Soil solution chemistry at one mountain beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) CONECOFOR plot, 1999 to 2005

Abstract

Soil solution monitoring aims to understand various temporal scales of soil processes. The first eight years of observation in ABR1 Level II site have brought significant elements of understanding about the shorter temporal scales. It is suggested that certain solutes, regularly produced by forest floor microbial processes, are transferred to the highly mobile portion of the soil solution by a non linear process, producing irregular pulses and creating a strong high frequency component. Seasonal processes remain nonetheless detectable after simple and rough filtering. A multi-year trend of diminished nitrate mineralization and increased pH of forest floor solutions is possible. It is estimated that much more accurate analysis will be possible in a relatively short time span of further monitoring.

Keywords

• beech forest
• soil solution
• trends.