The condition of forest soils in central and northern Poland in the decade 2007–2017 based on selected indicators

Forest District	Average annual temperature [°C]	Annual sum of precipitation [mm]	Soil type	Parent material origin	Type of forest habitat	Dominant tree species
Białowieża	7.0	550	BRt	Qp	BMśw	So
Chojnów	8.0	<550	RDb	QZp	BMśw	So
Gdańsk	7.5	650	BRKt	Qp	Lśw	Bk
Krotoszyn	8.0	<550	OGw	Qg	Lśw	Db
Krucz	8.0	<550	B	QEp/QZp	Bśw	So
Łąck	8.0	<550	RDbr	QFp	LMśw	Db
Strzałowo	7.5	650	Pbr	QFp	BMśw	So
Suwałki	6.5	550	BRg	Qg	Lśw	Św

1 Soil type: BRt – Eutric Cambisol, RDb – Brunic Arenosol (Protospodic), BRKt – Dystric Cambisol, OGw – Stagnosol, B – Haplic Podzol, RDbr – Brunic Arenosol, Pbr – Haplic Luvisol, BRg – Gleyic Cambisol; Parent material origin: Qp – glacial sand, QZp – fluvioglacial sand (sandr), Qg – glacial till, QEp/QZp – aeolian sand over fluvioglacial sand (sandr), QFp – fluvioglacial sand; Habitat type of the forest: BMśw – mixed fresh coniferous forest, Lśw – fresh broadleaved forest, Bśw – fresh coniferous forest, LMśw – fresh mixed broadleaved forest; Dominant tree species: So – Scots pine, Bk – European beech, Db – Oak, Św – Norway spruce.

Particle size distribution on the study plots

Table 2.

Average of pH values and TOC and TN contents in forest soils in central and northern Poland (2007–2017)

Forest District	Layer (cm)	Year	pHCaCl2	TOC [g·kg^-1]	TN [g·kg^-1]	C :N
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Chojnów	O	2007	3.20	313.90	13.75	22.83
		2017	3.19	390.38	17.16	22.75
		mean±SD	3.19±0.10	325.48±48.67	15.45±2.41	22.79±1.14
	M	2007	3.84a’	7.53a’	0.42a’	16.97a’
		2017	3.71a’	9.04a’	0.46a’	18.54a’
		mean±SD	3.78±0.40	8.53±4.94	0,44±0.18	17.74±3.52
Łąck	O	2007	4.50	218.50	11.19	19.53
		2017	4.50	268.87	12.68	21.19
		mean±SD	4.50±0.33	239.48±26.21	11.93±1.05	20.36±0.83
	M	2007	3.88a’	6.10a’	0.38a’	12.34a’
		2017	4.04a’	12.51a’	0.64a’	17.60a’
		mean±SD	3.99±0.28	9.84±9.82	0.51±0.49	16.66±4.40
Krotoszyn	O	2007	3.20	305.80	16.19	18.89
		2017	3.20	369.48	20.91	17.67
		mean±SD	3.20±0.01	353.73±34.55	18.55±1.05	17.70±6.40
	M	2007	3.52a’	23.38a’	1.32a’	15.97a’
		2017	3.46a’	19.71a’	1.00a’	17.04a’
		mean±SD	3.49±0.36	20.08±8.73	1.16±0.96	17.00±0.98
Krucz	O	2007	2.70	357.60	11.84	30.20
		2017	2.71	399.61	13.66	29.24
		mean±SD	2.70±0.07	315.90±90.32	12.70±1.29	29.54±0.47
	M	2007	3.81a’	7.18a’	0.39a’	16.82a’
		2017	4.19a’	7.09a’	0.36a.’	16.65a’
		mean±SD	3.92±0.43	7.11±0.70	0.38±0.20	16.51a’0.07
Suwałki	O	2007	4.10	154.00	8.07	19.08
		2017	4.11	166.17	8.81	18.86
		mean±SD	4.00±0.14	162.99±9.72	8.40±0.52	18.69±0.83
	M	2007	3.73a’	12.79a’	1.02a’	11.24a’
		2017	3.94a’	14.31a’	0.99a’	14.59a’
		mean±SD	3.80±0.29	13.90±9.32	1.08±0.62	13.55±3.04
Białowieża	O	2007	3.60	289.20	16.98	22.81
		2017	3.59	323.39	13.92	23.22
		mean±SD	3.60±0.21	326.53±31.83	15.45±2.16	22.63±0.56
	M	2007	3.99a’	12.51a’	0.42a’	15.47a’
		2017	4.10a’	17.01a’	0.46a’	16.34a’
		mean±SD	4.07±0.47	14.67±12.02	0.46±0.20	16.19±1.82
Strzałowo	O	2007	4.30	56.92	3.10	18.36
		2017	4.31	162.87	6.80	23.95
		mean±SD	4.30±0.01	114.28±57.30	4.95±2.61	21.04±2.29
	M	2007	4.51a’	8.25a’	0,61a’	12.38a’
		2017	4.60a’	9.74a’	0.65a’	14.40a’
		mean±SD	4.58±0.22	9.18±5.82	0,63±0,40	13.02±1.83
Gdańsk	O	2007	4.50	303.30	16.07	18.87
		2017	4.51	358.88	14.54	24.68
		mean±SD	4.50±0.01	326.48±28.91	15,30±1.08	21.78±2.90
	M	2007	3.79a’	8.51a’	0,58a’	13.91a’
		2017	3.94a’	8.20a’	0.51a’	14.86a’
		mean±SD	3.84±0.30	8.36±4.50	0,55±0,26	14.23±3.10

