Full text of this article is only available in PDF format.

Mikko Moilanen (email), Markku Saarinen, Klaus Silfverberg

Foliar nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium concentrations of Scots pine in drained mires in Finland

Moilanen M., Saarinen M., Silfverberg K. (2010). Foliar nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium concentrations of Scots pine in drained mires in Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 44 no. 4 article id 129. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.129

Abstract

An imbalanced nutrient status in Scots pine stands on drained mires is primarily a consequence of excess nitrogen (N) in relation to mineral nutrients such as phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). In this study, the variation of foliar N, P, and K concentrations relative to some site and environmental characteristics was examined. Foliar nutrient concentrations were determined on needle samples collected from mires representing different drainage ages, site types, geographical locations and annual weather conditions. In the overall data (n = 971 samples in 333 stands) the foliar N concentration varied between 6.7 and 24.2 mg g-1, the P concentration between 0.83 and 2.32 mg g-1, and the K concentration between 2.22 and 6.23 mg g-1. The original (pre-drainage) mire site type proved to be an important factor in explaining the nutrient status of the trees: on originally forested sites, the nutrient balance (N versus K; N versus P) was mostly adequate, whereas on sparsely forested and treeless sites, K deficiency was common. N deficiency was the most common in forested ‘nitrogen-poor’ sites, while P and K deficiencies were more common in originally treeless or sparsely forested ‘nitrogen rich’ sites, where the nutrient imbalance was also the greatest. Over the whole data, 29% of the cases were diagnosed to be N-deficient, 51% P-deficient, and 25% K-deficient. The foliar N concentration increased with increasing temperature sum. The foliar K concentration decreased with increasing depth of the peat layer. On former treeless or sparsely forested sites, foliar K decreased slightly with increasing drainage age. In contrast, on thin-peated sites the foliar P concentration increased with increasing drainage age. The climate conditions (location), the original site type of the mire and peat thickness should be taken into account when planning silvicultural measures on mires drained for forestry.

Keywords
peatland; foliar analysis; drainage; site type; nutrient deficiency

Author Info
  • Moilanen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Muhos and Parkano Research Units, Finland E-mail mikko.moilanen@metla.fi (email)
  • Saarinen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Muhos and Parkano Research Units, Finland E-mail ms@nn.fi
  • Silfverberg, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Muhos and Parkano Research Units, Finland E-mail ks@nn.fi

Received 22 July 2009 Accepted 23 September 2010 Published 31 December 2010

Views 4008

Available at https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.129 | Download PDF

Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0

Register
Click this link to register to Silva Fennica.
Log in
If you are a registered user, log in to save your selected articles for later access.
Contents alert
Sign up to receive alerts of new content

Your selected articles
Your search results
Nieminen M., Penttilä T. (2004) Inorganic and organic phosphorus fractions in pe.. Silva Fennica vol. 38 no. 3 article id 413
Jacobson S., (2003) Addition of stabilized wood ashes to Swedish con.. Silva Fennica vol. 37 no. 4 article id 483
Kaunisto S., Sarjala T. (2003) Foliar potassium concentrations of bilberry, bog.. Silva Fennica vol. 37 no. 3 article id 492