Klaus Silfverberg. (1995). Forest regeneration on nutrient-poor peatlands: Effects of fertilization, mounding and sowing. Silva Fennica vol. 29 no. 3 article id 5557. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a9208

Keywords: Pinus sylvestris; Betula; soil preparation; natural regeneration; drained peatlands; mounding; ground vegetation; sowing; seedling number

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The effects of wood ash and PK fertilization on natural regeneration and sowing of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were studied in field experiments on nitrogen-poor (N_tot 0.87–1.26%) peat substrates. The study material was derived from three drained, nutrient-poor pine mires (64°52’ N, 25°08’ E) at Muhos, near Oulu, Finland. The experimental fields were laid out in 1985 as a split-split-plot design including the following treatments; mounding, natural regeneration and sowing and fertilization; PK (400 kg ha^-1) and wood ash (5,000 kg ha^-1). The seedlings were inventoried in circles in July–August 1991.

Changes in the vegetation were small and there were no statistical differences due to the fertilization treatments in the ground vegetation. PK or ash fertilization did not cause vegetation changes harmful to Scots pine regeneration on nitrogen-poor peatlands. Both sowing and fertilization significantly increased the number of pine seedlings, but not their height. Wood ash increased seedling number more than PK fertilizer. The number of seedlings varied from 7,963 (control) to 42,781 ha^-1 (mounding + sowing + ash). The seedling number was adequate for successful regeneration even on non-mounded, non-fertilized naturally regenerated plots.

The number of birch seedlings varied more than that of pine (370–25,927 ha-¹). Mounding especially increased the number of birches. The difference between PK fertiliser and ash was less pronounced than that for pine. In addition, to the field studies the effects of ash and PK fertilizer on the germination of Scots pine seeds was studied in a greenhouse experiment. Soaking in ash solutions strongly reduced seed germination, while the PK solution was less harmful.

Silfverberg, E-mail: ks@mm.unknown

Category : Research article

article id 129, category Research article

Mikko Moilanen, Markku Saarinen, Klaus Silfverberg. (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

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

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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.

Moilanen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Muhos and Parkano Research Units, Finland E-mail: mikko.moilanen@metla.fi
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

article id 656, category Research article

Klaus Silfverberg, Markus Hartman. (1999). Effects of different phosphorus fertilisers on the nutrient status and growth of Scots pine stands on drained peatlands. Silva Fennica vol. 33 no. 3 article id 656. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.656

Keywords: needles; Scots pine; stand growth; drainage; phosphorus; peat; fertilisation

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The aim of the study was to compare the effects of phosphorus fertilisers of different solubility and different phosphorus doses. The material was collected from 8 field experiments situated on drained peatlands in southern and central Finland (60°–65°N). The sites were drained, oligotrophic pine fens and pine bogs, which had been fertilised between 1961 and 1977 with different combinations of N, K and P. In 1991–94 stand measurements and foliar and peat sampling were carried out on 162 sample plots. Apatite, rock phosphate and superphosphate affected basal area growth to a rather similar extent. However, apatite slightly surpassed superphosphate and rock phosphate at the end of the study period in two hollow-rich S. fuscum bogs. Higher doses of phosphorus did not significantly increase the basal area growth. The foliar phosphorus concentrations clearly reflected the effect of the P fertilisation. Especially on the pine bogs basic fertilisation with 66 kg P/ha maintained the needle phosphorus concentrations at a satisfactory level for more than 25 years after fertilisation. The amount of phosphorus in the 0–20 cm peat layer was not significantly increased either by basic fertilisation or refertilisation. The phosphorus reserves in the peat in the individual experiments were between 88 and 327 kg/ha. There was a strong correlation between the amounts of phosphorus and iron in the peat. Large amounts of iron in peat may reduce the solubility and availability of phosphorus. According to the foliar phosphorus concentrations in the basic-fertilised plots, the need for refertilisation seems to be unnecessary during the 25-year postfertilisation period at least. None of the basic fertilisation treatments seriously retarded the basal area growth compared to the refertilised treatments. There seems to be a greater shortage of potassium than of phosphorus, because the foliar potassium concentrations and the amounts of potassium in the 0–20 cm peat layer were very low in several of the experiments.

Silfverberg, The Finnish Forest Research Institute, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: klaus.silfverberg@metla.fi
Hartman, The Finnish Forest Research Institute, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: mh@nn.fi

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