Labile carbon addition affects soil organisms and N availability but not cellulose decomposition in clear-cut Norway spruce forests

Abstract

We assessed the effects of sucrose addition on the biological and chemical properties of organic soil in clear-cut Norway spruce forests managed with or without wood-ash fertilization and mechanical site preparation. Sucrose addition increased the abundances of enchytraeids and tardigrades and soil moisture percentage in the clear-cut areas. Sucrose also increased nematode abundance in the non-fertilized plots. Sucrose reduced the pool of waterextractable NH4-N in the soil in the first year, but increased it in the second year. Sucrose addition did not affect the decomposition rate of cellulose strips. The biomass of ground vegetation was not affected by sucrose. Carbohydrate addition seems to enhance N immobilization in clear-cut areas in the short term, and it is suggested that aims at reducing N loss from disturbed forest soil do not necessarily accelerate carbon loss from the forest ecosystem.