Using foliar variables to predict the response of lodgepole pine to nitrogen and sulphur fertilization

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 1389-1399 ◽  
Author(s):  
R P Brockley
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Screening Method ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
First Year ◽  
Foliar N ◽  
Treatment Measures ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Area Response

Six-year basal area responses to nitrogen (N) fertilizer, alone and in combination with sulphur (S), in 31 lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.) stands in the interior of British Columbia were compared with pre-treatment measures of foliar N and S and first-year increases in fascicle mass to determine the utility of these variables for predicting growth response and for determining appropriate fertilizer prescriptions. Results indicate that pre-fertilization levels of foliar N or inorganic sulphate-S (SO4) may be more reliable than the fascicle mass screening method for predicting whether or not a significant stemwood response will occur following N fertilization. When combined, N and SO4 levels in unfertilized foliage explained 68% of the variation in relative basal area response to fertilization with N alone. Foliar nutrients were also useful for determining whether or not lodgepole pine would respond incrementally to S when added in combination with N. Stands in which pre-fertilization foliar SO4 was [Formula: see text]60 mg/kg and N/S ratio was [Formula: see text]13 did not respond significantly to N alone but always responded significantly to N + S. Conversely, a foliar SO4 level >60 mg/kg combined with a N/S ratio of [Formula: see text]12 always resulted in a favourable response to N with no incremental benefit of added S.

Foliage and stand growth responses of semimature lodgepole pine to thinning and fertilization

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 1794-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C Yang
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Volume Growth ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Fascicle Length ◽  
Stand Growth

The aim of this study was to quantify the interactive response of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.) to thinning and nitrogen (N) fertilization in midrotation stands by assessing foliar and stand growth response relationships and determining the optimum fertilizer regime. The experiment design was a factorial arrangement of treatments with two thinning intensities (thinned and unthinned control) and four N levels (0, 180, 360, and 540 kg·ha-1). Foliage was sampled annually from trees in buffers for 4 years following treatment and plot trees measured at a 5-year interval. Results indicated that the effect of fertilization on fascicle length and needle dry mass disappeared 2 years after N treatment, while thinning effects on foliage emerged 3 years after fertilization. Both first year fascicle length and dry mass were reliable predictors (r2 = 0.87 and 0.82, respectively) of subsequent stand volume growth. Applications of N at 360 kg·ha-1 to thinned and unthinned plots, respectively, improved 10-year periodic height increment by 20 and 19%, diameter at breast height by 29 and 34%, basal area by 21 and 36%, and total volume by 25 and 28%. Fertilization of N at this level appears to be optimal based on foliar and mensurational responses. High N loadings increased tree mortality and accelerated stand development and so it could be advantageously used as a tool for managing overstocked stands.

Anaerobically mineralizable soil N as a predictor of growth response to fertilization in lodgepole pine

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 915-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.F. Weetman ◽  
C E. Prescott ◽  
R.M. Fournier
Keyword(s):  
Growth Response ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Available N ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Area Response

The relationship between the amount of mineralizable N in mineral soil and the basal area response of trees to N fertilization was examined in 24 stands of lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta var. latifolia Engelm.) in interior British Columbia. Plots received a single application of either NH4NO3 or urea between 1980 and 1983. Increment cores taken from trees on fertilized and control plots 4 years after fertilization were used to estimate basal area response of fertilized trees relative to controls. Amounts of N mineralized during a 1-week anaerobic incubation of mineral soil from control plots at each site were used as an estimate of N availability in each stand. The relationship between N availability and growth response of trees was weak, except that stands with mineralizable soil N greater than 40 ppm were not responsive to fertilization. Measurement of mineralizable soil N might be useful prior to screening trials to eliminate stands with very high levels of available N.

