Distribution and cycling of elements in a Pinus resinosa plantation ecosystem, Wisconsin

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Bockheim ◽  
S. W. Lee ◽  
J. E. Leide
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Belowground Biomass ◽  
Mineral Weathering ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Rooting Zone ◽  
Atmospheric Inputs ◽  
Turn Over

Biomass in 34-year-old planted red pine (Pinusresinosa Ait.) on a Typic Udipsamment soil was 127 t ha−1. Aboveground net primary production was 10.2 t ha−1 year−1. Nutrient concentrations in the trees varied by (i) tissue, (ii) position in tree, and (iii) age of foliage. In the aboveground tree concentrations of N, P, K, Mg, and S were greatest in foliage followed by bolebark, live branches, and bolewood. Concentrations of N and S in foliage, bolebark, and live branches and concentrations of K, Mg, and P in the bolebark and live branches increased toward the apex of the tree. Whereas concentrations of Ca, Mg, and S increased with foliar age, concentrations of K and P decreased with foliar age. Total elements in the aboveground and belowground biomass were ranked: N > Ca > K > Mg > S > P. The forest floor contained greater quantities of N (254 kg ha−1) than the vegetation (222 kg ha−1). The upper 100 cm of mineral soil contained from 8.2% (N) to 89% (Mg) of the readily available nutrients in the ecosystem: Atmospheric inputs were the major source of N and S. Output of a given element by leaching beyond the rooting zone (55 cm) was less than 7 kg ha−1 year−1, except for S which was 12 kg ha−1 year−1. Litterfall returned the greatest amounts of each of the elements to the soil surface, followed by throughfall and stemflow. Because of foliar leaching, the net loading of each of the elements exceeded that of the precipitation. With the exception of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and H, loading of elements in the forest floor leachate exceeded that of the throughfall + stemflow. Nitrogen mineralization was estimated to be 44 kg ha−1 year−1. Whereas N, S, and P in the forest floor required approximately 10 years to turn over, Ca, Mg, and K turned over in about 5 years. Mineral weathering provided 22, 6.9, and 5.0 kg ha−1 year−1 of Ca, K, and Mg, respectively. These estimates, determined from the mass balance approach, are considered to be too high. Elements were taken up by the vegetation in the following order: Ca (56 kg ha−1 year−1), N (54), K (18), S (13), and Mg (10 kg ha−1 year−1). Elemental retention, which ranged from 30% for S to 50% for K, was lower than for comparable ecosystems.

scholarly journals Free atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> enrichment increased above ground biomass but did not affect symbiotic N<sub>2</sub>-fixation and soil carbon dynamics in a mixed deciduous stand in Wales

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Hoosbeek ◽  
M. Lukac ◽  
E. Velthorst ◽  
A. R. Smith ◽  
D. L. Godbold
Keyword(s):  
Elevated Co2 ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Co2 Enrichment ◽  
Alnus Glutinosa ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Face Experiment ◽  
Leaf N Content

Abstract. Through increases in net primary production (NPP), elevated CO2 is hypothesized to increase the amount of plant litter entering the soil. The fate of this extra carbon on the forest floor or in mineral soil is currently not clear. Moreover, increased rates of NPP can be maintained only if forests can escape nitrogen limitation. In a Free atmospheric CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiment near Bangor, Wales, 4 ambient and 4 elevated [CO2] plots were planted with patches of Betula pendula, Alnus glutinosa and Fagus sylvatica on a former arable field. After 4 years, biomass averaged for the 3 species was 5497 (se 270) g m−2 in ambient and 6450 (se 130) g m−2 in elevated [CO2] plots, a significant increase of 17% (P = 0.018). During that time, only a shallow L forest floor litter layer had formed due to intensive bioturbation. Total soil C and N contents increased irrespective of treatment and species as a result of afforestation. We could not detect an additional C sink in the soil, nor were soil C stabilization processes affected by elevated [CO2]. We observed a decrease of leaf N content in Betula and Alnus under elevated [CO2], while the soil C/N ratio decreased regardless of CO2 treatment. The ratio of N taken up from the soil and by N2-fixation in Alnus was not affected by elevated [CO2]. We infer that increased nitrogen use efficiency is the mechanism by which increased NPP is sustained under elevated [CO2] at this site.

