Soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the first year following herbicide and scalping in a revegetation trial in south-east Queensland, Australia

Shahla Hosseini Bai; Zhihong Xu; Timothy J Blumfield; Clyde H Wild; Chengrong Chen

doi:10.1007/s11356-013-2491-2

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Soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the first year following herbicide and scalping in a revegetation trial in south-east Queensland, Australia

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Soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the first year following herbicide and scalping in a revegetation trial in south-east Queensland, Australia

Shahla Hosseini Bai, Zhihong Xu, Timothy J Blumfield, Clyde H Wild and Chengrong Chen

Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Vol.21(7), pp.5167-5176

2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2491-2

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Abstract

soil carbon

nitrogen availability

site management

scalping

herbicide

revegetation

During revegetation, the maintenance of soil carbon (C) pools and nitrogen (N) availability is considered essential for soil fertility and this study aimed to evaluate contrasting methods of site preparation (herbicide and scalping) with respect to the effects on soil organic matter (SOM) during the critical early establishment phase. Soil total C (TC), total N (TN), hot-water extractable organic C (HWEOC), hot-water extractable total N (HWETN), microbial biomass C and N (MBC and MBN), total inorganic N (TIN) and potentially mineralizable N (PMN) were measured over 53 weeks. MBC and MBN were the only variables affected by herbicide application. Scalping caused an immediate reduction in all variables, and the values remained low without any sign of recovery for the period of the study. The impact of scalping on HWETN and TIN lasted 22 weeks and stabilised afterwards. MBC and MBN were affected by both herbicide and scalping after initial treatment application and remained lower than control during the period of the study but did not decrease over time. While scalping had an inevitable impact on all soil properties that were measured, that impact did not worsen over time, and actually improved plant growth (unpublished data) while reducing site establishment costs. Therefore, it provides a useful alternative for weed control in revegetation projects where it is applied only once at site establishment and where SOM would be expected to recover as canopy closure is obtained and nutrient cycling through litterfall commences.

Details

Title: Soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the first year following herbicide and scalping in a revegetation trial in south-east Queensland, Australia
Authors: Shahla Hosseini Bai (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Zhihong Xu (Author) - Griffith University
Timothy J Blumfield (Author) - Griffith University
Clyde H Wild (Author) - Griffith University
Chengrong Chen (Author) - Griffith University
Publication details: Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Vol.21(7), pp.5167-5176
Publisher: Springer
Date published: 2014
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-013-2491-2
ISSN: 0944-1344
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449108402621
Output Type: Journal article

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