The Natural Addition of Nitrogen, Potassium and Calcium to a Pinusbanksiana Lamb. Forest Floor

Nitrogen (N), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) in litter-fall, throughfall and stemflow were measured over a 24-week summer-autumn period in a 30-year-old Pinus banksiana Lamb, stand. Litter-fall from the forest canopy was the major contributor of N; whereas throughfall contributed the most K to the forest floor during the study period. Stemflow accounted for a very small proportion of the nutrients received by the forest floor. Additions of K and Ca from through fall were greater than those from litter-fall in July and August, a period of low organic additions to the forest floor. Tree litter-fall increased in the autumn. Nitrogen concentration of this litter-fall decreased from a high of 0.92% in early summer to a low of 0.21% in autumn; whereas Ca concentration increased from a July low of 0.16% to an autumn high of 0.57%.During September–November, overstory and understory vegetation contributed the greatest quantities of N; the overstory gave the most Ca, and the overstory, understory, and throughfall all added large amounts of K to the forest floor.

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Effects of sulphur pollution on rates of litter decomposition in a pine forest

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b85-199 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 63 (8) ◽

pp. 1436-1443 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Cindy E. Prescott ◽

Dennis Parkinson

Keyword(s):

Litter Decomposition ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Pinus Banksiana ◽

Pinus Contorta ◽

Elemental Sulphur ◽

Litter Fall ◽

Litter Accumulation ◽

Plant Decomposition ◽

Fall Rates ◽

Sour Gas

Litter decomposition was measured at three "ecologically analogous" pine (Pinus contorta × Pinus banksiana) stands located 2.8 (site 1), 6.0 (site 2), and 9.6 km (site 3) from a sour gas plant in west-central Alberta which has been emitting sulphur dioxide since 1959 and elemental sulphur dust since 1979. Respiration of intact forest floor cores and separated forest floor layers was consistently lowest at site 1 and highest at site 3. Rates of mass loss and respiration of pine needles decomposing in litterbags for 17 months also increased with distance from the gas plant. Decomposition of needles in exchanged litterbags was related primarily to the site of origin during the first few months of decomposition and to the site of placement thereafter. Litter fall rates did not bear any relation to sulphur loading; however, litter accumulation and residence times were greatest at the site nearest the gas plant. These findings indicate that an inhibition of decomposition has occurred in response to elevated levels of sulphur pollution near the gas plant.

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Seasonal Nutrient Dynamics of Litter in a Subtropical Eucalypt Forest, North Stradbroke Island

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt9770047 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 47

Author(s):

RW Rogers ◽

WE Westman

Keyword(s):

Half Life ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Nutrient Dynamics ◽

Early Summer ◽

Litter Production ◽

Litter Fall ◽

Nutrient Inputs ◽

Sodium Potassium ◽

Nutrient Pools ◽

Eucalypt Forest

The plant components and chemical composition of litter fall and the litter layer in a forest growing on deep, nutrient-poor sands were examined on North Stradbroke Island, south-eastern Queensland. The seasonal distribution of litter fall was examined over a 26-month period. While the total litter fall was greatest during summer months, the dominant tree species differed in their individual patterns of litter fall. Eucalyptus signata showed a single summer peak for leaf fall while E. umbra exhibited one peak in early summer and another in autumn. The possibility is discussed that these and other temporal differences are evolutionary expressions of niche differentiatibn to reduce competition between species in the ecosystem. The total litter fall averaged 640 g m-1 yr-1 and the accumulated forest floor mass totalled 2700 g m-2. Total nutrient pools and nutrient inputs in litter fall are presented. A litter half-life of 2.9 years is estimated, a figure close to the half-life of most of the nutrients in the litter. Manganese appears to be markedly concentrated in eucalypt leaves before they fall. Only sodium, potassium, copper and chloride appear to be leached easily from leaves slashed from trees and left on the forest floor. Patterns of litter production and decay in this subtropical forest fit within trends extrapolated from temperate Eucalyptus-dominated communities studied to date.