Relationships between microsite type and the growth and nutrition of young black spruce on post-disturbed lowland black spruce sites in eastern Canada

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Lavoie ◽  
David Paré ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Rooting Zone ◽  
Growth Substrates ◽  
Humic Materials ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Decaying Wood

The surface of the soil in recently harvested or burned lowland black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) sites is composed of a fine mosaic of different bryophytes (mostly Sphagnum spp. and feathermosses), disturbed organic material originating mostly from mosses at different stages of decay, and exposed mineral soil. Growth substrates were compared in lowland black spruce stands regenerating after either careful logging or wildfire. The 3-year annual increment for black spruce seedlings was greatest with substrates of feathermosses, mainly Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt., fibric material of P. schreberi origin, and a mixture of fibric P. schreberi and humic materials; it was least with fibric Sphagnum spp., mineral soil, and decaying wood substrates. The most favourable substrates for growth were characterized by better black spruce N and P foliar status. Our results also suggest that categories of growth substrates in the rooting zone reflect nutritional quality better than categories of growth substrates on the soil surface. To maintain or increase black spruce growth following careful logging of sites prone to paludification, we recommend fill-planting of seedlings in substrates originating from P. schreberi; management techniques that favour P. schreberi over Sphagnum mosses should also be developed.

Interactions between deadwood and soil characteristics in a natural boreal trembling aspen – jack pine stand1This article is one of a selection of papers from the International Symposium on Dynamics and Ecological Services of Deadwood in Forest Ecosystems.

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 1456-1466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Brais ◽  
Pascal Drouin
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Wood Decay ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Trembling Aspen

Decaying wood contribution to the heterogeneity of forest soils could depend on tree species and wood decay stage. The study was conducted in an 85-year-old trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides Michx.) – jack pine ( Pinus banksiana Lamb.) forest in northwestern Quebec, Canada. Trees, snags, logs, and forest floor originating from wood buried within the forest floor (lignic FF) and from fine litter (alignic FF) were inventoried in fifteen 400 m2 plots (nine jack pine and six trembling aspen). Chemical properties of alignic and lignic FF and logs were measured and relative nutrient availability in the mineral soil assessed under logs and under lignic and alignic FF using PRS probes. No significant differences between forest covers were found for the proportion of C and nutrients contained in deadwood (snags, logs, and lignic FF) relative to tree biomass plus necromass (deadwood plus alignic FF) content. Lignic FF was characterized by a higher C/N ratio and exchangeable acidity than alignic FF and its nutrient concentrations were between those of alignic FF and logs. Differences in wood characteristics may explain some of the differences in forest floor properties observed between trembling aspen and jack pine. Nutrient availability in the mineral soil was affected by the overlaying materials and could reflect differences in the dynamics of individual nutrients.

Distribution and cycling of macronutrients in a Pinusresinosa plantation fertilized with nitrogen and potassium

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 778-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Bockheim ◽  
J. E. Leide ◽  
D. S. Tavella
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Nutrient Budgets ◽  
Absolute Increase ◽  
Leaching Losses ◽  
Rooting Zone ◽  
Matter Production ◽  
Aboveground Production ◽  
Foliar Concentrations

Fertilization with 100 kg K ha−1 as KCl and 100 kg N ha−1 as NH4NO3 resulted in an 11% increase in aboveground biomass and a 32% increase in aboveground production 4 years following fertilization of a 33-year-old red pine (Pinusresinosa Ait.) plantation in central Wisconsin. The greatest absolute increase in dry matter occurred in the foliage, followed by the sapwood and the live branches. Fertilization increased all macronutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) in the aboveground tissues. The increase was greatest for N, followed by Ca, K, Mg, and P. The net gains in macronutrients in the live branches and the sapwood were due not only to increases in dry matter production but also to increases in nutrient concentrations. However, the increases in macronutrients in the foliage were related to an increase in foliage mass rather than to changes in foliar concentrations. Whereas 26 kg K ha−1 (26% of applied K) was recovered in the biomass and forest floor 4 years after fertilization, 107 kg N ha−1 (107% of applied N) was recovered in these pools. The greater recovery of N than the amount applied was attributed to additive errors associated with preparation of nutrient budgets. Fertilization increased leaching losses of all macronutrients, especially [Formula: see text] and Ca2+, at the bottom of the rooting zone. However, leaching losses returned to levels measured in the control stand within 5 [Formula: see text] to 14 months [Formula: see text] following fertilization.

