Abstract

The litter layer is an important component of forest ecosystems, although little is known about the differences in litter characteristics and hydrological properties of unmanaged, overgrown broadleaved and coniferous mixed forests in the subtropical and temperate zones. This study was carried out in a naturally generated broadleaved and coniferous mixed forest at the Qinling National Forest Ecosystem Research Station, Shaanxi Province, China. We quantified the litter thickness, mass, and its hydrological properties in evergreen pine (Pinus tabulaeformis) stands and deciduous oak (Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata) stands through in situ surveys and laboratory immersion experiments. The thickness of the litter layer for P. tabulaeformis averaged 9.3 ± 2.8 cm, and it was not significantly different from that detected in the Q. aliena stand (8.3 ± 3.6 cm). The total mass of the litter layer for P. tabulaeformis, 27.94 ± 9.81 Mg ha^-1, was significantly higher than the total mass of 16.04 ± 3.60 Mg ha^-1 found for Q. aliena. The mass of the semi-decomposed, fermented litter (OF) layer was significantly higher than that of the non-decomposed litter (OL) layer, irrespective of species. The rate of water absorption by dry litter was the highest at the onset of the immersion experiment and decreased exponentially with time. The water-holding capacity (W_m) and water-interception capacity (W_i) of the OF layer were higher than the OL layer for both forest stands. The W_m and W_i for the P. tabulaeformis stand were higher than those for the Q. aliena stand at our study sites. The higher W_m and W_i for P. tabulaeformis may be more effective in ameliorating the splash impact from high-intensity storms to improve water quality, while relatively lower W_m and W_i for Q. aliena may be considered favorable for augmenting water yield. Forest resource managers should consider those differences along with the other components of the water budget when making management decisions.

  Keywords

---

Water Conservation Forest, Hydrological Properties, Forest Succession

Authors’ Info

Paper Info

Citation

Chen S, Cao T, Tanaka N, Gao T, Zhu L, Zou CB (2018). Hydrological properties of litter layers in mixed forests in Mt. Qinling, China. iForest 11: 243-250. - doi: 10.3832/ifor2535-011

Academic Editor

Giorgio Alberti

Paper history

Copyright Information

© SISEF - The Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology 2018

  Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Web Metrics

Citation Metrics

Article Citations

Article citations are based on data periodically collected from the Clarivate Web of Science web site
(last update: Feb 2023)

Total number of cites (since 2018): 6
Average cites per year: 1.00

Articles citing this article

List of the papers citing this article based on CrossRef Cited-by.

References

Related Content

Soil water deficit as a tool to measure water stress and inform silvicultural management in the Cape Forest Regions, South Africa
Scheepers GP, Du Toit B
Vol. 13, pp. 473-481 (online: Dec 2020)

Soil fauna communities and microbial activities response to litter and soil properties under degraded and restored forests of Hyrcania
Bazyari M, Etemad V, Kooch Y, Shirvany A
Vol. 14, pp. 490-498 (online: Dec 2021)

Hydrological simulation of a small forested catchment under different land use and forest management
Oliveira LT, Cecílio RA, Zanetti SS, Loos RA, Bressiani DA, Srinivasan R
Vol. 13, pp. 301-308 (online: Aug 2020)

Evaluation of hydrological and erosive effects at the basin scale in relation to the severity of forest fires
Coschignano G, Nicolaci A, Ferrari E, Cruscomagno F, Iovino F
Vol. 12, pp. 427-434 (online: Oct 2019)

Effect of size and surrounding forest vegetation on chemical properties of soil in forest gaps
Özcan M, Gökbulak F
Vol. 8, pp. 67-72 (online: Feb 2015)

Influences of forest gaps on soil physico-chemical and biological properties in an oriental beech (Fagus orientalis L.) stand of Hyrcanian forest, north of Iran
Amolikondori A, Vajari KA, Feizian M, Di Iorio A
Vol. 13, pp. 124-129 (online: Apr 2020)

Soil stoichiometry modulates effects of shrub encroachment on soil carbon concentration and stock in a subalpine grassland
Ding L, Wang P, Zhang W, Zhang Y, Li S, Wei X, Chen X, Zhang Y, Yang F
Vol. 13, pp. 65-72 (online: Feb 2020)

Spatial heterogeneity of soil respiration in a seasonal rainforest with complex terrain
Song Q-H, Tan Z-H, Zhang Y-P, Cao M, Sha L-Q, Tang Y, Liang N-S, Schaefer D, Zhao J-F, Zhao J-B, Zhang X, Yu L, Deng X-B
Vol. 6, pp. 65-72 (online: Apr 2013)

Wood-soil interactions in soil bioengineering slope stabilization works
Moscatelli MC, Romagnoli M, Cenfi S, Lagomarsino A, Di Tizio A, Spina S, Grego S
Vol. 2, pp. 187-191 (online: Oct 2009)

Soil respiration along an altitudinal gradient in a subalpine secondary forest in China
Luo S, Liu G, Li Z, Hu C, Gong L, Wang M, Hu H
Vol. 8, pp. 526-532 (online: Aug 2015)