Influence of thinning on soil physical structure and water-holding capacity of the Pinus thunbergii and Quercus acutissima for the coastal protection forests in Qingdao city of China

Thinning has drawn extensive attention as an effective forest management approach, particularly for its effects of the improving soil physical properties and ecological hydrological characteristics in the coastal protection forest. This study was conducted in 2023 in the Cangma Mountain forest area in Qingdao. Two types of forests, the Pinus thunbergii (PTP) and the Quercus acutissima (QAC), four years after thinning, were selected as the research subjects, and utilizing unthinned stands (CT) as controls. Three standard plots were set up for each forest type, and soil samples were collected from the 10–20 cm and 20–40 cm soil layers. The results showed that thinning have significantly enhanced the physical structure and water-holding capacity of forest soil. Compared with CT, the soil bulk density of the PTP and QAC decreased by 8.6% and 12.1%; the total porosity increased by 14.4% and 12.9%; soil silt-clay particles content in the soil increased by 29.4% and 11.1%; the soil fractal dimension increased by 2.4% and 3.1%. Simultaneously, the effective water holding capacity increased by 23.0% and 21.3%; the soil infiltration capacity increased by 34.0% and 45.0%. The research findings provided theoretical basis and technical support for improving the quality of coastal protective forests under thinning.

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