This paper introduces studies of nutrient cycling in disturbed and undisturbed rain forest plots in the upper catchment of Birthday Creek, near Paluma, North Queensland. The catchment is underlain by granite and has soils of comparatively low fertility. Differences between unlogged plots and plots disturbed 25 years previously by selective logging are still apparent. Disturbed plots have soils with higher bulk densities and pH, lower CEC, kjeldahl nitrogen and available phosphorus concentrations, and changed species composition. The data suggest that recovery from selective logging is dependent on soil fertility and intensity of disturbance.
", "keywords": ["disturbance", "0106 biological sciences", "Australia", "selective logging", "15. Life on land", "tropical rain forest", "01 natural sciences", "FoR 0601 (Biochemistry and Cell Biology)", "north Queensland", "soil compaction", "soil nutrients", "FoR 0602 (Ecology)", "climate", "floristics"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266467400007409"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Tropical%20Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1017/s0266467400007409", "name": "item", "description": "10.1017/s0266467400007409", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1017/s0266467400007409"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "1993-08-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00656.x", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-24T16:18:34Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2003-07-30", "title": "Substantial Labile Carbon Stocks And Microbial Activity In Deeply Weathered Soils Below A Tropical Wet Forest", "description": "AbstractContrary to large areas in Amazonia of tropical moist forests with a pronounced dry season, tropical wet forests in Costa Rica do not depend on deep roots to maintain an evergreen forest canopy through the year. At our Costa Rican tropical wet forest sites, we found a large carbon stock in the subsoil of deeply weathered Oxisols, even though only 0.04\uffe2\uff80\uff930.2% of the measured root biomass (>2\uffe2\uff80\uff83mm diameter) to 3\uffe2\uff80\uff83m depth was below 2\uffe2\uff80\uff83m. In addition, we demonstrate that 20% or more of this deep soil carbon (depending on soil type) can be mobilized after forest clearing for pasture establishment. Microbial activity between 0.3 and 3\uffe2\uff80\uff83m depth contributed about 50% to the microbial activity in these soils, confirming the importance of the subsoil in C cycling. Depending on soil type, forest clearing for pasture establishment led from no change to a slight addition of carbon in the topsoil (0\uffe2\uff80\uff930.3\uffe2\uff80\uff83m depth). However, this effect was countered by a substantial loss of C stocks in the subsoil (1\uffe2\uff80\uff933\uffe2\uff80\uff83m depth). Our results show that large stocks of relatively labile carbon are not limited to areas with a prolonged dry season, but can also be found in deeply weathered soils below tropical wet forests. Forest clearing in such areas may produce unexpectedly high C losses from the subsoil.
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