I am working in the forest of central himalayas. I have already estimated soil organic matter (SOM) of my study sites in the month of December. Is there any difference in SOM in different seasons. Do i need to estimate soil organic matter seasonally or a one time measurement is enough to predict SOM of the sites?
Also try to study the changes in dehydrogenase activity , structural and functional changes in soil microbial communities to link changes in soil organic matter with these parameters , in addition to nutrient pool.
Binay , there could be possibility in seasonal changes in soil organic matter , especially in forest soils , where soil microbial activity attains its peak during monsoon period , coinciding with rains.
Sure , it will be in fitness of your study to do it , since there will be seasonal change in microbial activity . I will try to send to you some papers.
Also try to study the changes in dehydrogenase activity , structural and functional changes in soil microbial communities to link changes in soil organic matter with these parameters , in addition to nutrient pool.
i am doing Soil Organic Carbon now. i am taking SOC in single observation for my objectives. But to know the changes need to analysis for three seasons ie pre-monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon will be useful
Dear Binay:
Dependent on the soil horizon of interest, it may be very difficult to detect changes in soil organic matter in your system, particularly seasonally. In colder climates, SOM can build to such a level that small changes are undetectable unless a prohibitive amount of samples are processed. One possibility is to look at the natural variability across the landscape and perform a sensitivity analysis to see how many replicate samples you would need to detect significant change.
-B
Dr.Bryan Dail,good suggestions.If the study site is a forest of central Himalayas,if the forest is well established and thick and the season is winter ,there is less scope for changes in organic matter.If the forest ground is exposed to sunlight and if the soil temperature fluctuates in different seasons,then there is scope for seasonal changes in organic matter.
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