Intensive forest management practic

Intensive forest management practices can alter forest soil organic matter (SOM) storage (kg C ha−1) due to
changes in the environmental variables that control SOM cycling and stability. Here we investigate whether
SOM losses are observed three decades following clearcut harvesting in a temperate forest ecosystem that
includes the deep mineral soil (to a depth of 50 cm). We compared SOM stored as carbon (C) and nitrogen (N)
in paired (35-year-old; 110-year-old reference) Acadian Forest sites that differed only in their time since harvest.
We found lower mineral soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage (27% and 26% respectively), and lower C and N
concentrations at the 35-year-old site comparedwith the 110-year-old reference site. Isotopic compositions of C
and N through the soil profile did not provide insight into the dominant mechanisms driving SOM losses at the
35-year-old site in this study. This is the second study to document decreases in mineral soil C and N storage
in a red spruce forest within the Acadian Forest Region three decades following clearcut harvesting