Stand-scale spatial patterns of soil microbial biomass in natural cold-temperate beech forests along an elevation gradient

This study focuses on spatial heterogeneity in the soil microbial biomass (SMB) of typical climax beech (Fagus crenata) at the stand scale in forest ecosystems of the cold-temperate mountain zones of Japan. Three beech-dominated sites were selected along an altitudinal gradient and grid sampling was used to collect soil samples at each site. The highest average SMB density was observed at the site 1500 m a.s.l. (44.9 gC m⁻²), the lowest was recorded at the site 700 m a.s.l. (18.9 gC m⁻²); the average SMB density at the 550 m site (36.5 gC m⁻²) was close to the overall median of all three sites. Geostatistics, which is specifically designed to take spatial autocorrelation into account, was then used to analyze the data collected. All sites generally exhibited stand-scale spatial autocorrelation at a lag distance of 10-18 m in addition to the small-scale spatial dependence noted at <3.5 m at the 550 m site. Correlation analysis with an emphasis on spatial dependency showed SMB to be significantly correlated with bulk density at the 550 and 1500 m sites, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at the 700 and 1500 m sites, and nitrogen (N) at the 550 and 700 m sites. However, no soil parameter showed a significant correlation with SMB at every site, and some variables were also differently correlated (negative or positive) with SMB at different sites. This suggests that the factors controlling the spatial distribution of SMB are very complex and responsive to local in situ conditions. SMB regression models were generated from both the ordinary least-squares (OLS) and generalized least-squares (GLS) models. GLS performance was only superior to OLS when cross-variograms were accurately fitted. Geostatistics is preferable, however, since these techniques take the spatial non-stationarity of samples into account. In addition, the sampling numbers for given minimum detectable differences (MDD_s) are provided for each site for future SMB monitoring.     

Seasonal dynamics of soil microbial biomass C shows close correlation with environmental factors in natural Fagus crenata forests

Abstract

Soil microbial biomass (C_mic) is an important factor regulating a number of ecosystem processes. In this study, we investigated seasonal variations in soil microbial biomass in natural climax beech (Fagus crenata) forests in a typical cold-temperate mountain region of Japan. Four permanent tower sites along an altitudinal gradient were selected and soil samples were collected once every month during the growing season of 2007. Soil microbial biomass (by fumigation-extraction method) and soil properties were later measured in the laboratory, while environmental factors (soil temperature, soil moisture) were continuously recorded in the field. Our results indicated large seasonal variations (130.4 ~ 5558.0 µg g^?1) in soil microbial biomass in beech forests – a range that is much larger than previously reported. Statistically significant correlations are noted between soil properties with C_mic, but largely due to spatial linkages. On the other hand, the environmental factors of soil temperature and especially soil moisture largely control seasonal variations in C_mic. Furthermore, pH could be an important factor influencing seasonal change in C_mic at the 20–30 cm deep soil layer. The study suggests no direct correlation between plant eco-physiology and soil microbial biomass in seasonal courses of the forests.