Wood ash as a forest soil amendment: The role of boiler and soil type on soil property response

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
pp. 621-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Pugliese ◽  
Trevor Jones ◽  
Michael D. Preston ◽  
Paul Hazlett ◽  
Honghi Tran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Soil ◽  
Forest Soils ◽  
Soil Type ◽  
Soil Amendment ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Soil Property ◽  
Complex Mixture ◽  
Base Cations ◽  
Wood Ash

Pugliese, S., Jones, T., Preston, M. D., Hazlett, P., Tran, H. and Basiliko, N. 2014. Wood ash as a forest soil amendment: The role of boiler and soil type on soil property response. Can. J. Soil Sci. 94: 621–634. Wood ash is produced in large quantities in Canada as a by-product of the pulp and paper, sawmill, and bioenergy industries and it is anticipated that its disposal in landfills will not be a viable option. An alternative option may be to use it to amend forest soils. Wood ash is a complex mixture and its composition depends on several variables, including the combustion parameters of the boiler in which it is generated. We present an analysis of the amendment of two Canadian forest soils (a Brunisol from the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence and a Luvisol from the Carolinian forest regions of Ontario) with six different wood ashes collected from different biomass boilers through short-term controlled incubations. We show that following an 8-wk incubation period, amendment of the soils with wood ash led to small to moderate increases in soil pH, but had little effect on soil microbial activity and biomass. The concentration of important base cations such as calcium, magnesium and potassium as well as phosphorus generally increased in both soil types following amendment with different ash. This practice can return nutrients lost from forest ecosystems during harvesting; however, effects were found to be boiler-specific. Lastly, we show that four ash types led to small increases in cadmium in either soil; the concentration of all other measured heavy metals was not significantly increased following amendment, and in certain cases decreased, particularly with lead. The only potentially negative aspect encountered was elevated sodium, particularly with ash from one boiler, but unacceptable Na-absorptivity ratios were not exceeded. These results demonstrate that with proper characterization and selection of wood ash type and application rates, amendment of Canadian forest soils with wood ash may benefit forest ecosystems and is unlikely to disrupt the chemical and biological processes in soil environments.

Evaluating the effects of liming and wood-ash treatment on forest ecosystems through systematic meta-analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 867-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Reid ◽  
Shaun A. Watmough
Keyword(s):  
Soil Ph ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Forest Soils ◽  
Effect Size ◽  
Soil Type ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Wood Ash ◽  
Trial Duration ◽  
Soil C

Liming and wood-ash addition have long been used to attenuate the effects of acidic deposition on forest soils with the goal of promoting tree growth. We performed quantitative meta-analyses of treatment studies from managed forest ecosystems to assess general tendencies of effects of treatment on seven selected measures of performance thought to reasonably reflect the effects of Ca-addition treatment. We retrieved over 350 independent trials from 110 peer-reviewed liming and wood-ash addition studies that were integrated to determine soil pH, base saturation (BS), tree foliar Ca concentration, tree growth, ectomychorrhizae root colonization, soil C-to-N ratio, and microbial indices. The results were quantified through three separate meta-analysis effect size metrics: unweighted relative values and two weighted metrics, Hedges’ d and ln R. A surprising number of treatment trials (22%–85%) reported no significant effect, and soil pH and foliar Ca appeared more responsive to liming than to wood-ash addition, whereas BS and tree growth appeared more responsive to wood-ash addition. For six of the seven parameters, estimated mean effect sizes were similar in magnitude and positive in direction for all three meta-analysis metrics. Regression tree optimal models explained 38% of the variation in pH, 47% of the variation in BS, 51% of the variation in foliar Ca concentration, and 26% of the variation in tree growth. The largest predictors of effect size, within our selected group, were as follows: soil type for pH; soil type, trial duration in years, and species (hardwood or softwood) for BS; treatment dose and type for foliar Ca concentration; and trial duration, initial soil pH, and tree species for tree growth. This analysis shows that Ca additions are not universally beneficial and provides insight into when Ca additions to forest soils are likely to be most effective.

