Ivars Kļaviņš, Arta Bārdule, Zane Lībiete, Dagnija Lazdiņa, Andis Lazdiņš. (2019). Impact of biomass harvesting on nitrogen concentration in the soil solution in hemiboreal woody ecosystems. Silva Fennica vol. 53 no. 4 article id 10016. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10016

Keywords: nitrogen concentration; stump harvesting; whole-tree harvesting; soil solution; hemiboreal forest; short-rotation coppice

Highlights: Soil solution nitrogen concentrations in whole-tree harvesting sites are higher in sites of medium to high fertility than in sites of low fertility; In whole-tree harvesting and stem-only harvesting sites, soil solution nitrogen concentrations are highest 2 to 3 years after harvesting; The risks of nitrogen leaching immediately after harvesting are higher in traditional forestry systems compared to short-rotation cropping.

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Considering the increasing use of wood biomass for energy and the related intensification of forest management, the impacts of different intensities of biomass harvesting on nutrient leaching risks must be better understood. Different nitrogen forms in the soil solution were monitored for 3 to 6 years after harvesting in hemiboreal forests in Latvia to evaluate the impacts of different biomass harvesting regimes on local nitrogen leaching risks, which potentially increase eutrophication in surface waters. In forestland dominated by Scots pine Pinus sylvestris L. or Norway spruce Picea abies L. (Karst.), the soil solution was sampled in: (i) stem-only harvesting (SOH), (ii) whole‐tree harvesting, with only slash removed (WTH), and (iii) whole‐tree harvesting, with both slash and stumps harvested (WTH + SB), subplots. In agricultural land, sampling was performed in an initially fertilised hybrid aspen (Populus tremula L.× P. tremuloides Michx.) short-rotation coppice (SRC), where above-ground biomass was harvested. In forestland, soil solution N (nitrogen) concentrations were highest in the second and third year after harvesting. Mean annual values in WTH subplots of medium to high fertility sites exceeded the mean values in SOH subplots and control subplots (mature stand where no harvesting was performed) for the entire study period; the opposite trend was observed for the low-fertility site. Biomass harvesting in the hybrid aspen SRC only slightly affected NO₃^–-N (nitrate nitrogen) and NH₄⁺-N (ammonium nitrogen) concentrations in the soil solution within 3 years after harvesting, but a significant decrease in the TN (total nitrogen) concentration in the soil solution was found in plots with additional N fertilisation performed once initially.

Kļaviņš, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Str., LV 2169, Salaspils, Latvia; University of Latvia, Raiņa blvd 19-125, LV 1586, Riga, Latvia E-mail: ivars.klavins@silava.lv
Bārdule, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Str., LV 2169, Salaspils, Latvia; University of Latvia, Raiņa blvd 19-125, LV 1586, Riga, Latvia E-mail: arta.bardule@silava.lv
Lībiete, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Str., LV 2169, Salaspils, Latvia E-mail: zane.libiete@silava.lv
Lazdiņa, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Str., LV 2169, Salaspils, Latvia E-mail: dagnija.lazdina@silava.lv
Lazdiņš, Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Str., LV 2169, Salaspils, Latvia E-mail: andis.lazdins@silava.lv

article id 105, category Research article

Jaana Luoranen, Risto Rikala. (2011). Nutrient loading of Norway spruce seedlings hastens bud burst and enhances root growth after outplanting. Silva Fennica vol. 45 no. 3 article id 105. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.105

Keywords: Picea abies; late-season fertilization; nitrogen concentration; root growth capacity

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We studied the effects of late season nutrient loading (NLOAD) on the timing of bud burst, growth and changes in nitrogen (N) concentrations in the first growing season after seedlings were outplanted. Two-year-old Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) seedlings with three foliar nitrogen concentration levels (NLOAD levels 11.3, 22.5 and 27.5 g N kg^-1 for L, M- and H-seedlings, respectively) were examined in the following three experiments: root growth capacity test (RGC), rooting experiment in the field and soil fertility experiment (‘rich’ or ‘poor’ soil) in the field. Bud burst in RGC was monitored daily and foliar N concentration (field experiments), height and root growth (rooting experiment) at monthly intervals. With respect to the RGC test, no differences in root growth were observed among the three NLOAD levels, but buds of H-seedlings burst 2–6 days earlier than others. In the rooting experiment, nutrient loading increased height and root growth but did not affect the timing of height growth. In the soil fertility experiment, foliar N of H- and M-seedlings decreased rapidly, but the decline was slower in rich soil. Current-year needles had more N in seedlings growing in rich soil and the N concentration declined until height growth ceased whereafter it increased until autumn. Improved growth from nutrient loading seems to last only for the first season after planting and the greatest benefits are enjoyed by seedlings planted in poor soils.

Luoranen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Suonenjoki Research Unit, Juntintie 154, FI-77600, Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: jaana.luoranen@metla.fi
Rikala, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Suonenjoki Research Unit, Juntintie 154, FI-77600, Suonenjoki, Finland E-mail: rr@nn.fi

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