Managed and Unmanaged Swiss Forests

Soil samples were collected from 9 locations across Switzerland in the summer of 2022. The forests cover various regions of Switzerland, including the Jura, lowland, and pre-alps. At each forest location, 10 composite samples from the forest reserve and 10 composite samples from the managed forest were collected from surface soil (top 10 cm) within an area of 100m2. In the forest reserves, growth is unmanaged, left to natural development, and dead wood is left on the forest floor. In the managed forests, where wood is commercially exploited, tree thinning practices are conducted (no clear-cut practices), leaving no dead wood on the forest floor. Ten replicated sites were sampled in each forest, for a total of 180 samples. Each composite sample was constituted of surface soil (0-10 cm) collected in 9 pooled sub-sites within a 10 m radius circle.