Canopy gap impacts on soil organic carbon and nutrient dynamic: A meta-analysis

It is well known that increased extreme climate events in many regions and the diversification requirements of forestry practices had promoted the canopy gap to be a hot research topic to explore the response of forest ecosystems to small disturbances. Meanwhile, numerous studies have explored the effects of canopy gap disturbance on soil carbon content and nutrient availability. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis with data extraction from 52 published articles. Our analysis showed that the canopy gap reduced soil carbon content and enhanced soil nutrient availability across different forest types. We also explored the change trends of the canopy gap effect along with climate changes, including temperature, precipitation, and UV radiation, which may be served as the future guideline for the forest carbon sink accounting.

众所周知，全球多地极端气候事件频发，加之林业经营需求日益多元，林冠间隙（canopy gap）已成为探究森林生态系统对小型干扰响应的热点研究方向。与此同时，诸多研究已围绕林冠间隙干扰对土壤碳含量与养分有效性的影响展开了系统探讨。本研究整合52篇已发表文献的数据开展荟萃分析（meta-analysis），结果显示：在不同森林类型中，林冠间隙均会降低土壤碳含量，同时提升土壤养分有效性。此外，本研究还分析了林冠间隙效应随温度、降水、紫外（UV）辐射等气候变化因子的变化趋势，该结果可为未来森林碳汇核算提供重要参考依据。