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Litter fall of epiphytic macrolichens in two old Picea abies forests in Sweden

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b85-132 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 63 (5) ◽

pp. 980-987 ◽

Cited By ~ 49

Author(s):

Per-Anders Esseen

Keyword(s):

Standing Crop ◽

Annual Variation ◽

Length Distribution ◽

Forest Stand ◽

Epiphytic Lichens ◽

Litter Fall ◽

Alectoria Sarmentosa ◽

Usnea Longissima ◽

Tree Litter ◽

Thallus Length

The seasonal and annual variation in the litter fall of epiphytic lichens and tree litter was studied over a period of 2 to 3 years at two forested hills in the eastern part of central Sweden. Litter fall was measured using traps and for one species, Usnea longissima, by collecting specimens present on the ground. Total litter fall amounted to 2.5 and 2.8 tons ha−1 year−1 of which lichens constituted 4.6 and 5.7% at the two sites. Lichen litter fall was highest during the period from late autumn to the beginning of summer. Both the lichens and the tree litter showed significant between-year differences. Usnea longissima had an annual turnover of 7.0 and 10.0% of the standing crop at the two sites. The thallus length distribution of U. longissima was positively skewed. It is concluded that dispersal of thallus fragments by wind evidently plays an important role for many of the filamentous lichens studied. It is suggested that U. longissima disperses over a much shorter distance than Alectoria sarmentosa and Bryoria spp. within a forest stand.

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Early growth of lodgepole pine after establishment of alsike clover–Rhizobium nitrogen-fixing symbiosis

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x92-144 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 22 (8) ◽

pp. 1089-1093 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

R. Trowbridge ◽

F.B. Holl

Keyword(s):

Forest Floor ◽

Lodgepole Pine ◽

Nitrogen Concentration ◽

Growing Season ◽

Early Growth ◽

Percent Cover ◽

Foliar Nitrogen ◽

Growing Seasons ◽

Pine Seedlings ◽

Needle Mass

An overdense lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl. ex Loud.) stand was knocked down and the site was prepared by broadcast burn, windrow burn, or mechanical forest floor removal. Inoculated alsike clover (Trifoliumhybridum L.) was seeded at 0, 10, 20, and 30 kg/ha for the three different site preparation treatments to determine the effects of (i) site preparation on infection and effectiveness of the clover–Rhizobium symbiosis and clover percent cover and (ii) the clover–Rhizobium N2-fixing symbiosis on survival, early growth, and foliar nitrogen concentration of lodgepole pine seedlings. The N2-fixing symbiosis established well in all treatments. Clover percent cover increased with increasing rate of seeding, although by relatively few percent in the clover seeded plots. Broadcast burning, windrow burning, and mechanical forest floor removal did not affect the establishment of the N2-fixing symbiosis or clover percent cover. Lodgepole pine survival was not affected by the seeding treatments in any year, nor were height measurements during the first three growing seasons. Seedling height was slightly less in clover-seeded plots compared with controls in the fourth growing season. Lodgepole pine seedlings on clover-seeded plots had decreased diameter growth compared with controls during the first three growing seasons, but incremental diameter growth no longer showed this effect by the fourth growing season. Needle mass (g/100 needles) was less in clover-seeded plots at the end of the second growing season, but this effect was reversed by the fourth growing season, when both needle mass and foliar nitrogen concentration in lodgepole pine foliage were greater in clover-seeded plots.

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Boreal pine forest floor biogenic volatile organic compound emissions peak in early summer and autumn

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology ◽

10.1016/j.agrformet.2010.12.010 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 151 (6) ◽

pp. 682-691 ◽

Cited By ~ 82

Author(s):

H. Aaltonen ◽

J. Pumpanen ◽

M. Pihlatie ◽

H. Hakola ◽

H. Hellén ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Compound ◽

Volatile Organic Compound ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Early Summer ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Volatile Organic ◽

Volatile Organic Compound Emissions ◽

Biogenic Volatile Organic Compound

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Forest floor mass and nutrients in two chronosequences of plantations: Jack pine vs. black spruce

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/s97-029 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 78 (1) ◽

pp. 77-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Helmut Krause

Keyword(s):

Nutrient Cycling ◽

Picea Mariana ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Pinus Banksiana ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Black Spruce ◽

Jack Pine ◽

Pine Plantations ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Natural Forests

