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Fig. 1. Sample variograms with no-correlation confidence envelopes for organic hemic and sapric, i.e. Oe/Oa horizon (humus layer) soil organic matter (SOM) stocks (g m–2, A), uppermost 10 cm mineral SOM stocks (g m–2, B), and ground and field-layer vegetation biomass (g m–2, C) in the four sites (UBNC – unburned fully-stocked site (control); BNC – restoration-burned fully-stocked site; B50 – silviculturally-burned clearcut site with 50 m3 ha–1 green tree retention; UBCC – unburned complete clearcut site with no green tree retention). View larger in new window/tab.

Table 1. Soil characteristics of the study sites. UBNC – fully-stocked uncut control site; BNC – fully-stocked burned site; B50 – burned clearcut site with 50 m3 ha–1 green tree retention; UBCC – unburned complete clearcut site with no retention.
Parameter Site N obs. Mean Median Variance Stdev CV,
% 		CV
max/min 		Rank
Levene’s p
Organic hemic and sapric, i.e. Oe/Oa (humus layer) thickness, cm UBNC 80 5.0 5.0 3.0 1.7 35 1.64 0.742
BNC 83 4.0 3.8 2.7 1.6 41
B50 75 2.6 2.4 2.1 1.5 57
UBCC 78 3.8 3.8 2.7 1.6 42
Humus layer soil organic matter (SOM), % UBNC 80 86.5 92.0 173.1 13.2 15 1.84 0.142
BNC 83 77.2 83.2 340.2 18.4 24
B50 76 71.3 76.4 398.0 19.9 28
UBCC 78 78.3 82.8 210.6 14.5 19
Humus layer SOM, g m–2 UBNC 80 4470 4263 3 923 133 1981 44 1.61 0.361
BNC 83 3973 3586 3 554 194 1885 47
B50 76 2272 1992 2 635 392 1623 71
UBCC 78 3763 3859 3 720 962 1929 51
Uppermost 10 cm mineral SOM, % UBNC 80 4.88 4.34 6.52 2.55 52 2.18 0.041*
BNC 80 4.07 4.15 1.19 1.09 27
B50 75 4.88 4.60 5.46 2.34 48
UBCC 77 4.20 3.64 6.06 2.46 59
Uppermost 10 cm mineral SOM, g m–2 UBNC 80 3550 3340 3 547 985 1884 53 2.09 0.222
BNC 81 4427 4477 1 260 189 1123 25
B50 75 4056 3760 3 452 721 1858 46
UBCC 77 3780 3614 3 123 512 1767 47
Forest floor (litter+humus) mass, g m–2 UBNC 80 5825 5596 6 928 280 2632 45 1.46 0.372
BNC 83 6336 5200 17 496 834 4183 66
B50 76 3275 3078 3 699 799 1923 59
UBCC 78 5485 5120 11 442 338 3383 62
Humus layer pH UBNC 7 3.76 3.88 0.0262 0.1618 4 3.19 0.011*
BNC 8 3.91 3.81 0.1484 0.3852 10
B50 8 4.34 4.30 0.0317 0.178 4
UBCC 8 4.03 4.06 0.0155 0.1246 3
Uppermost 10 cm mineral soil pH UBNC 7 4.36 4.28 0.0318 0.1784 4 1.52 0.4
BNC 8 4.61 4.61 0.0361 0.1901 4
B50 7 4.71 4.72 0.0859 0.293 6
UBCC 8 4.44 4.49 0.0613 0.2476 6
N. obs. – total number of observations; Stdev – sample standard deviation; CV, % – coefficient of variation; CV max/min – ratio of the highest and lowest site-level CV for the parameter; Rank Levene’s p – p-value of the rank Levene’s test of equality of variance between sites, significance levels: * – p < 0.05.
Table 2. Biomass of vegetation components in the study sites, g m–2. UBNC – fully-stocked uncut control site; BNC – fully-stocked burned site; B50 – burned clearcut site with 50 m3 ha–1 green tree retention; UBCC – unburned complete clearcut site with no retention.
Vegetation group Site N obs.
