Soil carbon storage in near-natural beech forest - soil moisture regime and deadwood as the main controls in a changing climate

Near-natural forests should have a positive effect on total carbon (C) storage in comparison to managed forests. Currently, dramatic changes in the soil moisture regime are ongoing. This includes extended and severe droughts and extreme rain events with unknown impacts on the C storage capacity.

Interactions between available soil water, deadwood, living trees with their rooting systems, and soil C storage are poorly understood under the rapidly changing environmental conditions with increasing frequency of droughts and heavy rainfall events.

Therefore, our recently started project is located in a near-natural beech forest in the north of Saxony, in the Dübener Heide. We will combine long-term integrated monitoring of important soil- and stand parameters with field experiments, state-of-the-art analytical methods in the laboratory and modeling approaches.

Alina Azekenova

Alina Azekenova M.Sc.

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Institute of Soil Science and Site Ecology

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Judeich-Bau, 2.39 Pienner Straße 19

01737 Tharandt

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