Pit and mound micro-relief(resultant microsites from trees uprooted by windthrow) could have regimes of microclimate and soil features that differ from areas of undisturbed soil. In an attempt to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the significance of pits and mounds on soil features and also the dynamics of greenhouse gas(GHG) fluxes at local scale, this study was carried out in a reserved area of Darabkola forest in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. The age of a pit and mound was considered equal to the degree of decay of the blown down tree. Three microsites were distinguished, consisting of pit bottom(PB), mound top(MT) and undisturbed area(UA). Soil samples were taken at 0–15 and 15–30 cm depths from all microsites and analysed for soil physical, chemical and biological features. Our findings suggested that in context of forest ecology, pits and mounds following windthrow events should be considered as an effective factor influencing soil features(i.e., density, texture, water content, p H, organic C, total N, available nutrients and earthworm density/biomass) and especially GHG fluxes. Results showed that MT acted as a sink for N2O(-0.010 mg N2 O m-2d-1) and CH4(-0.257 mg CH4m-2d-1) fluxes and also produced lower CO2 concentrations(0.095 mg CO2 m-2d-1) than PB(0.207 mg CO2 m-2d-1) and UA(0.098 mg CO2 m-2d-1). As a consequence, a separation into pits/mounds would be important for a precise budgeting of greenhouse gases.
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