Belowground competition influences growth of natural regeneration in thinned Douglas-fir stands

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (12) ◽  
pp. 3085-3097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren D. Devine ◽  
Timothy B. Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
Nitrogen Deficiency ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Detectable Effect ◽  
Belowground Competition ◽  
Overstory Trees

Using a factorial combination of understory removal and trenching treatments, we examined the influences of belowground competition from understory and overstory vegetation on growth of naturally established Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) saplings in thinned stands of Douglas-fir on moderately productive, glacially derived soils near Tacoma, Washington. Under limited light (26% ± 16% of full sun), sapling height and diameter growth were significantly reduced by belowground competition from overstory trees. Regardless of presence or absence of belowground competition from trees, understory vegetation did not have a detectable effect on sapling growth. Nitrogen deficiency in saplings was not detected in the presence of belowground competition: where tree roots were excluded, foliar nitrogen concentration and content increased without an increase in foliar mass. Belowground competition from overstory trees had a greater negative effect on growing season soil water content than did understory vegetation. Under the conditions of restricted light availability in this study, limitations in soil water content from competition had a strong growth-limiting effect on Douglas-fir regeneration. As potential canopy trees in a future uneven-aged stand, this sapling cohort would benefit from root gaps created during harvests.

scholarly journals Overstory–Understory Vegetation Cover and Soil Water Content Observations in Western Juniper Woodlands: A Paired Watershed Study in Central Oregon, USA

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Ray ◽  
Carlos G. Ochoa ◽  
Tim Deboodt ◽  
Ricardo Mata-Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Soil Texture ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Watershed Scale ◽  
Shrub Cover ◽  
Western Juniper ◽  
Tree Canopy Cover

The effects of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) control on understory vegetation and soil water content were studied at the watershed-scale. Seasonal differences in topsoil (12 cm) water content, as affected by vegetation structure and soil texture, were evaluated in a 96-ha untreated watershed and in a 116-ha watershed where 90% juniper was removed in 2005. A watershed-scale characterization of vegetation canopy cover and soil texture was completed to determine some of the potential driving factors influencing topsoil water content fluctuations throughout dry and wet seasons for approximately one year (2014–2015). We found greater perennial grass, annual grass, and shrub cover in the treated watershed. Forb cover was no different between watersheds, and as expected, tree canopy cover was greater in the untreated watershed. Results also show that on average, topsoil water content was 1% to 3% greater in the treated watershed. The exception was during one of the wettest months (March) evaluated, when soil water content in the untreated watershed exceeded that of the treated by <2%. It was noted that soil water content levels that accumulated in areas near valley bottoms and streams were greater in the treated watershed than in the untreated toward the end of the study in late spring. This is consistent with results obtained from a more recent study where we documented an increase in subsurface flow residence time in the treated watershed. Overall, even though average soil water content differences between watersheds were not starkly different, the fact that more herbaceous vegetation and shrub cover were found in the treated watershed led us to conclude that the long-term effects of juniper removal on soil water content redistribution throughout the landscape may be beneficial towards restoring important ecohydrologic connections in these semiarid ecosystems of central Oregon.

Simulating maize (Zea mays L.) growth and yield, soil nitrogen concentration, and soil water content for a long-term cropping experiment in Ontario, Canada

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Liu ◽  
J. Y. Yang ◽  
C. F. Drury ◽  
H. L. Liu ◽  
W. D. Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Model Data ◽  
Soil Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
Soil Inorganic

Liu, S., Yang, J. Y., Drury, C. F., Liu, H. L. and Reynolds, W. D. 2014. Simulating maize (Zea mays L.) growth and yield, soil nitrogen concentration, and soil water content for a long-term cropping experiment in Ontario, Canada. Can. J. Soil Sci. 94: 435–452. A performance assessment of the Decision Support Systems for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) model (v4.5) including the CERES-Maize and CENTURY modules was conducted for continuous maize production under annual synthetic fertilization (CC-F) and no fertilization (CC-NF) using field data from a long-term (53-yr) cropping experiment in Ontario, Canada. The assessment was based on the accuracy with which DSSAT could simulate measured grain yield, above-ground biomass, leaf area index (LAI), soil inorganic nitrogen concentration, and soil water content. Model calibration for maize cultivar was achieved using grain yield measurements from CC-F between 2007 and 2012, and model evaluation was achieved using soil and crop measurements from both CC-F and CC-NF for the same 6-yr period. Good model–data agreement for CC-F grain yields was achieved for calibration (index of agreement, d=0.99), while moderate agreement for CC-NF grain yields was achieved for evaluation (d=0.79). Model–data agreement for above-ground biomass was good (d=0.83–1.00), but the model consistently underestimated for CC-F and overestimated for CC-NF. DSSAT achieved good model–data agreement for LAI in CC-F (d=0.82–0.99), but moderate to poor agreement in CC-NF (d=0.46–0.64). The CENTURY module of DSSAT simulated soil inorganic nitrogen concentrations with moderate to good model–data agreement in CC-F (d=0.74–0.88), but poor agreement in CC-NF (d=0.40–0.50). The model–data agreement for soil water content was moderate in 2007 and 2008 for both treatments (d=0.60–0.76), but poor in 2009 (d=0.46–0.53). It was concluded that the DSSAT cropping system model provided generally good to moderate simulations of continuous maize production (yield, biomass, LAI) for a long-term cropping experiment in Ontario, Canada, but generally moderate to poor simulations of soil inorganic nitrogen concentration and soil water content.

