Investigation of SOM sequestration and storage in the Southern Transdanubian region of Hungary

Site factors determine the occurrence and growth of forest stands. The climate is one of the most important. In Hungary, several forest stands located near to the Xeric limit, where climate change is more sensitive. Therefore carbon-rich forests and their soils are being prioritized to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible. Our research aims to assess and compare the organic carbon stored in oak and beech forest ecosystems of different climate classes.

In the last period, we sampled 2 Beech, 11 Sessile oak and 13 Turkey oak forest stands to determine the amount of soil organic carbon stored in the soil.

The soils were collected by soil boring to 0-110 cm. Besides the soil sampling, the existing forest stand composition assessed on each stand near to sampling points.

Based on the analyses carried out in the 26 selected forest stands, the soils of the sites can be classified as Cambisols and Luvisols (WRB 2023). The soil pH showed slightly acidic to neutral (mean H2O = 6.7), and the texture can be determined as loam. The relative organic matter content (SOM) was 0.67% on average between 0-110 cm. It corresponds to ~8.2 t of carbon per hectare.

With the accelerated rate of climate change (drought), there is an increasing urgency to assess the status of ideal organic matter-rich soils and to develop adaptation strategies to increase the carbon stock.

This article was made in the frame of the project TKP2021-NKTA-43 which has been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary (successor: Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary) from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the TKP2021-NKTA funding scheme. This publication was supported by the project GINOP-2.3.3-15-2016-00039.