1 Layer: O – organic; M – mineral (0–80 cm deph) – arithmetic mean value; TOC – total organic carbon; TN – total nitrogen

Selected chemical parameters of forest soils in central and northern Poland in 2007 and 2017 against the background of: A-B) – location of the study areas, C-D) – forest habitat type; E-F) – soil type (WRB)

Table 3.

Selected chemical indicators of the fertility status of forest soils of the central and northern Poland (2007–2017)

Forest District	Layer	Year	SBC (cmol·kg^-1)	CEC (cmol·kg^-1)	BS (%)	SBC : Al	Ca : Al
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Chojnów	O	2007	16.11a	21.58a	74.65a	11.21b	8.52a
		2017	16.54a	20.82a	79.42a	9.13b	6.71a
		mean±SD	16.32±0.30	21.20±0.53	77.04±3.37	10.1±1.47	7.62±1.28
	M	2007	0.18a’	1.34a’	13.07a’	0.18a’	0.11a’
		2017	0.22a’	2.09a’	12.08a’	0.14a’	0.08a’
		mean±SD	0.20±0.11	1.70±0.96	12.58±3.87	0.16±0.06	0.10±0.05
Łąck	O	2007	28.95a	31.03a	93.30a	298.90a	27.60a
		2017	23.30a	26.40a	88.25a	44.65b	33.67a
		mean±SD	26.98±4.00	29.63±3.27	90.77±3.56	116.77±172.71	30.63±4.29
	M	2007	0.28a’	1.09a’	21.16a’	0.30a’	0.20’
		2017	0.27a’	2.20a’	13.68a’	0.16a’	0.09’
		mean±SD	0.27±0.27	1.64±1.21	17.42±9.01	0.23±0.22	0.14±0.15
Krotoszyn	O	2007	9.18a	18.68b	50.80b	1.92a	1.24a
		2017	29.82b	38.08a	78.32a	6.30a	1.00a
		mean±SD	19.50±14.6	28.07±14.15	64.56±19.46	4.10±3.09	1.22±0.17
	M	2007	1.58a’	5.46a’	27.30a’	0.57a’	0.34a’
		2017	2.67a’	7.09a’	29.03a’	1.33a’	0.86a’
		mean±SD	2.13±2.83	6.27±2.49	28.17±23.76	0.95±1.75	0.60±1.18
Krucz	O	2007	6.04a	15.95a	37.87b	2.18a	1.64a
		2017	14.57b	22.15a	65.76a	9.10b	6.77b
		mean±SD	10.30±6.03	19.05±4.38	51.81±19.72	5.64±4.90	4.21±3.62
	M	2007	0.11a’	1.24a’	10.67a’	0.12a’	0.07a’
		2017	0.15a’	1.59a’	12.73a’	0.21a’	0.12a’
