Wilcke, W.; Günter, S.; Alt, F.; Geißler, C.; Boy, J.; Knuth, J.; Oelmann, Y.; Weber, M.; Valarezo, C. & Mosandl, R. (2009): <b>Response of water and nutrient fluxes to improvement fellings in a tropical montane forest in Ecuador</b>. <i>Forest Ecology and Management</i> <b>257</b>, 1292-1304.
Resource Description
Title:
Response of water and nutrient fluxes to improvement fellings in a tropical montane forest in Ecuador
Short Name:
Improvement felling
FOR816dw ID:
358
Publication Date:
2009-01-31
License and Usage Rights:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Resource Owner(s):
Individual:
Wolfgang Wilcke
Contact:
email:
wolfgang.wilcke <at> kit.edu
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Institute of Geography and Geoecology
Reinhard-Baumeister-Platz 1
76131 Karlsruhe
Baden-Württemberg
Germany
Individual:
Sven Günter
Contact:
email:
sven_gunter <at> yahoo.de
Dep. of Ecology and Ecosystem Management
Institute of Silviculture
Am Hochanger 13
Technische Universität München
85354 Freising
Germany
Individual:
Fabian Alt
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> tropicalmountainforest.com
Individual:
Christiane Geißler
Contact:
email:
webmaster <at> tropicalmountainforest.org
Individual:
Jens Boy
Contact:
email:
boy <at> ifbk.uni-hannover.de
D-30419 Hannover
Germany
email:
mosandl <at> forst.tu-muenchen.de
Dep. of Ecology and Ecosystem Management
Technische Universität München
Institute of Silviculture
Am Hochanger 13
85354 Freising
Germany
Abstract:
Management of natural forestsmight be one option to reduce the high deforestation rate in Ecuador. We therefore evaluated the response of water and nutrient cycles in a natural tropical montane forest to improvement fellings with the aim of favoring economically valuable target trees which will later be harvested with additional ecosystem impacts not considered here. The study was conducted at ca. 1900?2200 m above sea level in the south Ecuadorian Andes on the east-exposed slope of the east cordillera. In June 2004, one of two paired ca. 10-ha large catchments was thinned by felling 10.2% of the initial basal area (dbh longer than 10 cm) on 30% of the catchment. The stems remained in situ. We measured ecosystem fluxes from rainfall via throughfall and stemflow to soil solution (litter leachate, soil solution at 15 and 30 cm depth) and stream flow between May 2004 and<br/>
May 2005. After the fellings, soil solutions were extracted from the gaps created by the felled trees and the forest next to the gaps. We determined aboveground water fluxes by direct measurement and soil water fluxes with a budget approach. In the solutions, we measured concentrations of NH4-N, NO3-N, total dissolved N, PO4-P, total dissolved P, Ca, Mg, K, Na, and Cl-. Fluxes were calculated as volumeweighted mean (vwm) concentrations times water fluxes. Dry deposition was estimated using chloride as inert tracer. The fellings increased concentrations of N, K, Ca, and Mg in the organic layer of the resulting gaps<br/>
compared with the forest next to the gaps (vwm concentrations of N: 6.4 mg/l in the forest next to the gap/8.7 mg/l in the gaps, K: 9.8/11, Mg: 1.8/3.0, Ca: 3.4/5.8). Lower nutrient concentrations and fluxes in the mineral soil of the gaps than in forest next to the gaps suggested that these nutrientswere taken up by ground vegetation and target trees. The paired modified and undisturbed catchments had similar water and nutrient budgets. The fellings did not have a significant impact on the water and nutrient budget at the catchment scale.
Literature type specific fields:
ARTICLE
Journal:
Forest Ecology and Management
Volume:
257
Page Range:
1292-1304
Publisher:
Elsevier
Metadata Provider:
Individual:
Wolfgang Wilcke
Contact:
email:
wolfgang.wilcke <at> kit.edu
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Institute of Geography and Geoecology
Reinhard-Baumeister-Platz 1
76131 Karlsruhe
Baden-Württemberg
Germany
