Forest floor chemistry under seven tree species along a soil fertility gradient

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1636-1647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Vesterdal ◽  
Karsten Raulund-Rasmussen
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Nutrient Ratios ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient ◽  
Element Contents ◽  
Forest Floors

Forest floor chemistry, i.e., C/nutrient ratios, pH, and element contents, were determined in stands of two deciduous species and five conifer species replicated at seven sites along a soil fertility gradient. There were consistent differences between forest floors of the tree species. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.) forest floors had highest C/nutrient ratios, lowest pH, and the greatest element contents, whereas oak (Quercus robur L.) forest floors had low C/nutrient ratios and the lowest element contents of all species. Differences in forest floor C/nutrient ratios, pH, and element contents between sites of low nutrient status and sites of intermediate to high nutrient status were also great. Forest floor pH was related to mineral soil pH, and C/P, C/Ca, and C/K ratios were related to mineral soil nutrient concentrations. Forest floor C content was negatively related to most mineral soil fertility variables and was closest related to texture, pH, and concentrations of P and Ca. The C content of lodgepole pine and oak forest floors tended to be less affected by the soil fertility gradient. The results suggest that C storage and immobilization of nutrients in forest floors may be managed along an extensive soil gradient by selection of the proper tree species.

Forest floor and soil nutrient status under Norway spruce and red pine in a plantation in southern Quebec

1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Fyles ◽  
B. Côté
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Red Pine ◽  
Soil Nutrient Status ◽  
Tree Species Effects

The influence of 40 years of red pine and Norway spruce growth on forest floor and soil nutrient status was examined in a well-replicated series of plantation blocks established on abandoned agricultural land. Concentrations of N, P, K and Ca, and mass of organic matter and all nutrients in the forest floor were higher under spruce than under pine. In the mineral soil, concentrations of exchangeable K and Ca were higher under spruce whereas Mg, extractable P and mineralizable N did not differ between the species. Forest floor pH was higher under spruce but mineral soil pH did not differ between the species. The soil characteristics reflected litter chemistry of the two species. Relative to pine, spruce foliage litter was consistently higher in nutrient concentration and had lower acidity and higher ash bases. The results are inconsistent with the reputation of Norway spruce as a species that strongly acidifies soils, an observation that may be the result of elevated levels of Ca and K in our soils relative to those in other studies where acidification has been observed. This research demonstrates that soil fertility can be altered significantly by tree species effects over the period of a single rotation. Key words: Forest soil fertility, plantation, acidity, forest floor, leaf litter

Bioassay of forest floor nitrogen supply for plant growth

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1320-1326 ◽  
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.

Seed availability constrains plant species sorting along a soil fertility gradient

2010 ◽  
pp. no-no ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan L. Foster ◽  
Erin J. Questad ◽  
Cathy D. Collins ◽  
Cheryl A. Murphy ◽  
Timothy L. Dickson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Species Sorting ◽  
Seed Availability ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient

scholarly journals Variation in wood nutrients along a tropical soil fertility gradient

2016 ◽  
Vol 211 (2) ◽  
pp. 440-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine D. Heineman ◽  
Benjamin L. Turner ◽  
James W. Dalling
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Tropical Soil ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient

scholarly journals Changes of ground vegetation after shelter wood cuttings in pine forests, the hemiboreal zone, Lithuania

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitas Marozas
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Site Conditions ◽  
Herbaceous Species ◽  
Indicator Values ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient

Sustainable forestry plays an important role in applying forest management measures. In many forests, management is oriented towards closer natural forest processes. Silvicultural systems that retain some part of the trees in the stand, such as shelter wood cuttings have been introduced. The aim of the study was to evaluate the early changes of ground vegetation after shelter wood cuttings in sites of different soil fertility gradient in pine dominated stands on sandy soils in the European hemiboreal zone. The Scots pine stands in which first step of shelter wood cuttings was applied were investigated. The stands were selected in fresh (normal humidity) sites according to soil fertility gradient: very poor, poor and medium fertility soils. All mosses, lichens, herbaceous vegetation and dwarf shrubs were recorded, and projection cover was estimated in June - August. Ellenberg’s indicator figures were used to evaluate site conditions. In shelter wood cuttings (5-6-year-old) the number of species was higher in medium fertile sites than in very poor sites. After shelter wood cuttings the abundance of herbaceous species increased in all sites, while the abundance of mosses and lichens decreased. Within the first year after shelter wood cuttings, the abundance of Ericaceae species decreased, and abundance of Rosaceae and Poaceae species increased. Average Ellenberg’s indicator values showed that site conditions changed after shelter wood cuttings. The changes were more intensive in medium fertile sites than in poor sites. After shelter wood cuttings the richness and abundance of ground vegetation changed. The intensity of change differed in sites of certain soil fertility and was caused by alteration of site conditions, which were more homogenous in sites of the certain fertility in uncut stands than in cuttings. Key words: herbs, mosses, non-clear cuttings, vegetation

