Are soil characteristics and understorey composition controlled by forest management?

Data from 30 plots of Castanea sativa Miller stands were analysed to study the relationships among soil, understorey composition and management. Floristic cover percentage and edaphic features were separately studied by means of PCA. After that, correlations between floristic and edaphic axes were carried out by means of Pearson product-moment correlation; and finally, correlations between floristic or edaphic axes and silvicultural characteristics were also calculated. PCA of soil variables showed differences between stands located on granitic rocks and floristic PCA showed a clear difference between managements. There were correlations between floristic axes and soil or silvicultural measurements, while correlations between soil axes and silvicultural measurements were not significant. The results indicated there were no general trends between soil properties and forest management probably due to deepness and development of soils. The management is the first source of variation on understorey composition: high forests were poorer than coppice stands. There were also differences within coppice stands related to the type of post-harvest practice. Finally temporal changes in nutrient rates were related to the understorey composition, as well. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.