Inconsistent short-term effects of enhanced structural complexity on soil microbial properties across German forests
Publikation: Beiträge in Zeitschriften › Zeitschriftenaufsätze › Forschung › begutachtet
Standard
in: Applied Soil Ecology, Jahrgang 214, 106335, 10.2025.
Publikation: Beiträge in Zeitschriften › Zeitschriftenaufsätze › Forschung › begutachtet
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
T1 - Inconsistent short-term effects of enhanced structural complexity on soil microbial properties across German forests
AU - Schwarz, Rike
AU - Eisenhauer, Nico
AU - Ammer, Christian
AU - Bradler, Pia M.
AU - Decker, Orsi
AU - Delory, Benjamin M.
AU - Dietrich, Peter
AU - Fichtner, Andreas
AU - Huang, Yuanyuan
AU - Lettenmaier, Ludwig
AU - Junginger, Michael
AU - Mitesser, Oliver
AU - Müller, Jörg
AU - von Oheimb, Goddert
AU - Pierick, Kerstin
AU - Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael
AU - Cesarz, Simone
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
PY - 2025/10
Y1 - 2025/10
N2 - Structural and biotic homogenization can result from forestry practices lacking promotion of canopy gaps and deadwood. This can lead to biodiversity loss and impaired ecosystem functions. Enhancing structural complexity (ESC) has been proposed to counteract these effects, but its impact on soil properties remains insufficiently understood. Overall, we hypothesize that ESC enhances soil abiotic properties, their spatial variability, and microbial functioning, with effects modulated by environmental context and increasing over time. Data were collected from 148 patches (50 × 50 m) in eight beech forests across Germany. In half of the patches, structural complexity was enhanced by felling 30 % of the basal area of living trees through two spatial patterns—aggregated (one large gap) and distributed (small gaps)—combined with leaving or removing deadwood (stumps, logs, snags). The other half served as controls, representing managed, homogeneous production forests. Soil carbon (C) %, nitrogen (N) %, and C:N ratio increased near deadwood. Soil microbial biomass and activity were significantly affected in three of eight forest sites, effects ranging from −30 % to +62 %. Higher soil water content was associated with increased microbial biomass, and greater understorey biomass correlated with a lower microbial respiratory quotient. However, no temporal trends were observed over five years. Although soil properties showed resistance to structural interventions, site-specific effects underline the importance of soil moisture and the understorey vegetation for microbial functioning. Further research building on our results is needed to develop practical forest management strategies to clarify how structural complexity may support soil functioning and ecosystem resilience.
AB - Structural and biotic homogenization can result from forestry practices lacking promotion of canopy gaps and deadwood. This can lead to biodiversity loss and impaired ecosystem functions. Enhancing structural complexity (ESC) has been proposed to counteract these effects, but its impact on soil properties remains insufficiently understood. Overall, we hypothesize that ESC enhances soil abiotic properties, their spatial variability, and microbial functioning, with effects modulated by environmental context and increasing over time. Data were collected from 148 patches (50 × 50 m) in eight beech forests across Germany. In half of the patches, structural complexity was enhanced by felling 30 % of the basal area of living trees through two spatial patterns—aggregated (one large gap) and distributed (small gaps)—combined with leaving or removing deadwood (stumps, logs, snags). The other half served as controls, representing managed, homogeneous production forests. Soil carbon (C) %, nitrogen (N) %, and C:N ratio increased near deadwood. Soil microbial biomass and activity were significantly affected in three of eight forest sites, effects ranging from −30 % to +62 %. Higher soil water content was associated with increased microbial biomass, and greater understorey biomass correlated with a lower microbial respiratory quotient. However, no temporal trends were observed over five years. Although soil properties showed resistance to structural interventions, site-specific effects underline the importance of soil moisture and the understorey vegetation for microbial functioning. Further research building on our results is needed to develop practical forest management strategies to clarify how structural complexity may support soil functioning and ecosystem resilience.
KW - BETA-FOR
KW - Forest soil
KW - Mechanistic context dependency
KW - Soil ecosystem functioning
KW - Sustainable forestry
KW - Biology
KW - Ecosystems Research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105011061110&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106335
DO - 10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106335
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:105011061110
VL - 214
JO - Applied Soil Ecology
JF - Applied Soil Ecology
SN - 0929-1393
M1 - 106335
ER -