Effects of chronic ammonium sulfate treatment on basal area increment in red spruce and sugar maple at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 862-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Alexander Elvir ◽  
G Bruce Wiersma ◽  
Alan S White ◽  
Ivan J Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Ammonium Sulfate ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Basal Area Increment ◽  
Internal Stresses ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Growth Allocation

Responses in basal area increment (BAI) of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) to chronic ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4) treatment were examined at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine. The Bear Brook Watershed is a pair-watershed forest ecosystem study with West Bear watershed treated with (NH4)2SO4 at a rate of 1800 equiv.·ha–1·year–1 since 1989, while East Bear watershed serves as a reference. Following 10 years of treatment, BAI was significantly higher for sugar maple trees growing in the treated watershed, with yearly increases relative to the reference watershed ranging from 13% in 1999 to 104% in 1996. The increase in sugar maple radial growth was attributed to a fertilization effect from the (NH4)2SO4 treatment. A reduction in BAI in sugar maple growing in the treated watershed observed in 1998 and 1999 was attributed to internal stresses and growth allocation to crown recovery after the severe 1998 ice storm. Red spruce showed no BAI growth responses to the treatment. Lower foliar Mg and Ca concentrations in red spruce in the treated watershed and lower soil responses to N enrichment in treated softwood stands compared with treated hardwood stands could explain the lack of BAI response in red spruce.

Soil and leaf analysis of fertilized sugar maple stands after ice storm damage

2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vic R Timmer ◽  
Yuanxin Teng ◽  
John Pedlar
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Treatment Effects ◽  
Calcareous Soils ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Initial Growth ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Storm Damage ◽  
The Third

Lime and/or PK fertilizers were applied as remedial soil treatments to 33 sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) woodlots established on a broad range of sites in eastern Ontario. All woodlots were actively used for maple syrup production and had suffered varying degrees of crown damage as a result of the 1998 ice storm. Soil and foliar samples were collected one and three growing seasons after treatment to assess changes in soil fertility and nutrition of these stands. Except for Ca from liming, the treatments significantly increased soil supply of added elements (P, K, Ca or Mg) as measured by standard laboratory methods. These effects may be relatively short-lived, as soil nutrient levels on treatment plots had started to decline by the end of the third season after treatment. Liming alleviated acidity on acid soils, but pH of neutral calcareous soils was unaffected, thus allaying initial concerns that liming may be "toxic" on these soils. The liming response was rapid, and persisted into the third growing season. Nutrient responses in soils were reflected in foliar analyses. Leaf P, K, Ca, and Mg were significantly raised when added as soil amendments. The results show that first-season nutrient responses to fertilizer additions are sensitive indicators of treatment effects on soil and foliage of sugar maple in the region. Initial growth assessments suggest a 15–22% basal area increment to P and K applications; however, it is not known if these early treatment effects will translate into long-term tree growth and sap yield responses. Key words: Acer saccharum, phosphorous and potassium fertilization, liming, soil tests, foliar analysis, soil acidity

scholarly journals Fertilization Fails to Increase Diameter Growth of Sawlog-size Northern Hardwoods in Upper Michigan

1982 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 207-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas M. Stone ◽  
Stephen G. Shetron ◽  
James Peryam
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Site Quality ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Basal Area Growth ◽  
Area Growth ◽  
K Fertilizer ◽  
Loam Soil ◽  
And Control

Five hundred individual, sawlog-size crop trees in a selectively managed northern hardwood stand were fertilized with 2.61 kg (5.75 lbs) of N-P-K fertilizer per tree in June 1970. The stand is predominantly sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) growing on a deep silt loam soil of good site quality. Three- and six-year diameter at breast height (dbh) and basal area growth were analyzed by treatment and diameter class. Fertilization did not increase dbh or basal area growth during either measurement period. Mean annual dbh growth of both fertilized and control trees was 0.41 cm (0.16 in.); trees in all diameter classes grew at essentially the same rate. Nearly half of the study trees grew 2.54 cm (1.0 in.) or more during the 6-year period, and fertilization did not change this proportion. Natural supplies of nutrients in good hardwood soils appear adequate for rapid growth of these species. Periodic cuttings maintain superior growth rates and contributes to efficient nutrient cycling. Fertilization is not recommended on sites like this because growth responses are not likely to justify costs.

Present-day expansion of American beech in northeastern hardwood forests: Does soil base status matter?

