Disentangling the effects of parent material and litter input chemistry on molecular soil organic matter composition in converted forests in Western Europe

By storing carbon in the soil, forests contribute to climate change mitigation. Edaphic (soil-related) factors, such as soil pH, as well as tree species affect forest carbon cycles, but are difficult to disentangle. We studied how conversion of deciduous stands to mono-culture spruce plantations affected the soil organic matter (SOM) composition along a lithological gradient in the Mullerthal (Luxembourg) and Gaume (south-east Belgium) regions. Parent materials in these regions range from decalcified sands to calcareous marls. A twin plot setup of adjacent deciduous and coniferous stands on the same parent material was used to evaluate the effect of edaphic factors versus litter input differences on SOM composition and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Lignin and cutin/suberin molecular proxies were identified with thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM), to distinguish litter sources (coniferous vs deciduous and leaf litter vs roots) in the studied stands. In this study, SOC stocks were influenced more by parent material than by forest type. Lignin yield, composition and degradation state were influenced both by litter input chemistry and edaphic context. There appear to be important interaction effects between the two, as the relative importance of parent material and litter quality was site specific. We therefore advice that carbon stock models include data on both vegetation history as well as edaphic context.