The purpose of this study was to determine whether change of forest cover had an effect on the development of the organic surface horizons, particularly on those variables that influence nutrient cycling and forest productivity. Jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.) plantations were selected from among the youngest to oldest (2–16 yr) within a 100 km2 area in southeastern New Brunswick. Natural forests were also included as benchmark sites. The forest floor and tree foliage was sampled and trees measured on 0.05-ha plots. The forest floor samples were used to determine organic mass, nutrient contents and pH. In pine plantations, organic matter accumulated rapidly during the period of exponential tree growth, but leveled off at about 45 Mg ha–1. This was within the range of benchmark sites with mixed conifer-hardwood cover. In spruce plantations, the forest floor mass ranged upward to 77 Mg ha–1. Development was strongly influenced by the nature of the previous forest. Spruce forest floors were on average more acid and had lower nutrient concentrations, particularly N and Ca. The observed differences suggest that nutrients are recycled more rapidly in the pine plantations, partly explaining the superior growth of the latter. Key words: Forest floor, Kalmia angustifolia L., Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P., Pinus banksiana Lamb., nutrient cycling, plantation forest

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Estimation of Forest Canopy Nitrogen Concentration

Field Measurements for Forest Carbon Monitoring ◽

10.1007/978-1-4020-8506-2_15 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 197-203 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marie-Louise Smith ◽

David Y. Hollinger ◽

Scott Ollinger

Keyword(s):

Forest Canopy ◽

Nitrogen Concentration ◽

Canopy Nitrogen

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Effects of base cation fertilization on soil and foliage nutrient concentrations, and litter-fall and throughfall nutrient fluxes in a sugar maple forest

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x94-071 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 542-549 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

J.W. Fyles ◽

B. Côté ◽

F. Courchesne ◽

W.H. Hendershot ◽

S. Savoie

Keyword(s):

Nutrient Cycling ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Sugar Maple ◽

Base Cations ◽

Base Cation ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Litter Fall ◽

Fertilizer Response ◽

Foliar Concentrations ◽

Cycling System

Application of base cation fertilizers is widely used to ameliorate decline symptoms in hardwood forests in southern Quebec, but little is known about the effects of fertilization on nutrient cycling. Control and fertilized plots in a sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) dominated stand were monitored over a 4-year period to determine the effects of fertilization on exchangeable soil base cations in soil, foliar nutrient concentrations, and fluxes of N, K, Ca, and Mg in litter fall and throughfall. Fertilization had a large, immediate effect on exchangeable K, whereas effects on Ca and Mg were delayed and restricted to the organic forest floor, presumably because of the lower solubility of the limestone-based Ca and Mg components of the fertilizer. Fertilization raised pH in the organic forest floor the second and third years after application but had no effect in the B horizon. Foliar K, Ca, and Mg were elevated in the year of fertilization, but foliar concentrations of Ca and Mg did not differ from, or were lower than, controls in following years. Litter-fall K flux was increased by fertilization, but litter-fall Ca and Mg fluxes and all through-fall base cation fluxes were unaffected. In control plots, nutrient concentrations in soil remained relatively constant throughout the study, but foliar concentrations and, in particular, litter-fall fluxes varied widely from year to year. This natural variation caused control plots to shift from a state of deficiency in N, Ca, and Mg to a nutrient-sufficient state between the first and second years of study. Fertilization effects are superimposed on a naturally variable nutrient cycling system, and controls on this variability must be understood if fertilizer response is to be accurately predicted.

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Bioassay of forest floor nitrogen supply for plant growth

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x86-233 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. 1320-1326 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

K. Van Cleve ◽

O. W. Heal ◽

D. Roberts

Keyword(s):

Forest Floor ◽

Black Spruce ◽

Nitrogen Concentration ◽

N Uptake ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Forest Types ◽

N Supply ◽

Paper Birch ◽

Forest Floors ◽

P Supply

Using a bioassay approach, this paper considers the nitrogen-supplying power of forest floors from examples of the major forest types in interior Alaska. Yield and net N uptake by paper birch seedlings grown in standardized mixtures of quartz sand and forest floor organic matter, and separate incubation estimates of N mineralization and nitrification for the forest floors, were employed to evaluate potential N supply. Black spruce and floodplain white spruce forest floors supplied only one-fifth the amount of N taken up by seedlings growing in other forest floors. Incubation estimates showed these forest floors yielded 4 and 15 times less extractable N, respectively, than the more fertile birch forest floors. In comparison with earlier estimates of P supply from these same forest floors, the upland types showed greater deficiency of N whereas floodplain types showed greater deficiency of P in control of seedling yield. The latter condition is attributed to the highly calcareous nature of the floodplain mineral soil, the consequent potential for P fixation, and hence greater potential deficiency of the element compared with N in mineralizing forest floors. Nitrogen concentration of the forest floors was the best predictor of bioassay response.

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