Oxidizable fractions of soil organic carbon in Caatinga forest submitted to different forest managements

Abstract

One of the main alternatives for the rational exploitation of the Caatinga biome’s natural resources is sustainable forest management. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and its fractions can be used to evaluate the conservation status of forest ecosystems after anthropic interventions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the short-term effect of different forest management practices on the distribution of SOC fractions in the Caatinga area located in Contendas do Sincorá National Forest (BA). Three forest management practices (clear cutting, selective cutting by diameter and selective cutting by species) were evaluated, using the unmanaged Caatinga as a control. Soil samples were collected at the 0-10cm depth. The SOC was fractionated into four fractions (F1’, F1, F2 and F3), adopting the chemical wet oxidation method based on increasing degrees of oxidation. The forest management caused a short-term change in the oxidizable fraction distribution of the SOC, which was reflected by a reduction of the most labile fractions.