Ecotone Dynamics and Stability from Soil Perspective: Forest-Agriculture Land Transition

Theodore Danso Marfo, Rahul Datta, Valerie Vranová and Adam Ekielski
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Theodore Danso Marfo: Department of Geology and Soil Science, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Rahul Datta: Department of Geology and Soil Science, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Valerie Vranová: Department of Geology and Soil Science, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Adam Ekielski: Department of Production Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland

Agriculture, 2019, vol. 9, issue 10, 1-10

Abstract: Topographic and edaphic gradients usually arrange ecotonal boundaries. Although the interrelationships between vegetation and edaphic factors are relevant in most types of ecotones, they are not adequately documented. The clearly defined forest-agriculture land ecotone at the Proklest experimental site of the Training Forest Enterprise (T.F.E), Masaryk Forest K?tiny, Czech Republic presents an opportunity to investigate these inter-relationships. Our aim was to determine ecotone effects reflected by changes in soil reaction and other soil physical properties across this clearly defined forest-agriculture land ecotone. We selected eleven sampling spots: four in the forest zone, four in the agriculture land, and three in the ecotone zone between the forest and agriculture land. Every month from April to November, soil samples were collected at a depth of 5 cm. All the soil samples collected were examined for minimal air capacity, actual and potential soil reaction, and maximum capillary water capacity. The forest soil was slightly more acidic when compared to the agriculture soil, with the ecotone zone recording the lowest pH value. The maximum capillary water capacity was higher in the forest region than in the agriculture land with a sharp decline in the ecotone zone where the lowest value was recorded. The minimum air capacity was much higher in the forest region than in the agriculture land. There was a marked decline in the ecotone region where the lowest value was observed. Our results highlight the importance of soil as a factor affecting the distribution of plant communities along ecotones.

Keywords: ecotone; biomes; maximum capillary water; actual and potential soil reaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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