Evidence of nitrogen fixation in lodgepole pine inoculated with diazotrophic Paenibacillus polymyxa

Botany ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (9) ◽  
pp. 891-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amandeep Bal ◽  
Christopher P. Chanway
Keyword(s):  
Seedling Growth ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Growth Period ◽  
Paenibacillus Polymyxa ◽  
N Fixation ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Bacterial Inoculation ◽  
Foliar N ◽  
Negative Effect

Diazotrophic bacteria previously isolated from internal tissues of naturally regenerating lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta var. latifolia (Dougl.) Engelm.) seedlings were tested for their ability to colonize and fix nitrogen (N) in pine germinants in two experiments. Surface sterilized pine seed was sown in glass tubes containing an autoclaved sand – montmorillonite clay mixture that contained a N-limited nutrient solution labeled with 15N as 0.35 mmol·L–1 Ca(15NO3)2 (5% 15N label). Pine seed was inoculated with one of three of the following bacterial strains: Paenibacillus polymyxa P2b-2R, P. polymyxa P18b-2R, or Dyadobacter fermentans P19a-2R, and seedlings grew for either 27 or 35 weeks. At the end of each plant growth period, P. polymyxa strain P2b-2R was detected in the pine rhizosphere but not inside plant tissues. Pine foliar N concentrations were not affected by bacterial inoculation but significant foliar 15N dilution was observed in seedlings treated with strain P2b-2R (30% and 66%, P < 0.05, in the first and second experiments, respectively). This strain also reduced seedling biomass in both experiments but effects were significant only in the second experiment (36%, P < 0.05). Notwithstanding the negative effect of bacterial inoculation on seedling growth, pine seedlings inoculated with strain P2b-2R derived 30% and 66%, respectively, of their foliar N from bacterial N fixation in two seedling growth experiments. These results demonstrate the possibility that some endophytic diazotrophs facilitate pine seedling growth in N-poor soils.

Effects of Sitka alder on the growth and foliar nutrition of young lodgepole pine in the central interior of British Columbia

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 1761-1771 ◽  
Author(s):  
R P Brockley ◽  
P Sanborn
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Foliar Nutrition ◽  
Competitive Effects ◽  
Foliar N ◽  
Crown Width ◽  
Reliable Assessment ◽  
Boreal Ecosystem

The 6-year effects of differing levels of Sitka alder (Alnus viridus spp. sinuata (Regel) Á. Löve & D. Löve) retention (0, 500, 1000, and 2000 clumps/ha) on the development of retained alder and on the growth and foliar nutrition of 7-year-old naturally regenerated lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) were evaluated in a sub-boreal ecosystem in the central interior of British Columbia. Alder development was inversely related to alder retention density, with the largest height and crown width increments occurring at the lowest alder densities. Low to moderate levels of alder cover did not significantly inhibit the diameter or height growth of lodgepole pine. Even under high alder cover, growth was not reduced until alder cover exceeded 45%. Over the 6-year response period, lodgepole pine diameter and height increments under high alder cover were reduced by 10% and 12%, respectively, relative to the no-alder treatment. The effect of alder density on lodgepole pine foliar N was strongly linear, with the highest N levels measured in the high alder retention treatment. However, the positive impact of alder retention on foliar N resulted in probable imbalance of N relative to S and possibly P and K. Unless alleviated, nutritional imbalances may preclude reliable assessment of the competitive effects (i.e., light and soil resources) of alder density, if any, on lodgepole pine growth.

scholarly journals Subwatershed-Level Lodgepole Pine Attributes Associated with a Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Williams ◽  
Sharon Hood ◽  
Christopher Keyes ◽  
Joel Egan ◽  
José Negrón
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Pinus Spp

Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins; MPB) is an aggressive bark beetle that attacks numerous Pinus spp. and causes extensive mortality in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon; LPP) forests in the western United States and Canada. We used pre-outbreak LPP attributes, cumulative MPB attack severity, and areal extent of mortality data to identify subwatershed-scale forest attributes associated with severe MPB-caused tree mortality that occurred across the Northern Rockies, USA from 1999–2014. We upscaled stand-level data to the subwatershed scale to allow identification of large LPP areas vulnerable to MPB. The highest mortality occurred in subwatersheds where LPP mean basal area was greater than 11.5 m2 ha−1 and LPP quadratic mean diameter was greater than or equal to 18 cm. A coarse assessment of federally-owned LPP-dominated forestland in the analysis area indicated about 42% could potentially be silviculturally treated. Silvicultural management may be a suitable option for many LPP forests, and our hazard model can be used to identify subwatersheds with LPP attributes associated with high susceptibility to MPB across landscape spatial scales. Identifying highly susceptible subwatersheds can help prioritize general areas for potential treatments, especially where spatially extensive areas of contiguous, highly susceptible LPP occur.

