Environmental benefits inferred from impact of reforestation of deforested creek bank on soil conditioning: a case study in Victoria, Australia

Information regarding changes in soil condition after reforestation may help in inferring environmental and ecosystem benefits. A case study was undertaken in Victoria State, Australia, to investigate the changes in soil condition after reforestation of a deforested creek bank to infer environmental...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agroforestry systems 2015-04, Vol.89 (2), p.345-355
Main Authors: Rasiah, Velu, Florentine, Singarayar, Dahlhaus, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Bulk density
Case studies
Creeks
Deforestation
Electrical conductivity
Electrical resistivity
Environmental impact
Forestry
Life Sciences
Organic carbon
Reforestation
Segments
Soil investigations
Soils
Strip
Total organic carbon
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Summary:Information regarding changes in soil condition after reforestation may help in inferring environmental and ecosystem benefits. A case study was undertaken in Victoria State, Australia, to investigate the changes in soil condition after reforestation of a deforested creek bank to infer environmental benefits. The study was conducted at four sites in a large farm. At each site a ~150 m strip of land that ran perpendicular to a creek from the bank to cropping area was selected. The results show that total organic carbon (TOC) and total mineral nitrogen (TN) in the cropped segment (CS) of a strip at a given site were significantly higher than in the corresponding reforested segment (RS) which in turn was higher than in the bare segment (BS) whilst the electrical conductivity (EC) and bulk density (BD) were in the order BS > RS > CS. Six years after reforestation, TOC and TN in the RS increased by 30 and 24 %, respectively, compared with 9 and 8 % for 3 years. The EC, BD, and pH decreased by 26, 14, 14 %, respectively, 6 years after reforestation. Creek bank reforestation associated improvements in TOC, TN, BD, EC, and pH may have positive impact on pollutant and salinity abatement.
ISSN:0167-4366
1572-9680
DOI:10.1007/s10457-014-9771-9