Soil fungal biomass after clear-cutting of a pine forest in central sweden

The effect of clear-cutting on fluorescein diacetate (PDA) active and total fungal biomass was studied in three soil horizons of a coniferous forest in Sweden. Throughout the soil profile, fungal biomass decreased after felling. FDA-active hyphae decreased more in the mineral soil than in the organic soil. The effect of felling residues left at the time of clear-cutting appeared to be of only minor importance, since the decrease in fungal content was independent of the amount of slash left on the ground. However, the addition of slash generally gave greater amounts of FDA-active fungal mycelium compared to the treatment without slash. The change in root dynamics is suggested to be an important reason for the decrease of fungal hyphae in forest soil after clear-cutting.