Mg isotope composition in beech forest ecosystems and variations induced by liming: insights from four experimental sites in Northern France

Many forest soils are acidic and have very low plant-available pools of magnesium. Past and present sylvicultural, nutritional and/or climatic pressures endured by forest ecosystems can result in net losses of nutrients and ecosystem function losses. Liming with a carbonate product is an alternative to counteract these degradations but the effects of liming on the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients over time and the dynamics of Mg released from liming products are still unclear. We studied the Mg isotopes composition in four paired-treatment experimental beech forest ecosystems in northern France. At the sites where dolomitic lime was applied, the variation in exchangeable and foliar δ 26 Mg demonstrated the direct contribution of dolomite-derived Mg to the replenishment of topsoil exchangeable pools and to tree nutrition improvement: dolomite-derived Mg was incorporated into the biological cycling which allows its retention on the mid to long term in the soil–plant system. At the sites limed with calcium carbonate, the changes in exchangeable and foliar Mg contents and δ 26 Mg observed on the long term suggest that the applied product contained a small amount of Mg and/or that Mg cycling changed after liming, to cope in particular with the low Mg availability. Lastly, our results highlight the high δ 26 Mg of the organic layer (humus): fractionation processes occurring within this layer (mineralization/ageing of organic matter, preferential retention of 26 Mg) could explain these singular signatures that could greatly influence the topsoil Mg exchangeable pools.