Characteristics of the soils in the boreal and deciduous forests of Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

• Main Author: Lisowski, Alicia Marie.
• Other Authors: Advisers: Michael E. Konen; David Goldblum; Lesley Rigg.
• Language: unknown
• Published: Northern Illinois University.Geography. 2010
• Subjects: Geography; Environmental Studies; Agriculture; Soil Science; Forest soils Ontario Lake Superior Provincial Park Analysis; Forest ecology Ontario Lake Superior Provincial Park; Taiga ecology Ontario Lake Superior Provincial Park; Ecotones Ontario Lake Superior Provincial Park; Lake Superior Provincial Park (Ont.); Canada; Park Lake; taiga
• Online Access: http://commons.lib.niu.edu/handle/10843/12477; http://hdl.handle.net/10843/12477

Sorry, the full text of this article is not available in Huskie Commons. Please click on the alternative location to access it. 150 p. Two ecosystems that sequester substantial amounts of soil organic carbon are boreal and deciduous forests of the northern hemisphere. In Lake Superior Provincial Park (LSPP), Ontario, Canada, the northern limit of the deciduous forest meets the southern limit of the boreal forest. Currently the soil characteristics of the boreal and deciduous forests in LSPP are unknown but are important for understanding climate warming impacts on soil organic carbon storage in the future. This study characterizes the forest soils based on organic carbon storage, nitrogen storage, soil texture, soil pH, and soil nutrient content (Ca, Mg, K, and Na). The results of this study show the boreal forest soils store significantly more organic carbon and have significantly lower nitrogen content than deciduous forest soils. Texture of the boreal forest soils was sandy loam, whereas deciduous forest soil was sandy loams in the upper horizons and silt loams in lower horizons. There was no difference in soil pH between boreal and deciduous forest soils. Soil nutrient content was higher in boreal forest soils than deciduous forest soil. Future climate change will allow deciduous forests to migrate northward into boreal forest stands such that the boreal forest soil may slowly transition to the type found in the deciduous forest soils today. The transition from boreal to deciduous forest has the potential to release organic carbon from the soil, creating a positive feedback with the organic carbon cycle. It is important to understand soil dynamics along the boreal-deciduous ecotone to gain better understanding of potential impacts on soil in the future.