Lichen chronosequences (postfire and postharvest) in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests of northern interior British Columbia

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (12) ◽  
pp. 1449-1464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darwyn S Coxson ◽  
Janet Marsh
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stand Development ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Floor Surface ◽  
Fire Origin

Lichen community development was examined in a postfire chronosequence from lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud var. latifolia Engelm.) forests in the Omineca region of north-central British Columbia and in stands originating from logging in the early 1980s. Fire-origin stands showed dense regeneration of pine and widespread growth of acrocarpous mosses such as Polytrichum spp. As canopy thinning progressed, Cladonia spp. lichens initiated development at the forest floor surface. By 50–100 years after stand origin, Cladina mitis and Cladina rangiferina dominated at the forest floor surface, remaining at high cover values well into the second century of stand development. Late seral stages of stand development (approximately 150+ years) showed increasing basal area and canopy cover of lodgepole pine, with feathermoss mats (e.g., Pleurozium schreberi) replacing terrestrial lichens at the forest floor surface. Stand ordinations confirmed these groupings of species. Stand structural factors that correlate best with lichen mat development include tree density, basal area, and canopy cover. Changes in the leaf area index and associated litterfall loading appear to precipitate the replacement of terrestrial lichen mats in "old-growth" stands. Interestingly, this trend was reversed in mature stands where winter harvesting of trees removed canopy cover without disturbing the forest floor surface. Lichen cover in these sites, 15 years after harvest, exceeded that of comparably aged fire-origin stands. Summer harvesting (with a presumed greater disturbance of soils) did not trigger a similar rebound of lichen communities. Instead, vascular plants appeared to invade these sites, following a seral sequence different from that occurring in fire-origin stands.Key words: terrestrial lichens, pine woodlands, caribou habitat.

scholarly journals Stand dynamics and the mountain pine beetle — 30 years of forest change in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 1159-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi N. Axelson ◽  
Brad C. Hawkes ◽  
Lara van Akker ◽  
René I. Alfaro
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Forest Change ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Waterton Lakes National Park ◽  
Broadleaf Species

The mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) is a native bark beetle and a major disturbance agent in western North American forests. In the 1970s and 1980s, a MPB outbreak occurred in Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) in southwestern Alberta. The MPB outbreak resulted in variable levels of mortality of mature lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm. ex S. Watson), reducing density, volume, and basal area of overstory trees. By 2010, lodgepole pine was proportionally no longer the dominant overstory species, with increases in non-pine conifer and broadleaf species. The MPB susceptibility index decreased in most stands over time, especially in stands with the highest MPB-caused mortality. Downed woody material was characterized by fine and coarse fuel mass and volume, which both increased from 2002 to 2010, and the abundance of coarse fuels was highest in 2010, nearly 30 years after peak MPB activity. Density of understory saplings and small regeneration increased from 2002 to 2010 and was dominated by non-pine conifer and broadleaf species; lodgepole pine was nearly absent. Hierarchical clustering using 2010 MPB susceptibility and composition data characterized biological legacies remaining after the MPB outbreak. These legacies suggest multiple successional trajectories in WLNP dominated by species other than lodgepole pine. The MPB outbreak resulted in greater heterogeneity in composition and structure and suggests that stands have been resilient to this disturbance.

