Vegetation-based bioindication of humus forms in coniferous mountain forests

Anschlag, Kerstin; Tatti, Dylan; Hellwig, Niels; Sartori, Giacomo; Gobat, Jean-Michel; Broll, Gabriele (2017). Vegetation-based bioindication of humus forms in coniferous mountain forests Journal of Mountain Science, 14(4), pp. 662-673. Kexue Chubanshe,Science Press 10.1007/s11629-016-4290-y

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Humus forms, especially the occurrence and the thickness of the horizon of humified residues (OH), provide valuable information on site conditions. In mountain forest soils, humus forms show a high spatial variability and data on their spatial patterns is often scarce. Our aim was to test the applicability of various vegetation features as proxy for OH thickness. Subalpine coniferous forests dominated by Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. and Larix decidua Mill. were studied in the Province of Trento, Italian Alps, between ca. 900 and 2200 m a.s.l. Braun-Blanquet vegetation relevés and OH thickness were recorded at 152 plots. The vegetation parameters, tested for their suitability as indicators of OH thickness, encompassed mean Landolt indicator values of the herb layer (both unweighted and cover-weighted means) as well as parameters of vegetation structure (cover values of plant species groups) calculated from the relevés. To our knowledge, the predictive power of Landolt indicator values (LIVs) for humus forms had not been tested before. Correlations between OH thickness and mean LIVs were strongest for the soil reaction value, but indicator values for humus, nutrients, temperature and light were also significantly correlated with OH thickness. Generally, weighting with species cover reduced the indicator quality of mean LIVs for OH thickness. The strongest relationships between OH thickness and vegetation structure existed in the following indicators: the cover of forbs (excluding graminoids and ferns) and the cover of Ericaceae in the herb layer. Regression models predicting OH thickness based on vegetation structure had almost as much predictive power as models based on LIVs. We conclude that LIVs analysis can produce fairly reliable information regarding the thickness of the OH horizon and, thus, the humus form. If no relevé data are readily available, a field estimation of the cover values of certain easily distinguishable herb layer species groups is much faster than a vegetation survey with consecutive indicator value analysis, and might be a feasible way of quickly indicating the humus form.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Resource-efficient agricultural production systems School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Agriculture
Name:	Anschlag, Kerstin; Tatti, Dylan; Hellwig, Niels; Sartori, Giacomo; Gobat, Jean-Michel and Broll, Gabriele
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
ISSN:	1672-6316
Publisher:	Kexue Chubanshe,Science Press
Language:	English
Submitter:	Simon Lutz
Date Deposited:	19 Feb 2020 15:22
Last Modified:	19 Feb 2020 15:22
Publisher DOI:	10.1007/s11629-016-4290-y
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.8517
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/8517