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Journal article
The University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study: effects of forest vegetation on light availability and soil processes
Environmental monitoring and assessment, Vol.196(2), p.140
01/11/2024
PMID: 38206437
Web of Science ID: WOS:001141562400001
Abstract
College and university campuses with a notable arboreal component provide unique opportunities for carrying out ecological research. The University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study (UWF CES) was established in 2019 as interconnected research to take advantage of the extensive arborescent nature of the UWF campus, particularly concerning longleaf pine (Pinus palustris). One of these investigations established permanent plots in forested sites of two contrasting types, one dominated by longleaf pine (“pine site”) and the other dominated by hardwoods (‘hardwood site’). This study used these plots to examine the influence of forest vegetation on light availability and soil processes. Light was measured as photosynthetically active radiation (and expressed as photon flux density—PFD) with a handheld meter in each plot. Soil was sampled to 5 cm in each plot; texture was measured with the hydrometer method. Identical sampling methods were carried out in a persistent canopy opening to assess light and soil conditions under maximum solar radiation. Mean PFD was ~4× higher in pine stands than in hardwood stands; PFD was 12.8 and 3.5% of full light in the pine and hardwood stands, respectively. All soils were dominated by coarse-textured sands, but silt was significantly higher in pine stand soil and higher still in the canopy opening. Among forest stand plots, sand was negatively related to PFD, whereas clay was positively related to PFD. Across the three sites, silt was positively related to PFD. These relationships are consistent with the importance of solar radiation as one of many drivers of soil weathering.
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Details
- Title
- The University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study: effects of forest vegetation on light availability and soil processes
- Publication Details
- Environmental monitoring and assessment, Vol.196(2), p.140
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024
- Identifiers
- WOS:001141562400001; 99380495240406600
- Academic Unit
- Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering ; Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Language
- English