Nitrosospira, an important ammonium-oxidizing bacterium in fertilized coniferous forest soil

1985 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 190-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pertti J. Martikainen ◽  
Eeva-Liisa Nurmiaho-Lassila
Keyword(s):  
Forest Soil ◽  
Forest Soils ◽  
Exponential Growth ◽  
Doubling Time ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Growth Yield ◽  
Wood Ash ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Treated Soil ◽  
Pure Cultures

Among ammonium-oxidizing autotrophic nitrifiers only Nitrosospira was found in two pine forest soils fertilized with urea or wood ash in southern Finland. A strain isolated from an ash-treated soil was partially characterized. The cells were spirals, mostly of one to three turns; they were either flagellated or not and pili were found. The strain grew best at 20–27 °C at Po2 of 0.21 (shortest doubling time, 29 h). Km(O2) at 27 °C was 0.20 mg/L. Activity per cell during exponential growth ranged from 0.0060 to 0.0085 pmol [Formula: see text] and growth yield from 2.53 × 106 to 3.60 × 106 cells/μmol [Formula: see text]. Pure cultures could not be isolated from urea-fertilized soils. Hyphomicrobium- and seliberia-like bacteria were frequent contaminants of enrichment cultures in these soils. Reasons for the persistence of Nitrosospira in forest soil were discussed.

Role of filamentous fungi in migration of radioactive cesium in the Fukushima forest soil environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 1164-1173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshihiko Ohnuki ◽  
Fuminori Sakamoto ◽  
Naofumi Kozai ◽  
Kenji Nanba ◽  
Hitoshi Neda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Forest Soil ◽  
Filamentous Fungi ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Radioactive Cesium ◽  
Soil Environment ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant Accident

The fate of radioactive Cs deposited after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident and its associated radiological impacts are largely dependent on its mobility from surface soils to forest ecosystems.

Field and laboratory responses of earthworms to use of wood ash as a forest soil amendment

2020 ◽  
Vol 474 ◽  
pp. 118376
Author(s):  
Michael J. McTavish ◽  
Adam Gorgolewski ◽  
Stephen D. Murphy ◽  
Nathan Basiliko
Keyword(s):  
Forest Soil ◽  
Soil Amendment ◽  
Wood Ash

scholarly journals A microcosm approach highlights the response of soil mineral weathering bacterial communities to an increase of K and Mg availability

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Nicolitch ◽  
M. Feucherolles ◽  
J.-L. Churin ◽  
L. Fauchery ◽  
M.-P. Turpault ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Base Cations ◽  
Mineral Weathering ◽  
Taxonomic Structure ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Soil Bacterial Communities ◽  
Amplicon Pyrosequencing ◽  
Pcr Targeting

Abstract The access and recycling of the base cations are essential processes for the long-lasting functioning of forest ecosystems. While the role of soil bacterial communities has been demonstrated in mineral weathering and tree nutrition, our understanding of the link between the availability of base cations and the functioning of these communities remains limited. To fill this gap, we developed a microcosm approach to investigate how an increase in key base cations (potassium or magnesium) impacted the taxonomic and functional structures of the bacterial communities. During a 2-month period after fertilization with available potassium or magnesium, soil properties, global functions (metabolic potentials and respiration) as well as mineral weathering bioassays and 16S rRNA amplicon pyrosequencing were monitored. Our analyses showed no or small variations in the taxonomic structure, total densities and global functions between the treatments. In contrast, a decrease in the frequency and effectiveness of mineral weathering bacteria was observed in the fertilized treatments. Notably, quantitative PCR targeting specific genera known for their mineral weathering ability (i.e., Burkholderia and Collimonas) confirmed this decrease. These new results suggest that K and Mg cation availability drives the distribution of the mineral weathering bacterial communities in forest soil.