> 0 		N obs.
tot. 		Mean Median Variance Stdev CV,
% 		CV
max/min 		Rank
Levene’s p
Vaccinium myrtillus UBNC 77 80 103.9 97.8 6264.9 79.2 76 2.51 < 0.001***
BNC 59 83 45.7 22.1 2863.2 53.5 117
B50 52 76 15.7 4.3 619.1 24.9 159
UBCC 32 78 3.2 0.0 37.4 6.1 191
Other dwarf shrubs UBNC 70 80 42.2 27.0 2264.7 47.6 113 1.41 0.025*
BNC 68 83 63.6 43.8 3681.7 60.7 95
B50 76 76 68.6 43.6 7135.2 84.5 123
UBCC 71 78 75.7 39.9 10 319.1 101.6 134
Dead
V. myrtillus 		UBNC 52 80 10.2 4.3 223.2 14.9 146 3.49 < 0.001***
BNC 23 83 5.0 0.0 113.0 10.6 214
B50 30 76 2.6 0.0 39.9 6.3 242
UBCC 6 78 0.2 0.0 1.3 1.1 509
Litter UBNC 78 80 483.0 423.5 101 722.2 318.9 66 2.25 0.041*
BNC 82 83 608.0 497.1 138 174.5 371.7 61
B50 76 76 205.4 146.3 80 010.7 282.9 138
UBCC 77 78 395.8 233.9 224 122.4 473.4 120
Moss UBNC 78 80 288.2 247.8 32 917.0 181.4 63 2.06 0.029*
BNC 81 83 231.7 218.3 35 930.9 189.6 82
B50 62 76 91.4 37.7 14 063.9 118.6 130
UBCC 75 78 357.8 289.3 97 570.1 312.4 87
Lichen UBNC 4 80 3.9 0.0 1008.7 31.8 808 7.00 < 0.001***
BNC 46 83 9.1 0.7 325.6 18.0 198
B50 68 76 26.4 15.6 925.6 30.4 115
UBCC 41 78 105.1 0.0 48 228.7 219.6 209
Forb UBNC 13 80 0.5 0.0 3.4 1.8 359 1.51 < 0.001***
BNC 0 83 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -
B50 25 76 4.2 0.0 98.2 9.9 239
UBCC 21 78 3.4 0.0 89.3 9.4 275
Graminoid UBNC 12 80 0.5 0.0 3.3 1.8 356 2.78 0.011*
BNC 8 82 2.8 0.0 159.4 12.6 459
B50 48 76 25.6 0.3 3049.2 55.2 216
UBCC 42 78 42.4 0.0 4907.5 70.1 165
Seedling UBNC 2 80 0.313 0.000 8.146 2.854 911 2.54 0.019*
BNC 16 83 0.494 0.000 3.154 1.776 359
B50 5 76 0.341 0.000 5.998 2.449 718
UBCC 2 78 0.012 0.000 0.013 0.112 911
N. obs. > 0 – number of observations with value greater than zero; N. obs. tot. – total number of observations; Stdev – sample standard deviation; CV, % – coefficient of variation; CV max/min – ratio of the highest and lowest site-level CV for the parameter; Rank Levene’s p – p-value of the rank Levene’s test of equality of variance between sites, significance levels: * – p < 0.05, ** – p < 0.01, *** – p < 0.001.
Table 3. Coverage of vegetation components in study sites, %. UBNC – fully-stocked uncut control site; BNC – fully-stocked burned site; B50 – burned clearcut site with 50 m3 ha–1 green tree retention; UBCC – unburned complete clearcut site with no retention.
Vegetation group Site N obs.