The effect of fire severity on ash, and plant and soil nutrient levels following experimental burning in a boreal mixedwood stand

1998 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Johnston ◽  
Julie Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Fire Ecology ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Rubus Idaeus ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Heat Output ◽  
Nutrient Inputs ◽  
Whole Tree

The Boreal Mixedwood Ecosystem Study near Thunder Bay, Ontario is a multi-disciplinary investigation of the impacts of harvesting and fire on the structure and function of a boreal mixed-wood ecosystem. The fire component comprises a set of treatments in which fire severity was manipulated by adjusting fuel loadings through a variety of harvesting techniques, and also included fire in standing timber. Intensive fuel sampling before and after the fire enabled detailed determinations of fuel consumption, heat output and forest floor reduction. Nutrient concentrations in ash, soil, and plant tissue following the fire were compared with fire severity in order to quantify potential nutrient inputs and their relationship to the amount of biomass consumed during the fire. Forest floor and woody fuel consumption varied significantly among treatments, with the most important factor being whether or not the stand had been harvested previous to the fire. The pH was highest and P concentrations among the lowest in the ash of unharvested blocks. Nutrient concentrations of the remaining forest floor and upper mineral soil were weakly related to the treatments. Forest floor P concentrations were highest on whole-tree harvested and lowest on uncut blocks. Whole-tree harvested blocks also had the highest pH values in forest floor and mineral soil. Concentrations of N, P, and Mg in the foliage of Populus tremuloides Michx. and Rubus idaeus L. were higher on unharvested burned than cut and burned plots, and were negatively correlated with the depth of forest floor reduction. These results indicate that fire severity plays a role in determining the extent of nutrient enrichment following fire, and may be important in influencing long-term site productivity. Key words: Fire severity, forest fire, nutrient cycles, soil chemistry, fire ecology

scholarly journals Free atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> enrichment did not affect symbiotic N<sub>2</sub>-fixation and soil carbon dynamics in a mixed deciduous stand in Wales

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 4153-4180
Author(s):  
M. R. Hoosbeek ◽  
M. Lukac ◽  
E. J. Velthorst ◽  
D. L. Godbold
Keyword(s):  
Elevated Co2 ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Co2 Enrichment ◽  
Alnus Glutinosa ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Face Experiment ◽  
Leaf N Content

Abstract. Through increases in net primary production (NPP), elevated CO2 is hypothesizes to increase the amount of plant litter entering the soil. The fate of this extra carbon on the forest floor or in mineral soil is currently not clear. Moreover, increased rates of NPP can be maintained only if forests can escape nitrogen limitation. In a Free atmospheric CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiment near Bangor, Wales, 4 ambient CO2 and 4 FACE plots were planted with patches of Betula pendula, Alnus glutinosa and Fagus sylvatica on a former arable field. Four years after establishment, only a shallow L forest floor litter layer had formed due to intensive bioturbation. Total soil C and N contents increased irrespective of treatment and species as a result of afforestation. We could not detect an additional C sink in the soil, nor were soil C stabilization processes affected by FACE. We observed a decrease of leaf N content in Betula and Alnus under FACE, while the soil C/N ratio decreased regardless of CO2 treatment. The ratio of N taken up from the soil and by N2-fixation in Alnus was not affected by FACE. We infer that increased nitrogen use efficiency is the mechanism by which increased NPP is sustained under elevated CO2 at this site.

scholarly journals Nutrient dynamics along a precipitation gradient in European beech forests

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 11899-11933 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. C. Meier ◽  
C. Leuschner
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Precipitation Gradient ◽  
Foliar N ◽  
P Pools

Abstract. Precipitation as a key determinant of forest productivity influences forest ecosystems also indirectly through alteration of the nutrient status of the soil, but this interaction is not well understood. Along a steep precipitation gradient (from 970 to 520 mm yr−1 over 150 km distance), we studied the consequences of reduced precipitation for the soil and biomass nutrient pools and dynamics in 14 mature European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests on uniform geological substrate. We tested the hypotheses that lowered summer precipitation (1) is associated with less acid soils and a reduced accumulation of organic matter on the forest floor, and (2) reduces nutrient supply from the soil and leads to decreasing foliar and root nutrient concentrations. Soil acidity, the amount of forest floor organic matter, and the associated organic matter N and P pools decreased to about a half from wet to dry sites; the C/P and N/P ratios, but not the C/N ratio, of forest floor organic matter decreased. Net N mineralization (and nitrification) rate and the available P and K pools in the mineral soil did not change with decreasing precipitation. Foliar P and K concentrations (beech sun leaves) increased while N remained constant, resulting in decreasing foliar N/P and N/K ratios. N resorption efficiency increased toward the dry sites. We conclude that a reduction in summer rainfall significantly reduces the soil C, N and P pools but does not result in decreasing foliar N and P contents in beech. However, more effective tree-internal N cycling and the decreasing foliar N/P ratio towards the dry stands indicate that tree growth may increasingly be limited by N and not by P with decreasing precipitation.

