Three studies conducted in Alabama evaluated impacts associated with a clear cut harvest in three physiographic regions. Machine impacts were assessed via tabulation of soil disturbance classes, measurement of bulk density and soil strength, or a combination of the two. Soil disturbance classes were similar among all locations with untrafficked areas comprising approximately 20 percent of the h...

These effects on tree growth, which may persist for several decades (Hatchell et al. 1970, Butt 1987, Miller et al. 1996), may lead to shortand long-term reductions in tree growth and forest productivity. The level of soil disturbance will vary with soil texture, forest floor thickness, and soil water content at time of harvest (Miller and Sirois 1986, Corns 1988). In addition, machine type, si...

We evaluated the potential of soil microarthropods and enchytraeid worms to be useful as bioindicators of soil condition in forest, wetland, and agricultural ecosystems over a range of ecoregions. Selected mesofauna and soil characteristics in soil and litter in relatively undisturbed and disturbed examples of each of three ecosystems within each of three land resource regions were monitored ov...

1. Disturbance is assumed to be a major driver of plant community composition, but whether similar processes operate on associated soil microbial communities is less known. Based on the assumed trade-off between disturbance tolerance and competiveness, we hypothesize that a severe disturbance applied within a semi-natural grassland would shift the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal community to...

These effects on tree growth, which may persist for several decades (Hatchell et al. 1970, Butt 1987, Miller et al. 1996), may lead to shortand long-term reductions in tree growth and forest productivity. The level of soil disturbance will vary with soil texture, forest floor thickness, and soil water content at time of harvest (Miller and Sirois 1986, Corns 1988). In addition, machine type, si...

Rapid land-use change in recent decades in China and its impact on terrestrial biodiversity have been widely studied, particularly at local and regional scales. However, the effect of land-use change on the diversity of soils that support the terrestrial biological system has rarely been studied. Here, we report the first effort to assess the impact of land-use change on soil diversity for the ...

Can CSR theory, in conjunction with a recently proposed globally calibrated CSR ordination ("StrateFy"), using only three easily measured leaf traits (leaf area, specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content) predict the functional signature of herbaceous vegetation along experimentally manipulated gradients of soil fertility and disturbance? To determine this, we grew 37 herbaceous species in...