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 2273-2282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Duchesne ◽  
Rock Ouimet
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Base Cation ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Soil Base ◽  
Large Area ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Permanent Sample Plots

Recently, sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.) decline in northeastern North America has been regarded as a major factor structuring hardwood forests by favouring American beech ( Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) in the understory of maple-dominated stands. To determine whether soil fertility differences associated with sugar maple decline may have promoted the expansion of American beech, we explored the relationships between the soil base status and the sapling and tree strata density and composition, using data from 426 permanent sample plots distributed throughout Quebec. Our results indicate that American beech is currently expanding in the sugar maple range of Quebec. The abundance and proportion of American beech in the sapling stratum are mainly associated with the proportion of American beech in the tree stratum, the relative basal area of dead sugar maple trees, and the base status of soils. In accordance with the many studies reporting on the high sensitivity of sugar maple to the acid–base status of soils and the decline of the sugar maple population, this study supports the hypothesis that soil base cation depletion, caused in part by atmospheric acid deposition, is among the main factors involved in the present-day expansion of American beech over a large area in Quebec.

Long-term impact of liming on growth and vigor of northern hardwoods

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1295-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Long ◽  
Stephen B. Horsley ◽  
Thomas J. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Crown Health ◽  
Lime Application ◽  
Species Specific

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) is a keystone species in the northern hardwood forest, and decline episodes have negatively affected the growth and health of sugar maple in portions of its range over the past 50+ years. Crown health, growth, survival, and flower and seed production of sugar maple were negatively affected by a widespread decline event in the mid-1980s on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau in northern Pennsylvania. A long-term liming study was initiated in 1985 to evaluate responses to a one-time application of 22.4 Mg·ha–1 of dolomitic limestone in four northern hardwood stands. Over the 23-year period ending in 2008, sugar maple basal area increment (BAINC) increased significantly (P ≤ 0.05) in limed plots from 1995 through 2008, whereas American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) BAINC was unaffected. For black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.), the third principal overstory species, BAINC and survival were reduced in limed plots compared with unlimed plots. Foliar Ca and Mg remained significantly higher in sugar maple foliage sampled 21 years after lime application, showing persistence of the lime effect. These results show long-term species-specific responses to lime application.

Assessment of sugar maple health based on basal area growth pattern

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (11) ◽  
pp. 2074-2080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Duchesne ◽  
Rock Ouimet ◽  
Claude Morneau
Keyword(s):  
Growth Pattern ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Radial Growth ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Tree Health ◽  
Health Decline ◽  
Area Growth ◽  
Natural Range

The first tree health decline symptoms usually observed are foliar deficiency symptoms, foliage loss, and dieback. To improve the subjective nature and unspecificity of these assessments, we examined sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) radial growth and health to develop an indicator of sugar maple tree health status based on radial growth pattern. We used the basal area increment (BAI) of 328 tree-ring collections from 16 sites located in southern Quebec, throughout the sugarbush natural range, that were categorized by defoliation class. BAI of trees with decline symptoms was significantly lower than that of healthy trees in 9 of the 16 stands. BAI trends since 1955 showed an inverse relationship with tree decline class measured in 1989, irrespective of tree age. The results indicate that declining trees in these stands have not recovered based on BAI. They also suggest that the decrease in slope of BAI predated the observed symptoms of sugar maple decline by at least one decade. Results suggest that sugar maple vigor and health can be assessed by measuring tree's BAI trend, an indicator that may be useful for the diagnosis of sugar maple health and status years before the appearance of visible canopy symptoms.

Historical trends in tree-ring growth and chemistry across an air-quality gradient in Wisconsin

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. E. Frelich ◽  
J. G. Bockheim ◽  
J. E. Leide
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Growth Efficiency ◽  
Basal Area Increment ◽  
Past Century ◽  
White Pine ◽  
The Past ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The 1960S

Basal-area increment and chemical composition of xylem wood were measured in three old-growth (ca. 75–100 years) white pine (Pinusstrobus L.) and three sugar maple (Acersaccharum) Marsh.) stands across a pH and SO4 gradient in precipitation in Wisconsin. In 1986 the volume-weighted mean pH and SO4 content of precipitation ranged from 4.5 to 5.0 and from 21 to 11 kg • ha−1, respectively, from southeastern to northwestern Wisconsin. With one exception (a white pine site at Point Beach in eastern Wisconsin), basal-area increment increased from the 1890s until the 1950s (sugar maple) or 1970s (white pine), then levelled off. Growth efficiency, estimated as the ratio of basal area to exposed crown area or crown volume for the 1980–1985 period, was similar for sugar maple across the gradient; however, growth efficiency of white pine was lower at Point Beach than at the two northern Wisconsin sites. Lead concentrations in xylem wood of both species have increased with time, except at Crotte Creek in northwestern Wisconsin, and Pb concentrations in xylem wood of both species were significantly greater in southeastern than in northwestern Wisconsin. Sulfur concentrations in xylem wood of white pine have increased since the 1960s at Point Beach and at one site in north central Wisconsin; S concentrations are significantly greater for both species in southeastern than in northern Wisconsin. Concentrations of Ca, Mg, and K in xylem wood of sugar maple have decreased over the past century. Whereas xylem wood concentrations of Mn and Zn generally show no age-related trends, Fe and P concentrations have increased markedly at all sites, particularly during the past decade. Although additional research is needed to determine the potential of dendrochemistry in evaluating the consequences of environmental pollution, the age- and site-related trends in chemical composition of xylem wood of white pine and sugar maple appear to be related to vehicular emissions (Pb), air pollution (S), migration along ray paths during conversion of sapwood into heartwood (P, Fe, Ca, K, Mg), and possibly reallocation of nutrients from the labile soil pool to perennial tree tissues during stand development (Ca, K, Mg).

