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Zhihong Xu talks with
ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions about
this month's Fast Breaking Paper in the field of
Agricultural Sciences.
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Article Title: Soil carbon and nutrient pools,
microbial properties and gross nitrogen transformations in
adjacent natural forest and hoop pine plantations of
subtropical Australia
Authors: Xu,
ZH;Ward, S;Chen, CR;Blumfield, T;Prasolova, N;Liu,
JX
Journal: J SOILS SEDIMENTS, Volume: 8, Issue: 2, Page:
99-105, Year: APR 2008
* Griffith Univ, Ctr Forestry & Hort Res, Nathan, Qld
4111, Australia.
* Griffith Univ, Ctr Forestry & Hort Res, Nathan, Qld
4111, Australia.
(addresses have been truncated)
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Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
The paper reports a comprehensive study of both methods testing and
application in quantifying soil carbon and nutrient pools under different
forest management practices, which has not only local implications for
sustainable forest management but also the international significance of
carbon sequestration and cycling within the forest ecosystems of
subtropical and tropical environments.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper in
layman's terms?
"This has led us to undertake a
series of well-integrated studies in soil
microbial ecology..."
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This study has made significant contributions to the improved understanding
of long-term impacts of different land uses on soil carbon and nutrient
pools in adjacent natural forest and native hoop pine plantations of
subtropical Australia.
These research findings have major implications for developing sustainable
forest management practices to improve long-term soil fertility and forest
productivity as well as carbon sequestration in this subtropical region.
How did you become involved in this research, and were
there any problems along the way?
The decline of soil fertility and productivity in the second rotation of
native hoop pine plantations in South East Queensland, Australia, has been
considered to be the major limiting factors for developing sustainable
plantation management, but there was a lack of scientific evidence and
understanding in the key soil chemical and biological processes leading to
the soil fertility and productivity decline. Hence, this research topic has
both practical industry implications and scientific significance in the
underlying ecosystem processes.
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
This has led us to undertake a series of well-integrated studies in soil
microbial ecology—particularly functional microbial
diversity—and organic matter chemistry, as well as forest
ecophysiology, which focuses on biogeochemical cycles of carbon and
nutrients in response to local management practices and global climate
change.
Professor Zhihong Xu
Director, Environmental Futures Centre
School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences
Science, Environment, Engineering & Technology Group
Griffith University
Nathan, Australia
KEYWORDS: FOREST MANAGEMENT; HOOP PINE PLANTATIONS; PLANTATION
PRODUCTIVITY; SOIL MICROBIAL ACTIVITY; SOIL NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY;
SPATIAL VARIABILITY.