		mean±SD	0.13±0.07	1.42±0.94	11.70±8.32	0.16±0.17	0.10±0.11
Suwałki	O	2007	12.45a	14.92a	83.45a	25.79a	21.87a
		2017	17.17a	19.38a	88.59a	18.75a	14.39a
		mean±SD	14.81±3.33	17.15±3.15	86.02±3.64	22.27±5.00	18.11±5.32
	M	2007	0.82a’	3.77a’	23.36a’	0.66a’	0.52a’
		2017	4.72a’	7.80a”	36.00a’	5.22b’	4.22b’
		mean±SD	2.10±2.75	4.89±3.59	26.15±17.14	1.79±3.22	2.37±3.11
Białowieża	O	2007	17.14a	21.58a	79.42a	24.37a	21.07a
		2017	7.20b	11.50b	62.60a	4.08b	3.38b
		mean±SD	12.17±7.03	16.54±7.13	71.01±11.90	14.24±14.34	12.23±12.50
	M	2007	0.57a’	2.61a’	28.30a’	0.75a’	0.64a’
		2017	1.68a’	3.66a’	51.71b’	10.05b’	9.62b’
		mean±SD	1.02±0.54	3.09±2.37	37.18±2.37	1.11±0.89	5.13±1.09
Strzałowo	O	2007	7.85a	8.75a	89.71a	22.94b’	18.82a
		2017	16.83b	21.05b	79.95a	7.95a’	6.25a
		mean±SD	12.34±6.35	14.90±8.70	84.83±6.90	15.44±10.60	12.54±8.89
	M	2007	1.74a’	2.18a’	84.18a’	11.21a’	10.01a’
		2017	1.67a’	2.71a’	63.29a’	2.49b’	2.02b’
		mean±SD	1.70±0.55	2.44±0.95	73.73±18.10	6.85±9.45	6.02±8.53
Gdańsk	O	2007	20.54a	23.02a	89.23a	25.12a	18.94a
		2017	27.32a	32.18a	84.90a	20.23a	15.30a
		mean±SD	23.93±4.79	27.60±6.48	87.06±3.06	23.51±3.52	17.12±2.57
	M	2007	0.21a’	1.34a’	15.12a’	0.24a’	0.14a’
		2017	0.34a’	1.71a’	21.49a’	0.29a’	0.14a’
		mean±SD	0.23±0.16	1.52±0.45	18.30±8.75	0.26±0.14	0.14±0.11

1 Layer: O – organic, M – mineral (0–80 cm deph) – arithmetic mean value; SBC – sum of basic cations; CEC – cation exchange capacity; BS% – alkaline saturation; CBC : Al ratio; BS – base saturation, CEC – cation exchange capacity, SBC – sum of base cations, SBC : Al ratio (the ratio of the sum of alkali cations to aluminum).

Table 4.

Non-parametric Spearman correlation between the properties of forest soils in Poland

