Forest Expansion and Soil Carbon Changes in the Loess Hills of Eastern South Dakota
| Autor: | Craig N. Spencer, Jennifer D. Onberg, Steven L. Matzner, Jason Smalley, Matthew Bukrey, Mark Steck, Michael E. Chapman |
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| Rok vydání: | 2009 |
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| Zdroj: | The American Midland Naturalist. 161:273-285 |
| ISSN: | 1938-4238 0003-0031 |
| DOI: | 10.1674/0003-0031-161.2.273 |
| Popis: | We evaluated the status of remnant prairie patches in the Loess Hills of southeastern South Dakota using three parallel approaches. Aerial photograph analysis, vegetation surveys and stable carbon isotope analysis of soil organic matter all yielded evidence of woody plant encroachment. Time series analysis of aerial photos indicated that forest cover expanded by 37.5% between 1941 and 2000. Vegetation surveys revealed several distinct community types ranging from forested ravines supporting basswood, American elm and black walnut trees to upland prairie remnants and oak savannas that now include encroaching eastern red cedar trees, and/or a dense understory of prickly ash, ironwood and other woodland species moving up from the ravines. Finally, carbon isotope values (δ13C) in soil cores decreased as much as 5–7‰ towards the soil surface consistent with increased prevalence of C3 forest species over C4 prairie species in recent years. One consequence of forest encroachment appears to be an increas... |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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