Project: Decomposition, respiration, and nitrogen mineralization in response to forest thinning - a Tranemåla perspective
This study investigates the short-term effects of forest thinning on soil biogeochemical processes, focusing on decomposition, microbial respiration, and nitrogen cycling in pine-spruce stands managed under continuous cover forestry at the Tranemåla site. By comparing a recently thinned and an unthinned stand, researchers will use litterbags, soil respiration measurements, and nutrient analyses during the 2025 and 2026 growing seasons to assess initial changes in decomposition rates and nutrient dynamics.
Project information
Project manager
Mehrdad Zarafshar
Other project members
Johan Bergh, Ann-Mari Fransson, Linnaeus University, Yahya Kooch, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran
Participating organizations
Linnaeus University
Financier
Tranemåla
Timetable
1 July 2025–01 January 2027
Subject
Forestry and wood technology (Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, Faculty of Technology)
Research group
Forest Ecology and Ecophysiology
Knowledge Environment
Green Sustainable Development
More about the project
In this study, we are exploring how thinning the forest—removing some trees but keeping the forest cover—affects the health of the soil. By comparing a thinned and an untouched pine-spruce forest in Tranemåla, we’ll track how quickly leaves break down and how active the soil life is, collecting data during the summers of 2025 and 2026 to see how nutrients like nitrogen are cycling in the early months after thinning.
The project is part of the research in the Forest Ecology and Ecophysiology research group and the Linnaeus Knowledge Environment: Green Sustainable Development.