Sulfate retention and cation leaching of forest soils in response to acid additions

1991 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Fasth ◽  
Mark B. David ◽  
George F. Vance
Keyword(s):  
Adsorption Capacity ◽  
Forest Soils ◽  
Soil Type ◽  
Base Cations ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Leaching Losses ◽  
Organic S ◽  
Cation Leaching ◽  
Vacuum Extractor ◽  
S Mineralization

A vacuum extractor was used to examine the effects of increased SO42− deposition on net S retention and cation leaching in three Maine Spodosols (Berkshire, Dixfield, and Rawsonville series) and an Illinois Alfisol. Columns (leached daily for 30 days with either a simulated throughfall solution containing 80 μequiv. SO42−•L−1 (pH = 4.77) or a simulated throughfall solution plus 200 μequiv. H2SO4•L−1 (pH = 3.66)) were constructed using O horizons over upper B (Bh or Bhs) and lower B (Bhs or BC) horizons for the Spodosols and two depth increments of bulked soil (0–12 and 12–25 cm) for the Alfisol. Leachate concentrations of base cations were dominated by Ca2+ and were generally greater in the Alfisol than in the Spodosol leachates. Declining concentrations of base cations and NH4+ with time led to an increase in Al3+ concentrations and a decrease in pH for some of the Spodosol leachates (e.g., leachate Al3+ increased from 19 μequiv. Al3+ •L−1 (day 2) to 194 μtequiv. Al3+ •L−1 (day 30), and pH decreased from 5.53 to 4.41, respectively, for the Dixfield high-S treatment). Columns that received the high-S treatment retained a greater percentage of the added S than those that received the low-S treatment because of increased SO42− adsorption in the former. High rates of net organic S mineralization were found for all soil types (e.g., 169 μg organic S•g−1 over 30 days for the Rawsonville Bhl horizon, 15% of the total S); no treatment effects were found for the amount of S mineralized. Trends in net S retention across soil type (within the same treatment) reflected increases in soil SO42− from adsorption, as well as decreases in organic S from mineralization. When net S mineralization was removed from leaching losses of S, trends in net S retention closely reflected SO42− adsorption differences (50, 23, 8, and 1% of the added S retained by the Rawsonville, Dixfield, and Berkshire series, and the Alfisol, respectively, for the high-S treatment). Because of the low SO42− adsorption capacity of the Alfisol relative to the Spodosols, organic processes were more important in affecting net S retention for the Alfisol. Inorganic processes of S retention were more important for the three Spodosols studied.

scholarly journals AshNet: Facilitating the use of wood ash as a forest soil amendment in Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 93 (01) ◽  
pp. 17-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.D. Hannam ◽  
L. Venier ◽  
E. Hope ◽  
D. McKenney ◽  
D. Allen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Soil ◽  
Soil Amendment ◽  
Wood Ash

Micro vertical changes in soil pH and base cations over time after application of wood ash on forest soil

2017 ◽  
Vol 406 ◽  
pp. 274-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Hansen ◽  
Toke Bang-Andreasen ◽  
Helle Sørensen ◽  
Morten Ingerslev
Keyword(s):  
Forest Soil ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Base Cations ◽  
Wood Ash ◽  
Vertical Changes ◽  
Over Time

Grape Seeds Extract as Brain Food: A Review

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Souad El Gengaihi ◽  
Doha H. Abou Baker
Keyword(s):  
Antioxidant Activities ◽  
Complex Mixture ◽  
Grape Seed Extract ◽  
Grape Seed ◽  
Seed Extract ◽  
Amyloid Peptide ◽  
Grape Seeds ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Reduced Risk

Interest in the biological role of bioactive compounds present in medicinal herbs has increased over the last years. Of particular interest are plants that have an anti-Alzheimer activities. Several plants can be useful for Alzheimer (AD) management. Such as these which have anti-inflammatory activity, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory action, antiapoptotic, slow the aggregation of amyloid peptide and antioxidant activities. Grape seed extract (GSE) is a complex mixture of several compounds, mostly represented by polyphenols and flavonoids. Their consumption is safe and is recognized to exert several health benefits. GS flavonoids have been associated with the reduced risk of chronic diseases, we present some findings on the potential benefits of GSE for the treatment of AD.

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