Degraded soils mean tropical forests may never fully recover from logging

[Judi Lynn]

Continually logging and re-growing tropical forests to supply timber is reducing the levels of vital nutrients in the soil, which may limit future forest growth and recovery, a new study suggests. This raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of logging in the tropics.

BY
PRANJAL MEHAR
DECEMBER 17, 2019

Logging, pervasive across the lowland tropics, affects millions of hectares of forest, yet its influence on nutrient cycling remains poorly understood. One of the theories suggests that logging affects P cycling because this scarce nutrient is removed in extracted timber and eroded soil, leading to shifts in ecosystem functioning and community composition.

A new study by Cambridge University suggests that continually logging and re-growing tropical woods to supply timber is diminishing the degrees of imperative supplements in the soil. According to scientists, this continual growth may limit forest growth in the future.

Scientists observed that the trees, which are recovering tropical forests- have more robust leaves and lower concentrations of the nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen. Both ingredients are essential for plant and tree growth. Meanwhile, multiple cycles of logging and recovery irreversibly remove phosphorus from the forest system and are pushing the nutrient content towards ecological limits.

Soil absorbs nutrients including phosphorous, from rocks and later taken up by trees via their roots. Cutting down the trees leads these nutrients through soil erosion, gas emissions, and removal of nutrients in the extracted timber.

More:
https://www.techexplorist.com/degraded-soils-tropical-forests-never-fully-recover-logging/28568/?utm_source=BNA&utm_medium=BNA&utm_campaign=BNA