scholarly journals Changes in fungal communities along a boreal forest soil fertility gradient

2015 ◽  
Vol 207 (4) ◽  
pp. 1145-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Sterkenburg ◽  
Adam Bahr ◽  
Mikael Brandström Durling ◽  
Karina E. Clemmensen ◽  
Björn D. Lindahl
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Soil ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Fertility Gradient ◽  
Soil Fertility Gradient

Organic matter and nitrogen content of the forest floor in even-aged northern hardwoods

1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 763-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Anthony Federer
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Nitrogen Content ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Mature Forest ◽  
Forest Floors

Organic content of the forest floor decreases for several years after clear-cutting, and then slowly recovers. Thickness, bulk density, organic matter, and nitrogen content of forest floors were measured for 13 northern hardwood stands in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Stands ranged from 1 to about 100 years in age. Forest-floor thickness varied significantly with stand age, but bulk density, organic fraction, and nitrogen fraction were independent of age. Total organic content of the forest floor agreed very well with data from Covington's (W. W. Covington 1981. Ecology, 62: 41–48) study of the same area. Both studies indicated that mature forest floors have about 80 Mg organic matter•ha−1 and 1.9 Mg nitrogen•ha−1. Within 10 or 15 years after cutting, the organic matter content of the floor decreases to 50 Mg•ha−1, and its nitrogen content to 1.1 Mg•ha−1. The question whether the decrease is rapid and the minimum broad and flat, or if the decrease is gradual and the minimum sharp, cannot be answered. The subsequent increase to levels reached in mature forest requires about 50 years. Some of the initial decrease in organic matter and nitrogen content of the forest floor may be caused by organic decomposition and nitrogen leaching, but mechanical and chemical mixing of floor into mineral soil, during and after the harvest operation, may also be important. The difference is vital with respect to maintenance of long-term productivity.

Admixing other tree species to European beech forests: Effects on soil organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks. A review.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Rehschuh ◽  
Michael Dannenmann
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Total Nitrogen ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Beech Forests ◽  
Soc Stocks

<p>Drought-sensitive European beech forests are increasingly challenged by climate change. Admixing other, preferably more deep-rooting, tree species has been proposed to increase the resilience of beech forests to summer drought. This might not only alter soil water dynamics and availability, but also soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) storage in soils. Since information of these effects is scattered, our aim was to synthesize results from studies that compared SOC/TN stocks of beech monocultures with those of mixed beech stands as well as of other monocultures. We conducted a meta-analysis including 40 studies with 208, 231 and 166 observations for forest floor, mineral soil and the total soil profile, respectively. Pure conifer stands had higher SOC stocks compared to beech in general, especially in the forest floor with up to 200% (larch forests). Other broadleaved tree species (ash, oak, lime, maple, hornbeam) showed in comparison to beech lower SOC storage in the forest floor, with little impact on total stocks.  Similarly, for mixed beech-conifer stands we found significantly increased SOC stocks of >10% and a small increase in TN stocks of approx. 4% compared to beech monocultures, which means a potential SOC storage increase of >0.1 t ha<sup>-1</sup>yr<sup>-1 </sup>(transformation of mineral soil to 100 cm depth). In contrast, mixed beech-broadleaved stands did not show a significant change in total SOC stocks. Currently, the influence climatic and soil parameters on SOC changes due to admixture of other tree species is analyzed based on this dataset. This is expected to facilitate an assessment which mixtures with beech have the largest potential towards increasing SOC stocks.</p>

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