Variation in soil organic carbon and thickness of soil horizons within a boreal forest stand – effect of trees and implications for sampling.

Abstract

Spatial variation in the density of soil organic carbon (kg/m) and the thickness of soil horizons (F/H, E) were investigated in a 6 m x 8 m area in Scots pine ( L.) stand in Southern Finland for designing an effective sampling for the C density and studying the effect of trees on the variation. The horizon thickness of the podzolized soil were measured on a total of 126 soil cores (50 cm deep) and the C density of the organic F/H and 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm and 20–40 cm mineral soil layers was analysed.2Pinus sylvestris