Susceptibility of lodgepole pine stands to the mountain pine beetle: testing of a rating system

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
T L Shore ◽  
L Safranyik ◽  
J P Lemieux
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Prediction Interval ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Pine Beetle

A system for rating the susceptibility of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.) stands to the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) was field tested in 38 stands in the Cariboo forest region of British Columbia in a retrospective study. A linear relationship was defined between the percentage of basal area killed by the mountain pine beetle and the susceptibility indices for the sample stands. The system was further tested using an independent data set of 41 stands from across southern British Columbia. Forty of the 41 stands fell within the 95% prediction interval of the original model data for stand susceptibility. This study provides validation for a susceptibility rating model described in 1992. The regression model and associated confidence interval also provide a useful tool for landscape level loss predictions due to the mountain pine beetle.

scholarly journals Eighteen-year growth responses to thinning and fertilization of a height-repressed lodgepole pine stand in interior British Columbia

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (03) ◽  
pp. 207-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy Prescott ◽  
Louise deMontigny ◽  
George Harper
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Yield Model ◽  
Timber Supply ◽  
Wild Fires

Challenges to the mid-term timber supply in interior British Columbia resulting from losses to insect outbreaks and wild-fires have prompted interest in silvicultural interventions to hasten growth of regenerating forests, including high-density(overstocked), height-repressed stands of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.). A trialwas established in a dense (4000 to 30 000 trees ha-1) 36-year-old wildfire-origin pine stand in the Cariboo-Chilcotinregion of interior BC to assess the efficacy of thinning, fertilization and a combination of the two treatments for improv-ing tree growth and stand development. Height and diameter of the 36 crop trees in each plot was greater in fertilizedplots then control plots for six years following fertilization, while the height and diameter responses to thinning and thin-ning + fertilization were sustained throughout the 18-year measurement period. Cumulative basal area and volumegrowth of crop trees and all stand trees over the 18-year period was significantly greater in thinned and thinned + fertil-ized treatments than control plots. Projections based on the TASS growth and yield model suggested that total stand vol-umes in thinned plots would surpass that of the control at age 74 and would surpass that of the fertilized treatment at 89years. Unthinned stands (i.e., control and fertilized treatments), did not accumulate significant merchantable volume; inthinned stands (i.e., thinned and thinned + fertilized treatments), the minimum harvest criteria of 80 m3 ha-1 for pine-leading stands in this region was reached at age 102 years. Repeated fertilization would be needed to further hasten standdevelopment. The potential long-term benefits of these silvicultural interventions for timber supply must be weighedagainst treatment costs and risks of mortality related to wildfire, insects and disease. These results highlight the value oflong-term research trials for informing silviculture decisions.

scholarly journals Effects of Stand Structure, Browsing, and Biophysical Conditions on Regeneration Following Mountain Pine Beetle in Mixed Lodgepole Pine and Aspen Forests of the Southern Rockies

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 525
Author(s):  
Kristen Pelz ◽  
Frederick Smith
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Animal Damage ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Regeneration ◽  
Pine Beetle

Aspen (Populus tremuloides) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) co-occur in the southern Rocky Mountains (USA), where mountain pine beetle (MPB, Dendroctonus ponderosae) has caused extensive lodgepole pine mortality since the late 1990s. Both species excel in post-disturbance high-light environments, but lodgepole pine has generally been thought to establish poorly on undisturbed seedbeds, and aspen suckering may be inhibited by intact aspen overstory. We ask whether lodgepole pine and aspen will regenerate in sufficient quantities to revegetate these forests. We visited a random sample of aspen and lodgepole pine stands across the affected landscape in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming to measure regeneration and overstory mortality. Lodgepole pine regeneration is occurring in 85% of stands, and most stands have >550 stems ha−1. The median aspen sucker density was 6175 stems ha−1. Surprisingly, neither lodgepole pine nor aspen regeneration density was related to overstory mortality level. Animal damage is currently affecting aspen in these forests. Over 50% of stands had damage to 60% or more of their suckers, but 30% of stands had <20% of their stems damaged. Browsed stems were significantly shorter for their ages and were shorter than the 2.5-m height threshold for possible elk browsing. However, the results suggest that sufficient quantities of down lodgepole pine may protect aspen from damage and allow aspen to successfully recruit to the overstory. Multiple regression analysis showed that down lodgepole pine basal area, followed by browsing pressure, were the most important predictors of sucker height and the proportion of suckers browsed. Although 15% of stands had no lodgepole pine regeneration, aspen and lodgepole pine forests are generally regenerating despite animal browsing on aspen. This study is the first to present a regional perspective on regeneration in MPB-affected lodgepole pine and aspen forests, and overall, intervention does not seem necessary to ensure a mix of both species in the future.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document