	Soil type	Layer	Sand	Silt	Clay	Texture	pH	TOC	TN	C :N	SBC	SBC : Al.	CEC	BS	Ca : Al.
TSL	–	–	–0.361 (*)	–	0.343 (*)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Tree species	0.539 (***)	–	–	–	–	–0.367 (*)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–0.466(**)	–
Layer	–	–	–	–	–	–	0.743 (***)	–0.618 (***)	–0.637 (***)	–0.668	–	0.338 (*)	–	–	–
Sand	–	–	–	–0.913	–0.775 (***)	–0.557 (***)	–	–0.333 (*)	–0.396 (*)	–	–0.702 (***)	–	–0.853 (***)	–	–
Silt	–	–	–0.913	–	0.449(**)	0.576 (***)	–	–	0.374 (*)	–	0.523 (***)	–	0.679 (***)	–	–
Clay	–	–	–0.775	0.449(**)	–	0.326 (*)	–	–	–	–	0.727 (***)	–	0.816 (***)	–	–
Texture	–	–	–0.557	0.576 (***)	0.326 (*)	–	–	–	–	–	0.362 (*)	–	0.358 (*)	0.396 (*)	–
pH	–	0.743 (***)	–	–	–	–	–	–0.609 (***)	–0.599 (***)	–0.620 (***)	–	0.570 (***)	–0.424(**)	0.602 (***)	0.506 (***)
TOC	–	–0.618	–0.333 (*)	–	–	–	–0.609	–	0.982 (***)	0.416(**)	–	–	0.618 (***)	–	–
TN	–	–0.637	–0.396 (*)	0.374 (*)	–	–	–0.599	0.982 (***)	–	0.316 (*)	–	–	0.656 (***)	–	–
C :N	–	–0.668	–	–	–	–	–0.620	0.416(**)	0.316 (*)	–	–0.455	–0.436(**)	–	–0.608 (***)	–
SBC	–	–	–0.702	0.523 (***)	0.727 (***)	0.362 (*)	–	–	–	–0.455(**)	–	0.531 (***)	0.720 (***)	0.661 (***)	–
CEC	–	–	–	–	–	0.396 (*)	0.602 (***)	–	–	–0.608	0.661 (***)	0.767 (***)	–	–	–
BS	–	–	–	–	–	–	0.506 (***)	–	–	–	–	0.905 (***)	–	0.528 (***)	0.528 (***)
Ca :Al	–	0.338 (*)	–	–	–	–	0.570 (***)	–	–	–0.436(**)	0.531 (***)	–	–	0.767 (***)	–
SBC : Al	–	–	–0.853	0.679 (***)	0.816 (***)	0.358 (*)	–0.424(**)	0.618 (***)	0.656 (***)	–	0.720 (***)	–	–	–	0.905 (***)

1 Correlation coefficient (r) – significance levels:

1(***) p < 0.001,

1(**) p < 0.01,

1(*) p < 0.05;

1 (ns) – not statistically significant; BS – base saturation, CEC – cation exchange capacity, SBC – sum of base cations, SBC : Al ratio (the ratio of the sum of alkali cations to aluminium).

Dendrogram of selected physicochemical parameters in different soil types in central and northern Poland (2017)

Table 5.

Valuation of critical acid deposition loads of SBC : Al (A) and Ca : Al (B) of forest soils of centralnorthern Poland in 2007–2017

A
Risk assessment	SBC : Al	Percentage of samples (%)
Risk assessment	SBC : Al	2007	2017
Very High	<0.40	50.0	50.00
High	0.40–0.80	14.58	12.50
Medium	0.81–2.00	8.33	4.17
Low	>2.01	27.09	33.33

B
Risk assessment	Ca : Al	Percentage of samples (%)
Risk assessment	Ca : Al	2007	2017
Very high	<0.20	45.83	47.90
High	0.21–0.50	14.60	10.40
Medium	0.51–1.00	6.24	10.45
Low		25.00	28.45

1 Soil type (WRB): BRt – Eutric Cambisol, RDb – Brunic Arenosol (Protospodic), BRKt – Dystric Cambisol, OGw – Stagnosol, B – Haplic Podzol, RDbr – Brunic Arenosol, Pbr – Haplic Luvisol, BRg – Gleyic Cambisol; Parent material origin: Qp – glacial sand, QZp – fluvioglacial sand (sandr), Qg – glacial till, QEp/QZp – aeolian sand over fluvioglacial sand (sandr), QFp – fluvioglacial sand; Dominant tree species: So – Scots pine, Bk – European beech, Db – Oak, Św – Norway spruce]; Forest Site Types (TSL): MFCF – mixed fresh coniferous forest; FF – fresh forest; MFF – mixed forest fresh; FCF – fresh coniferous forest

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ffp-2026-0005 | Journal eISSN: 2199-5907 | Journal ISSN: 0071-6677

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Language: English

Page range: 46 - 64

Submitted on: Jul 11, 2025

Accepted on: Aug 8, 2025

Published on: Mar 17, 2026

Published by: Forest Research Institute

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

chemical indicators,

exchangeable cations,

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© 2026 Krzysztof Sztabkowski, Irena Burzyńska, Wojciech Gil, published by Forest Research Institute
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 68 (2026): Issue 1 (March 2026)

The condition of forest soils in central and northern Poland in the decade 2007–2017 based on selected indicators

Figures & Tables

Figure 1.

Table 1.

Figure 2.

Table 2.

Figure 3.

Table 3.

Table 4.

Figure 4.

Table 5.

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