%0 Research article
%T Addition of stabilized wood ashes to Swedish coniferous stands on mineral soils - effects on stem growth and needle nutrient concentrations
%A Jacobson, Staffan
%D 2003
%J Silva Fennica
%V 37
%N 4
%R doi:10.14214/sf.483
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/483
%X Increasing use of forest fuels for energy production is generating  increasing quantities of wood ash. A common understanding is that this  ash should be spread in forests to counteract soil acidification and  potential future nutrient deficiencies, and thus help sustain long-term  forest productivity. A series of seven field experiments was established  in Sweden in 1988–1995 to study the stem growth and needle nutrient  concentrations of 30–60-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and  Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands on mineral soil after  additions of wood ash in different doses or a combination of wood ash  and N. The results showed that the most pronounced growth responses  occurred when N was added, either alone or in combination with wood ash.  The stem growth responses to additions of wood ash without N were small  and variable, and not statistically significant at any of the studied  experimental sites. However, there were indications that the addition of  wood ash may increase stem-wood growth on fertile sites and decrease it  on less fertile sites. In the short term, the addition of wood ash  tended to increase the needle nutrient concentrations of most analyzed  elements, except for N, but this could not be correlated to responses in  stem growth.