Ice storm damage to eastern Ontario forests: 1998–2001

2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Hopkin ◽  
Tim Williams ◽  
Robert Sajan ◽  
John Pedlar ◽  
Cathy Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Storm Damage ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Eastern Ontario

Following the 1998 ice storm, tree mortality and crown damage were monitored on permanent plots across eastern Ontario from 1998 until 2001. Conifer species were less damaged than hardwoods. Hardwood tree species showing the greatest crown damage included aspen, (Populus tremuloides), basswood (Tilia americana), and white birch (Betula papyrifera); major species showing the least damage included sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red oak (Quercus rubra) and hickory (Carya spp.). Generally, smaller diameter trees showed less damage than larger diameter trees. Significant mortality was recorded to silver maple (Acer saccharinum), basswood, ash (Fraxinus spp.) and aspen in 1998, although mortality in 2000 and 2001 was about 1–2%. Trees sustaining > 75% crown damage usually died by 2001. Key words: ice storm, ice damage, forest health

Winter foraging by individual porcupines

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 2425-2428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uldis Roze
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Foraging Area ◽  
Winter Foraging ◽  
Study Population

Winter feeding of individual porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum L.) was studied in the northern Catskill Mountains of New York by following individual feeding trails in the snow. The study population as a whole fed primarily on beech (Fagus grandifolia) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and less frequently on eight other tree species. Individual porcupines limited their feeding to one or two species. An individual's primary food choice corresponded to the numerically most abundant tree species in its foraging area; its secondary food choice could not be related to relative density nor to relative basal area.

Carbohydrate reserves in Acer saccharum trees damaged during the January 1998 ice storm in northern New York

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 668-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
B L Wong ◽  
L J Staats ◽  
A S Burfeind ◽  
K L Baggett ◽  
A H Rye
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Growth Ring ◽  
Soluble Sugar ◽  
Soluble Sugars ◽  
Cold Season ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
High Concentrations

To assess the effect of the ice storm of January 1998 on sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) tree health, starch, and soluble sugars in twigs from two damaged sugarbushes (younger: trees 50–100 years old, and older: trees approximately 200 years old) in northern New York were measured throughout the leafless phase (September 1998 – May 1999). Trees severely damaged by the ice storm exhibited signs of recovery during the first growth season (1998), that is, greater numbers of lateral (epicormic) shoots and increased wood production in the current year growth ring of branches at mid-crown, and high concentrations of starch in the twigs at the time of leaf drop. Differences in reserve and soluble sugar profiles between damaged and slightly damaged or undamaged sugar maple trees and between trees of the older sugarbush and those of the younger sugarbush indicate changes in cold season physiology of damaged trees in adapting to or tolerating cold temperature. In damaged trees of the younger and older sugarbushes, the profiles of sucrose, stachyose, raffinose, and xylose were similar to those of corresponding slightly damaged or undamaged trees throughout the cold season, except for late winter sucrose, glucose, and fructose profiles, which exhibited differences in concentration and profile configurations compared with respective slightly damaged or undamaged trees. A lower concentration of sucrose in damaged older tree wood tissue after dehardening in late winter and a lower concentration of "resynthesized" starch just prior to vernal growth were observed. The data indicate that the profiles of individual sugars can provide information on changes in physiological and biochemical processes in damaged trees during the cold season.Key words: starch, sucrose, glucose, fructose, raffinose, stachyose.

Growth following single-tree selection cutting in Québec northern hardwoods

2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 898-905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Bédard ◽  
Zoran Majcen
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Northern Hardwoods ◽  
Diameter Growth ◽  
Selection Cutting ◽  
Single Tree ◽  
Basal Area Growth ◽  
Area Growth ◽  
Single Tree Selection

Eight experimental blocks were established in the southern part of Québec to determine the growth response of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) dominated stands after single tree selection cutting. Each block contained eight control plots (no cut) and eight cut plots. The intensity of removal varied between 21% and 32% and residual basal area was between 18.2 and 21 m2/ha. Ten year net annual basal area growth rates in cut plots (0.35 ± 0.04 m2/ha) were significantly higher (p = 0.0022) than in control plots (0.14 ± 0.06 m2/ha). The treatment particularly favoured diameter growth of stems between 10 and 30 cm in dbh, whose crowns were released by removing neighbouring trees. These results show that if the same net growth rate is maintained in the next decade most of the cut plots will reach their pre-cut basal area in about 20 years after cutting. Key words: northern hardwoods, selection cutting, uneven aged silviculture, basal area growth, diameter growth

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