Informace o publikaci
Geomorphic controls of soil spatial complexity in a primeval mountain forest in the Czech Republic
| Autoři | |
|---|---|
| Rok publikování | 2016 |
| Druh | Článek v odborném periodiku |
| Časopis / Zdroj | Geomorphology |
| Fakulta / Pracoviště MU | |
| Citace | |
| www | Full Text |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.08.023 |
| Obor | Pedologie |
| Klíčová slova | Soil geomorphology; Biogeomorphology; Pedodiversity; Graph theory; Soil forming factors; Old-growth forests |
| Popis | A total of 954 soil profiles were described and classified to soil taxonomic units (STU). We analyzed soil diversity complexity using a novel graph theory approach. Pairwise tests of observed adjacencies, spectral radius and a newly proposed sequentiality index were used to describe and quantify the complexity of the spatial pattern of STUs. This was then decomposed into the contributions of three soil factor sequences (SFS), (i) degree of weathering and leaching processes, (ii) hydromorphology, and (iii) proportion of rock fragments. Six Reference Soil Groups and 37 second-level soil units were found. A significant portion of pedocomplexity occurred at distances shorter than the 22 m spacing of neighbouring soil profiles. The spectral radius (an index of complexity) of the pattern of soil spatial adjacency was 14.73, to which the individual SFS accounted for values of 2.0, 8.0 and 3.5, respectively. Significant sequentiality was found for degree of weathering and hydromorphology. Exceptional overall pedocomplexity was particularly caused by enormous spatial variability of soil wetness, representing a crucial soil factor sequence in the primeval forest. Moreover, the soil wetness gradient was partly spatially correlated with the gradient of soil weathering and leaching, suggesting synergistic influences of topography, climate, (hydro)geology and biomechanical and biochemical effects of individual trees. The pattern of stony soils, random in most respects, resulted probably from local geology and quaternary biogeomorphological processes. Thus, while geomorphology is the primary control over a very locally complex soil pattern, microtopography and local disturbances, mostly related to the effects of individual trees, are also critical. Considerable local pedodiversity seems to be an important component of the dynamics of old-growth mixed temperate mountain forests, with implications for decreasing pedodiversity in managed forests and deforested areas. |