> 0 		N obs.
tot 		Mean Median Variance Stdev CV,
% 		CV
max/min 		Rank
Levene’s p
Vaccinium myrtillus   UBNC 79 80 34.2 30.0 553.4 23.5 69 2.14 < 0.001***
BNC 59 83 14.0 6.0 251.5 15.9 113
B50 53 76 4.2 2.5 32.5 5.7 137
UBCC 39 78 1.1 0.0 2.6 1.6 147
Vaccinium vitis-idaea   UBNC 71 80 6.2 5.0 41.1 6.4 103 1.24 0.334
BNC 68 83 14.7 12.0 190.0 13.8 94
B50 76 76 16.4 8.0 315.5 17.8 108
UBCC 73 78 10.7 6.0 153.6 12.4 116
Pleurozium schreberi   UBNC 70 80 30.6 20.0 845.0 29.1 95 5.91 < 0.001***
BNC 64 83 17.8 5.0 609.0 24.7 139
B50 8 76 1.8 0.0 107.2 10.4 562
UBCC 65 78 28.9 20.0 930.7 30.5 106
Hylocomium splendens   UBNC 48 80 25.2 7.0 947.2 30.8 122 5.16 < 0.001***
BNC 11 83 0.8 0.0 12.9 3.6 426
B50 2 76 0.1 0.0 0.4 0.7 632
UBCC 4 78 0.3 0.0 2.2 1.5 501
Polytrichum spp.   UBNC 6 80 0.2 0.0 1.3 1.1 496 3.88 < 0.001***
BNC 36 83 3.5 0.0 60.0 7.7 219
B50 59 76 21.5 5.5 753.4 27.4 128
UBCC 9 78 0.8 0.0 10.6 3.3 410
Dicranum spp.   UBNC 53 80 11.8 6.5 262.9 16.2 138 2.83 0.162
BNC 74 83 15.6 8.0 320.9 17.9 115
B50 19 76 3.7 0.0 145.9 12.1 324
UBCC 51 78 6.8 3.0 96.2 9.8 145
Calluna vulgaris   UBNC 21 80 1.8 0.0 23.8 4.9 277 3.15 < 0.001***
BNC 2 83 0.3 0.0 7.6 2.8 818
B50 1 76 0.3 0.0 5.3 2.3 872
UBCC 2 78 1.1 0.0 45.9 6.8 622
Epilobium angustifolium   UBNC 0 80 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - 1.18 < 0.001***
BNC 0 83 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -
B50 27 76 1.9 0.0 19.2 4.4 227
UBCC 23 78 1.7 0.0 21.3 4.6 269
Calamagrostis spp.   UBNC 0 80 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - 1.90 < 0.001***
BNC 1 82 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 906
B50 17 76 1.9 0.0 79.2 8.9 476
UBCC 3 78 0.2 0.0 1.6 1.3 585
Deschampsia flexuosa   UBNC 9 80 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.5 309 3.84 0.027*
BNC 8 83 1.8 0.0 116.3 10.8 597
B50 31 76 5.5 0.0 159.4 12.6 229
UBCC 41 78 17.3 1.3 718.1 26.8 155
Cladonia spp. UBNC 3 80 0.7 0.0 31.3 5.6 841 8.01 < 0.001***
BNC 58 83 1.7 0.3 12.0 3.5 198
B50 79 88 7.3 5.6 58.9 7.7 105
UBCC 49 78 12.0 1.0 486.6 22.1 184
N. obs. > 0 – number of observations with value greater than zero; N. obs. tot. – total number of observations; Stdev – sample standard deviation; CV, % – coefficient of variation; CV max/min – ratio of the highest and lowest site-level CV for the parameter; Rank Levene’s p – p-value of the rank Levene’s test of equality of variance between sites, significance levels: * – p < 0.05, ** – p < 0.01, *** – p < 0.001.
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Fig. 2. Boxplots for soil parameter distributions within the study sites: A – organic hemic and sapric, i.e. Oe/Oa layer (humus layer) thickness; B – humus layer soil organic matter (SOM) concentration, mass %; C – humus layer SOM stocks, g m–2; D – uppermost 10 cm mineral SOM concentration, mass %; E – uppermost 10 cm mineral SOM stocks, g m–2; F – forest floor (whole O horizon) mass, g m–2; G – humus layer bulk density, g cm–3; H – uppermost 10 cm mineral soil bulk density, g cm–3; I – ground and field layer biomass and litter, g m–2. UBNC – unburned fully-stocked site (control), BNC – restoration-burned fully-stocked site, B50 – silviculturally-burned clearcut site with 50 m3 ha–1 green tree retention, UBCC – unburned complete clearcut site with no green tree retention. View larger in new window/tab.

