Soil nutrient and vegetation response to ecological restoration in a coastal Douglas-fir plantation on Galiano Island, BC
Date
2010-08-31T21:28:00Z
Authors
Harrop-Archibald, Hilary
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Abstract
Much emphasis has been placed on the recovery and maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Although a number of studies have focused on the relationship between carbon sequestration and ecosystem dynamics, few have focused on the effects of management activities oriented towards biodiversity values on soil carbon and nitrogen pools. The dual goals of restoration for ecosystem structure and function versus restoration for soil carbon sequestration may not be mutually exclusive. This research evaluates the ability of restoration work to meet both of these goals using the restoration work done by the Galiano Conservancy Association in a Coastal Douglas-fir forest on Galiano Island, British Columbia as a case study. The restoration in District Lot 63 was successful in terms of increasing both floristic diversity and stand structure heterogeneity. Significant changes in soil carbon were observed in the forest floor, and significant changes in both soil carbon and nitrogen were observed in the top 15 cm of the mineral soil. As time from treatment increased, soil carbon and nitrogen approached, and in some cases surpassed, reference area levels. The results from this study indicate that the restoration on Galiano Island was successful in terms of increasing the biodiversity values of the stand and may have no large long-term effects on soil carbon or nitrogen pools.
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Keywords
Ecological restoration, Soil, Vegetation, British Columbia