Current issue: 58(4)
A mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand growing on a site of the Vaccinium type in Southern Finland was fertilized with nitrogen-rich NPK fertilizer at a level of 150 kg pure nitrogen per hectare. The sample plots were also irrigated during four growing seasons. The total amount of irrigation during this period was 1,200 mm. Fertilization alone increased the coverage of grasses and dwarf shrubs. The culmination of the increase occurred during the second growing season after the start of the treatment. The rapid effect of irrigation on the coverage of ground vegetation was not so strong as that of fertilization. It was concluded on the basis of the developed growth model that the coverage of dwarf shrubs, especially Calluna vulgaris, was, however, increased with the fertilization treatment for a prolonged period. Fertilization and irrigation had no visible effect on the coverage of lichens and mosses.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
The study deals with the relationship between biomass and coverage in ground vegetation of Vaccinium and Calluna forest types. The results show that the biomass of the field layer on both forest types can predict satisfactorily in both coverage values of some the most important species and groups of species. Their total height per plot was used as independent variables. The explaining power of the models constructed for Vaccinium type increased to approximately 57% and for the Calluna type to approximately 74% of the total variation in the amount of dry matter. When the biomass of the bottom layer was predicted using the same kind of variables, the explaining power for the Vaccinium type increased to approximately 35% of the total variation and for the Calluna type approximately 53% of the total variation in the amounts of dry matter. The models for field layer of both Vaccinium and Calluna types were quite well suited for describing the test material. In the case of the bottom layer, the constructed models were not suitable for describing the test material.
The PDF includes a summary in English.