Soil Phosphorus Gains and Losses with Afforestation: A Meta-analysis

Abstract:

Afforestation, the planting of trees on previously non-forested land, is commonly practiced around the world to provide wood, reduce erosion, and restore degraded agricultural land. Although afforestation has the potential to meet these objectives while increasing carbon uptake, its net impact on the soil depends on environmental conditions and land-use history. Availability of vital plant nutrients, such as phosphorus (P), may be altered by afforestation, but prior work has largely focused on soil carbon, and changes in soil P had not been quantitatively reviewed. We conducted a literature meta-analysis of changes in total and plant-available soil P with afforestation, compiling 49 studies representing 186 independent forest stands on five continents. Over the full dataset, mean concentration of plant-available phosphorus (mg kg^-1 soil) increased by 22.7% with afforestation (bootstrapped 95% confidence interval = [15.1%, 30.7%]), while mean concentration of total phosphorus decreased by 13.5% (95% CI = [-18.4%, -8.6%]). These data reflect trends in upper mineral soil horizons, with sampling depths clustered around 20 cm and few studies reporting data below 50 cm. Differences in prior land use partially explain the substantial variation in effect size, with larger increases in available P and smaller decreases in total P when trees were planted on degraded soils. Trends in both available and total P were also enhanced with increasing time since afforestation, suggesting that changes in soil P concentrations are driven by cumulative processes rather than site preparation and planting. Our meta-analysis suggests that 1. afforestation can transform phosphorus into more plant-accessible forms, while potentially depleting total soil stocks of P, and 2. land-use history, more than climate or species planted, determines the effects of afforestation on soils’ ability to meet the nutrient needs of vegetation.