1st International Conference of Soil and Agriculture:
TOWARDS SOIL SUSTAINABILITY
11–13 June 2024 • Lublin–Nałęczów, Poland

https://doi.org/10.24326/ICSA1.PP.05
Published online: 4 October 2024

Evaluation of CO₂ emission and soil properties in selected forest habitats
Paweł Dłużewski*

Department of Soil Science, Land Reclamation and Geodesy, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Piątkowska 94, 60-649 Poznań, Poland
* Corresponding author:

Abstract
The aim of the work was to determine CO₂ emissions from soils in clear-cutting areas (first year after clear-cut) and from soils in forested habitats. For this purpose 3 research areas in the most common types of forest habitats in Poland were designated (LFC – fresh mixed forest, BFC – fresh coniferous forest and MFC – fresh mixed coniferous forest). These research areas  were located in the Oborniki Forest in the central-western part of the Wielkopolska Province in Poland. In all analysed forest habitats CO₂ emissions from the surface mineral horizon were measured. Additionally, such soil properties like: pH_H2O, organic carbon content, total nitrogen content and the C:N ratio were determined in the surface mineral horizon. Among analysed forest types the lowest pH_H2O in the surface mineral horizon was in the BFC forest habitat (3.51), then in the MFC habitat (3.79), and the highest was found in the soil of the LFC habitat (4.23). The highest content of organic carbon in the surface mineral horizon was found in the soil of the MFC habitat (13.4 g/kg), followed by LFC (10.7 g/kg) and BFC (6.94 g/kg). Soils in the MFC and BFC habitats showed the narrowest C:N ratio in surface mineral horizon (10:1 and 9:1, respectively). The soil in the LFC research area, due to the different composition of the litter (fresh mixed forest), was characterized by the widest C:N ratio in the surface mineral horizon (25:1). Obtained results showed that the BFC forest habitat, with the highest soil C-content, was characterized by the highest annual soil CO₂ emission (48.17 tCO₂/ha per year), soils on LFC (44,46 tCO₂/ha per year),  plot showed lower CO₂ emissions, while MFC (36,10 tCO₂/ha per year), soil had the lowest CO₂ emissions. The highest annual emissions from the clear-cut area were found on the LFC, indirect emissions on the MFC (51.61, 43.85 tCO₂/ha per year, respectively), and the lowest on the BFC (35.36 tCO₂/ha per year). The conducted research indicates that in surface mineral horizon the highest content of soil organic carbon depended on the type of forest habitat. Also, soil CO₂ emissions after clear-cutting were determined by the forest habitat type and correlated with the soil organic carbon content before clear-cutting. In the first year after clear-cut, the CO₂ emission value increased on the LFC and MFC on the type of forest habitat.

Keywords: forest habitats, CO₂ emissions, surface mineral horizon

How to cite
Dłużewski P., 2024. Evaluation of CO₂ emission and soil properties in selected forest habitats. 1st International Conference of Soil and Agriculture: Towards Soil Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICSA1.PP.05