When It's Hot, It's Hot... Or Maybe It's Not! (Surface Flaming May Not Portend Extensive Soil Heating)

1992 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
RA Hartford ◽  
WH Frandsen
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
Surface Moisture ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
Duration Of Heating

Fire effects on aplant community, soil, and air are not apparent when judged only by surface fire intensity. The fire severity or fire impact can be described by the temperatures reached within the forest floor and the duration of heating experienced in the vegetation, forest floor, and underlying mineral soil. Temporal distributions of temperatures illustrate heat flow in duff and mineral soil in three instrumented plots: two with slash fuel over moist duff and one with litter fuel over dry duff. Fires in the two slash fuel plots produced substantial flame lengths but minimal heating in the underlying mineral soil. In contrast, smoldering combustion in the dry duff plot produced long duration heating with nearly complete duff consumption and lethal temperatures at the mineral soil surface. Moisture content of duff and soil were key variables for determining f i e impact on the forest floor.

Water chemistry profiles in an early- and a mid-successional forest in coastal British Columbia

1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Binkley ◽  
J. P. Kimmins ◽  
M. C. Feller
Keyword(s):  
Water Chemistry ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Mineral Weathering ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Saturated Zone ◽  
Red Alder ◽  
Zone Water

Water chemistry profiles of an 18-year-old forest ecosystem are compared with those of a 70- to 90-year-old forest ecosystem for a 9-month period. The younger ecosystem was dominated by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) and red alder (Alnusrubra Bong.) whereas western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), Douglas-fir, and western red cedar (Thujaplicata Donn.) dominated the older ecosystem. Concentrations of nutrients and other chemicals were measured in throughfall, forest floor and mineral soil lecachates, saturated-zone water, and stream water. Concentrations of dissolved chemicals were much greater in the younger ecosystem than in the older ecosystem at intermediate stages in the profiles. However, stream water concentrations differed less between the two ecosystems for most of the chemicals investigated. Nitrate and silica were exceptional; stream water nitrate concentrations in the younger ecosystem averaged 16 times greater than those in the older ecosystem. This was probably a result of biological nitrogen fixation by red alder in the younger ecosystem, a process which would more than compensate for the higher nitrate losses. Silica concentrations in the younger ecosystem consistently exceeded levels in the older ecosystem by 40 to 100%. suggesting a possibility of a greater rate of mineral weathering in the younger ecosystem.Although nutrient concentrations were higher in the soil leachates of the younger ecosystem, these higher levels failed to persist through the saturated-zone water and stream water stages of the water chemistry profile. Consequently, the younger ecosystem appeared relatively more efficient at retaining dissolved nutrients than the older ecosystem. Stream water chemistry was relatively insensitive to the magnitudes of the differences in biogeochemical process rates of the two ecosystems.

Seed banks of forested and disturbed soils in southwestern British Columbia

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 1574-1583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann McGee ◽  
M. C. Feller
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Seed Bank ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Seedling Emergence ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Burial Depth

The species composition and density of seed banks in the forest floors and mineral soils of several undisturbed (immature, midseral forests) and disturbed (transmission line rights-of-way) ecosystems in southwestern British Columbia were estimated using the seedling-emergence method. The total soil surface area sampled was 9.4 m2. Germination behaviour of seven dominant species in response to depth of burial and substrate was also studied in a greenhouse experiment. A total of 16 289 seedlings germinated, representing 62 native and naturalized vascular plant species and several unidentified grass species. Most seedlings emerged from the forest floor, and the number of germinants generally decreased with increasing sample depth. Drier ecosystems had the lowest number and density of germinants. Burial depth significantly affected germination of all species tested. Mineral soil was equal, or superior, to forest floor as a germination substrate for all species tested. Depth–substrate interactions for several species indicated that the pattern of influence of burial depth in relation to substrate varied with species. Caution is urged extrapolating greenhouse seed-bank studies to potential weed populations in the field. Establishment of species from the seed bank will be a function of the depth to which the soil is disturbed and the kind of disturbance (burning, scarification) imposed. Key words: British Columbia, Coastal Western Hemlock zone, seed bank, seed germination, seed diversity, seed density.

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