Protecting humankind’s natural resources and soils, including forestry, represents
a top priority in agriculture. Addressing climate change should prioritize preserving
and enhancing organic carbon, specifically humus, in soils. In this paper, we examine
the impact of soil preparation on soil humus and microbial life during the reforestation
of Southern Nyírség, Hungary. We determined soil plasticity, pH in distilled water
solution, the quantity and quality of humus content, the total number of bacteria
and microbial fungi, as well as CO2 production. In addition to stump removal and plowing,
the wealthiest layer of organic matter was detached from the surface. A significant
decrease in humus content (HU%) was observed at the five experimental sites (loss
of 19.20-40.14 HU% at 0–30 cm depth). Soil organic matter is concentrated in the stump
depositions. According to the results, the quantity of humus content is strongly correlated
with the measured parameters of soil life, specifically with the number of microbial
fungi (r = 0.806 **) and the total number of bacteria (r = 0.648 **). Another correlation
(r = 0.607 **) was assessed between the humus content and CO2 production. This study
helps to understand the importance of the no-tillage methods used in reforestation.
