Dynamics and cycling of boron, copper, and zinc in forest ecosystem integrated with residue management and the carbon transformations: consequences for the sustainability of forest productivity

Abstract

There is a growing interest of the lumber market in the use of forest residues (e.g., stumps, harvest residues, and litter) for bioenergy production. However, more intensive management can result in the export of biomass and nutrients from the cultivation area, with the potential to cause erosive processes, reduction of biodiversity and the resilience of this environment, with negative impacts on nutrient cycling, on soil quality (QS ) and ecosystem services (SE), negatively affecting the sustainability of forest productivity. The hypotheses of this study, therefore, are: (i) the removal of residues from the cultivation area has negative implications for nutrient cycling, for example, it reduces the stock of C and microbial activity in the soil, consequently, the sustainability of forest productivity in short time; and (ii) the availability and cycling of B, Cu and Zn in forest plantations (a function of the dynamics and quality of organic matter, i.e., C transformations in the soil-plant system) are integrated into the contribution and maintenance of residue in the cultivation area, in addition to fertilization with micronutrients. To answer these hypotheses, forest residue management and fertilization of B, Cu and Zn will be evaluated on soil fertility (physical, chemical, and biological fertility), on the dynamics and cycling of micronutrients in the soil-plant system, and on forest productivity. The study will be carried in a Eucalyptus grandis plantation experiment, in a randomized block design, with seven treatments and four replications (blocks). The results of this research will elucidate the importance of maintaining residues in the soil, through the dynamics and cycling of B, Cu and Zn associated with C transformations in the soil-plant system, as well as improving the quality of organic matter, as a function of soil management. fertilizing. Correlations of specific groups of soil microorganisms associated with cycling (C transformations) and availability of micronutrients can also be glimpsed/characterized; in addition to the identification of the soil microbial community, after forest residue management operations.