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Fig. 3. Unconstrained PCA ordination results for soil and vegetation parameters, with sites as environmental variables. The variable titles as follows: OCM – organic hemic and sapric, i.e. Oe/Oa horizon (humus layer) thickness; OSOM1 – humus layer soil organic matter (SOM), %; OSOM2 – humus layer SOM stock, g m–2; L – litter mass; MO – moss biomass; VM – Vaccinium myrtillus biomass; VMD – dead V. myrtillus mass; ODS – biomass of dwarf-shrubs other than V. myrtillus, practically mostly Vaccinium vitis-idaea; F – forb biomass; G – graminoid biomass; LC – lichen biomass; CLASPPC – Cladonia spp. cover; PLESCHC – Pleurozium schreberi cover; DICSPPC – Dicranum spp. cover; HYLSPLC – Hylocomium splendens cover; VMC – V. myrtillus cover; POLSPPC – Polytrichum spp. cover; VACVITC – V. vitis-idaea cover; EPIANC – Epilobium angustifolium cover; DESFLEC – Deschampsia flexuosa cover. UBNC – unburned fully-stocked site (control); BNC – restoration-burned fully-stocked site; B50 – silviculturally-burned clearcut site with 50 m3 ha–1 green tree retention; UBCC – unburned complete clearcut site with no green tree retention.

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Fig. 4. Multivariate sample dissimilarity plot by site with enclosing envelopes. UBNC – unburned fully-stocked site (control); BNC – restoration-burned fully-stocked site; B50 – silviculturally-burned clearcut site with 50 m3 ha–1 green tree retention; UBCC – unburned complete clearcut site with no green tree retention.

Table 4. Null hypothesis keeping rates in testing for differences between sites and treatments, based on simulation results
Organic hemic and sapric, i.e. Oe/Oa horizon (humus layer) soil organic matter (SOM) stocks (log-transformed) P
  nrep = 1, nsample = 30 0.07
   var = 10% nrep = 3, nsample = 80 0.05*
nrep = 4, nsample = 30 0.03*
nrep = 5, nsample = 30 0.01**
nrep = 6, nsample = 30 < 0.001***
   var = 20% nrep = 3, nsample = 80 0.25
nrep = 4, nsample = 30 0.15
nrep = 5, nsample = 30 0.08
nrep = 6, nsample = 30 0.03*
   var = 50% nrep = 3, nsample = 80 0.67
nrep = 4, nsample = 30 0.42
nrep = 5, nsample = 30 0.35
nrep = 6, nsample = 30 0.22
Mineral soil organic matter (SOM) stocks (log-transformed) P
  nrep = 1, nsample = 90 0.046*
   var = 10% nrep = 3, nsample = 90 0.57
nrep = 4, nsample = 30 0.49
nrep = 5, nsample = 30 0.44
nrep = 6, nsample = 30 0.3
Ground and field-layer biomass P
  nrep = 1, nsample = 30 0.007**
   var = 10% nrep = 3, nsample = 90 0.02*
nrep = 3, nsample = 80 0.06
nrep = 4, nsample = 30 0.01**
nrep = 5, nsample = 30 < 0.001***
nrep = 6, nsample = 30 < 0.001***
   var = 20% nrep = 3, nsample = 90 0.12
nrep = 4, nsample = 30 0.05*
nrep = 5, nsample = 30 < 0.001***
nrep = 6, nsample = 30 < 0.001***
   var = 50% nrep = 3, nsample = 90 0.59
nrep = 4, nsample = 30 0.4
nrep = 5, nsample = 30 0.2
nrep = 6, nsample = 30 0.12
nrep = 6, nsample = 60 0.08
nrep = 6, nsample = 120 0.08
var – the proportion of total variance assumed to be due to variability between replicates; nrep – number of replicates; nsample – number of samples per replicate; P – null hypothesis keeping rate, significance levels: * – p < 0.05, ** – p < 0.01, *** – p < 0.001.