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Are soils under monodominant Gilbertiodendron dewevrei and under adjacent mixed forests similar? A case study in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2018

Michel Lokonda ,
Vincent Freycon ,
Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury  and
Ferdinand Kombele
Michel Lokonda*
Affiliation:
Institut Facultaire des sciences agronomiques de Yangambi, BP 1232 Kisangani, RD Congo
Vincent Freycon
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, F-34398 Montpellier, France Forêts et Sociétés, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, F-34398 Montpellier, France Forêts et Sociétés, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
Ferdinand Kombele
Affiliation:
Institut Facultaire des sciences agronomiques de Yangambi, BP 1232 Kisangani, RD Congo
*
*Corresponding author. Email: lokondamichel@yahoo.fr
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Abstract:

Soil has been proposed as a driver explaining the development of monodominant forests in the tropics, for example, Gilbertiodendron dewevrei forests (GDF) in central Africa. The aim of this study was to compare the physical and chemical properties of soils under GDF with those under an adjacent mixed forest (AMF), while controlling for topography. To this end, we set up sixteen 0.25-ha plots according to forest type and topography (plateau vs. bottomland), in the Yoko forest reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo. In each plot, we measured litter thickness and collected a total of 80 soil samples at depths of 0–5, 5–10, 10–20, 20–40 and 120–150 cm, for standard physical and chemical analyses. When controlling for topography and soil texture, we found that most of the chemical properties of soils under GDF did not differ from those of soils under AMF, particularly acidity, cation concentration, total N and the C:N ratio. The litter layer was 2.3 times thicker under GDF than under AMF stands, and, for a given texture, soils under GDF had a slightly higher organic C concentration in the 0–5 cm soil layer. This study suggests that G. dewevrei stands modify organic matter dynamics, which may be important in maintaining its monodominance.

Keywords

Central AfricacarbonC:N ratioectomycorrhizal fungiLimbalilitternitrogensoil texturetopographytropical
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , May 2018 , pp. 176 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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