Transport of Nutrients to Tree Root Systems

1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Ballard ◽  
D. W. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Nutrient Transport ◽  
Root Systems ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Nitrogen Transport ◽  
Ca Uptake ◽  
Glacial Outwash

Calculations suggest that nutrient transport through the soil to roots by mass flow accounts for less than 22, 37, and 80%, respectively, of the N, K, and Ca uptake by a Douglas-fir stand growing on a nitrogen-deficient soil derived from glacial outwash. Diffusion and dispersion, though limited by soil water content, are evidently especially important in nitrogen transport to root systems in this soil.

scholarly journals Clumped or regular? the role of thinning pattern on pine growth and soil water content in dense Aleppo pine post-fire stands

New Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Turrión ◽  
Francisco Fornieles ◽  
Susana Bautista
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Structural Heterogeneity ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Aleppo Pine ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Commercial Thinning ◽  
And Control ◽  
Positive Effect

AbstractThe development of silvicultural practices that seek to promote structural heterogeneity is increasingly demanded. This work investigates the effect of thinning spatial pattern on the response to pre-commercial thinning of dense Aleppo pine post-fire stands. On three replicated experimental sites in SE Spain, we applied the following treatments: 600 trees/ha, regular thinning pattern (600R), with residual trees evenly spaced; 600 trees/ha, aggregated thinning pattern (600A), with residual pines arranged in clumps of ∽25 trees with a local within-clump density of 2500 trees/ha; and control treatment, with no thinning applied (> 20,000 trees/ha). We assessed treatment effects on pine growth, size-growth relationships, soil water content, and understory vegetation over the first three years after thinning application. Both regular and aggregated thinning pattern similarly increased pine radial growth. In general, dbh growth rates in response to thinning were faster for smaller trees than for larger trees. The growth rate of pine height was higher for 600R and control than for 600A, indicating a positive effect on height of both low and very high pine densities. We found a near-term positive effect of aggregated pattern on water availability at the stand level, mostly resulting from enhanced soil water content in the canopy gaps. For both thinning patterns, the recovery of understory vegetation was dominated by resprouter species. This study highlights the potential of aggregated thinning patterns to enhance the complexity and heterogeneity of the pine stands without compromising pine growth, which could be of great use to managing pine forests in Mediterranean areas.

Seasonal and inter-annual photosynthetic response of representative C4 species to soil water content and leaf nitrogen concentration across a tropical seasonal floodplain

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. B. Mantlana ◽  
A. Arneth ◽  
E. M. Veenendaal ◽  
P. Wohland ◽  
P. Wolski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
Leaf Nitrogen ◽  
Imperata Cylindrica ◽  
Growth Environment ◽  
Okavango River

AbstractWe examined the seasonal and inter-annual variation of leaf-level photosynthetic characteristics of three C4 perennial species, Cyperus articulatus, Panicum repens and Imperata cylindrica, and their response to environmental variables, to determine comparative physiological responses of plants representing particular microhabitats within a seasonal tropical floodplain in the Okavango River Delta, Botswana. Five measurement campaigns were carried out over a period of 2 y which covered two early rainy seasons, two late rainy seasons and one dry season. For all three species, light-saturated net photosynthetic rates (Asat) and stomatal conductance (gsat) decreased with decreasing soil water content with a seasonal range for Asat of approximately 5–45 μmol m−2 s−1, and for gsat of 0.03–0.35 mol m−2 s−1. The species representing the wettest microhabitat (Cyperus) had the highest gsat at low leaf-to-air vapour pressure deficits (Dl), the highest ratio of intercellular to ambient CO2 concentration (Ci/Ca), as well as the highest degree of variation in Ci/Ca from season to season. We interpret this as being indicative of its adaptation to a moist growth environment allowing for non-conservative water use strategies as soil moisture is usually abundant. For all three species there was significant variation in photosynthetic fluxes from one year to another that was related to variation in leaf nitrogen and phosphorus. This study shows that when assessing the role of savanna stands in large-scale carbon balance models, the remarkable inter-annual variation in leaf photosynthesis reported in this study should be taken into account.

SOIL WATER CONTENT AFFECTS THE AVAILABILITY OF PHOSPHATE

1985 ◽  
pp. 185-189
Author(s):  
M.C.H.Mouat Pieter Nes
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Soil Solution ◽  
Equivalent Reduction

Reduction in water content of a soil increased the concentration of ammonium and nitrate in solution, but had no effect on the concentration of phosphate. The corresponding reduction in the quantity of phosphate in solution caused an equivalent reduction in the response of ryegrass to applied phosphate. Keywords: soil solution, soil water content, phosphate, ryegrass, nutrition.

Effect of inter-row cultivation on soil carbon dioxide emission in a peach plantation

2010 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Tóth ◽  
Cs. Farkas
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emission ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Soil Tillage ◽  
Favourable Effect ◽  
Volumetric Soil Water Content

Soil biological properties and CO2emission were compared in undisturbed grass and regularly disked rows of a peach plantation. Higher nutrient content and biological activity were found in the undisturbed, grass-covered rows. Significantly higher CO2fluxes were measured in this treatment at almost all the measurement times, in all the soil water content ranges, except the one in which the volumetric soil water content was higher than 45%. The obtained results indicated that in addition to the favourable effect of soil tillage on soil aeration, regular soil disturbance reduces soil microbial activity and soil CO2emission.

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