous trees), which is characterised by a hummocky terrain including a kettle hole. Soil development depths (depth to C horizon) and 239+240PU inventories along a catena of sixteen different profiles were determined and correlated to relief parameters. Moreover, we compared different modelling approaches to derive erosion rates from Pu data.
We find a strong relationship between soil development depths, distance-to-sink and topography along the catena. Fully developed Retisols (thicknesses > 1 m) in the colluvium overlay old land surfaces as documented by fossil Ah horizons. However, we found no relationship of Pu-based erosion rates to any relief parameter. Instead, 239+240PU inventories showed a very high local, spatial variability (36-70 Bq m(-2)). Low annual rainfall, spatially distributed interception and stem flow might explain the high variability of the 239+240PU inventories, giving rise to a patchy input pattern. Different models resulted in quite similar erosion and deposition rates (max: -5 t ha(-1) yr(-1) to +7.3 t ha(-1) yr(-1)). Although some rates are rather high, the magnitude of soil erosion and deposition - in terms of soil thickness change - is negligible during the last 55 years. The partially high values are an effect of the patchy Pu deposition on the forest floor. This forest has been protected for at least 240 years. Therefore rather natural events and anthropogenic activities during medieval times or even earlier must have caused the observed soil pattern, which documents strong erosion and deposition processes. KW - Soil erosion KW - 239+240 Plutonium KW - Forest KW - Moraine landscape KW - Soil catena Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2020.104683 SN - 0341-8162 SN - 1872-6887 VL - 194 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -