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The editorial discusses the role of managed forestry in climate change mitigation and adaptation, emphasizing the importance of forests in sequestering carbon and regulating water cycles. Managed forests can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to climate change through practices like reforestation and improved silvicultural techniques. However, challenges such as quantifying carbon sequestration and ensuring economic viability remain. The article suggests further research and innovation, including advanced modeling tools and exploring forest-based products, to enhance the effectiveness of managed forestry in addressing climate change. [Extracted from the article]

It was hypothesized that electromagnetic field (EMF) pretreatment of white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) seeds could increase the accumulation of non-essential, pollutant heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) in shoots. Seeds of white mustard were treated with either 60 or 120 mT of alternating EMF (50 Hz) for 1 minute and then grown in a Petri dish in the presence of Cd, in comparison to the control (seeds grown without EMF pretreatment). Biomass production and content of calcium (Ca) and Cd in seedling shoots were measured. The Cd content in shoots from the EMF-treated seeds was higher in both variants than in the control (by 73% and 78%, respectively; p < 0.05). In plants treated with 60 mT, the Ca content was slightly, but significantly, lower (3%) than in the control. EMF stimulation did not affect the biomass production. The results have shown potential benefits of this physical seed pretreatment method in the context of cadmium phytoextraction, but more research is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests contribute strongly to global carbon (C) sequestration and the exchange of greenhouse gases (GHG) between the soil and the atmosphere. Whilst the microbial activity of forest soils is a major determinant of net GHG exchange, this may be modified by the presence of litter through a range of mechanisms. Litter may act as a physical barrier modifying gas exchange, water movement/retention and temperature/irradiance fluctuations; provide a source of nutrients for microbes; enhance any priming effects, and facilitate macro-aggregate formation. Moreover, any effects are influenced by litter quality and regulated by tree species, climatic conditions (rainfall, temperature), and forest management (clear-cutting, fertilization, extensive deforestation). Based on climate change projections, the importance of the litter layer is likely to increase due to an litter increase and changes in quality. Future studies will therefore have to take into account the effects of litter on soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes for various types of forests globally, including the impact of climate change, insect infestation, and shifts in tree species composition, as well as a better understanding of its role in monoterpene production, which requires the integration of microbiological studies conducted on soils in different climatic zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although forest soils play an important role in the carbon cycle, the influence of topography has received little attention. Since the topographical gradient may affect CO2 emissions and C sequestration, the aims of the study were: (1) to identify the basic physicochemical and microbial parameters of the top, mid-slope, and bottom of a forest gully; (2) to carry out a quantitative assessment of CO2 emission from these soils incubated at different moisture conditions (9% and 12% v/v) and controlled temperature (25 °C); and (3) to evaluate the interdependence between the examined parameters. We analyzed the physicochemical (content of total N, organic C, pH, clay, silt, and sand) and microbial (enzymatic activity, basal respiration, and soil microbial biomass) parameters of the gully upper, mid-slope, and bottom soil. The Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) method was used to measure CO2 emitted from soils. The position in the forest gully had a significant effect on all soil variables with the gully bottom having the highest pH, C, N concentration, microbial biomass, catalase activity, and CO2 emissions. The sand content decreased as follows: top > bottom > mid-slope and the upper area had significantly lower clay content. Dehydrogenase activity was the lowest in the mid-slope, probably due to the lower pH values. All samples showed higher CO2 emissions at higher moisture conditions, and this decreased as follows: bottom > top > mid-slope. There was a positive correlation between soil CO2 emissions and soil microbial biomass, pH, C, and N concentration, and a positive relationship with catalase activity, suggesting that the activity of aerobic microorganisms was the main driver of soil respiration. Whilst the general applicability of these results to other gully systems is uncertain, the identification of the slope-related movement of water and inorganic/organic materials as a significant driver of location-dependent differences in soil respiration, may result in some commonality in the changes observed across different gully systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest soils have the potential to oxidize CH4 through methanotrophic activity. Forest ecosystems may thus be an important landscape element in mitigating greenhouse gases (GHGs), notably CH4. However, little is known on the ability of forest soils to consume CH4, and on the importance of CH4 sinks at the landscape scale. Within the scope of an FACCE ERA-GAS project (Managing and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration in different landscape mosaics; GHG-Manage), field and laboratory experiments were carried out to assess the CH4 uptake capability in soils of diverse European forests ecosystems, including afforestation, under different management interventions. The field experiments comprised of 10 different forest types (deciduous, coniferous, and mixed) with ages ranging from 11 to 90 years and percentage composition of tree species, and soil types in Poland. Gas measurements were done over 6 months at a monthly interval during summer and autumn 2018. The highest CH4 uptake (avg. 1.62 mg C m-2 day-1) occurred in Eutric Gleysol under 75 years old deciduous forest, while the lowest in Dystric Cambisol under the youngest deciduous forest (avg. 0.145 mg C m-2 day-1). In sandy soils, CH4 consumption was higher than in silty soils (about ≥ 1 and ≤ 0.7 mg C m-2 day-1, respectively), however it was seasonally variable - higher in summer than in autumn. Our results confirmed that all tested forest soils were a sink for atmospheric CH4; therefore, they can be used to offset agricultural GHG emissions at a farm to national levels. The information will be further used to identify optimal configurations of heterogeneous landscape elements and management practices that lead CH4 uptake, taking into consideration their economic impact. Research was partially conducted under the project financed by Polish National Centre for Research and Development within of ERA-NET CO-FUND ERA-GAS Programme (ERA-GAS/I/GHG-MANAGE/01/2018). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of soil degradation is a widely discussed one, mainly due to the ever-increasing demand for cultivated land in the world. The term "degraded soils" is not strictly defined and, depending on the source, may cover a wider or narrower range of soils with specific origins, history and characteristics.Soil as a three-phase system is by nature quite heterogeneous, so when designing any field experiment, both in the field and on soil material in laboratories, special attention is paid to the randomisation of plots, representative sampling and an appropriate number of measurement repetitions.Long-lasting soil tillage obviously results in soil homogenization, which allows to assume a relative homogeneity of plots while designing the experiment. That in turn makes it possible to address every tested treatment to untreated controls. But what if we are dealing with degraded, uncultivated soil? Can we treat such object in the same way as cultivated soil?The aim of this paper is to point out that assuming homogeneity of the field in experiment designing can be not fulfilled and in consequence cause the problems in the interpretation of the future results. We presented the variability of relatively a small area (1.25ha) of chemically degraded soil in the immediate vicinity of sulphur mines (Basznia Górna, south east Poland) where new, enriched microbiological fertilizers – as a recultivation treatment - are tested since beginning of 2018. Particle size distribution, dehydrogenase activity, microbial biomass and methanogenic activity of this soil were determined. While microbial biomass differences were insignificant, all other quantities showed statistically significant differences among tested variants. The presentation is financed by the National Centre for Research and Development under the program BIOSTRATEG3, contract number BIOSTRATEG3/347464/5/NCBR/2017 "BIO FERTIL" [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]