Carbon amendments are known to influence microbial activity
and soil nutrient availability. A study
was conducted to characterize the effects of different levels of post-harvest
organic matter retention on microbial cycling of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P)
and carbon (C) in a loblolly pine plantation clearcut in 2004. Field treatments included: control (25 Mg ha
-1
forest floor), raked (25 Mg ha
-1 forest floor removed), double
forest floor (25 Mg ha
-1 forest floor added), and two mulched
treatments (25 and 50 Mg ha
-1 of logging debris). Soil samples were collected from three
depths (0-20, 20-40, 40-60 cm) in May, July and October of 2006, and
assessments on these samples included determinations of: microbial biomass N,
P, and C, extractable N and P, microbial resource limitations, and soil labile
organic carbon pools. To date, results
from these analyses have shown that the plots treated with two levels of
mulched logging debris have significantly higher microbial biomass C than the
other treatments. These initial results
suggest that the management of post harvest forest floor and logging debris can
significantly influence soil microbial activity in loblolly pine plantations.