Eino Mälkönen. (1976). Effect of whole-tree harvesting on soil fertility. Silva Fennica vol. 10 no. 3 article id 4944. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a14790

Keywords: logging; thinnings; nutrient losses; whole-tree harvesting

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This paper analyses the nutrient loses caused by whole-tree harvesting on the basis of the literature data. It has been considered that traditional stemwood harvesting does not lead to impoverishment of the soil because the nutrient content of the wood is quite low. The nutrient loss occurring in connection with heavy thinnings and whole-tree harvesting has been considered so great that it has to be compensated by fertilizer application. In comparison with harvesting unbarked stem timber, whole-tree harvesting has been found to increase the nutrient loss at the stage of final cutting as follows: N2 to 4 times, P 2 to 5 times, K 1.5 to 3.5 times and Ca 1.5 to 2.5 times. Depending on the conditions prevailing on the site, any one of these nutrients may be the limiting factor for tree growth during the next tree generation

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

Mälkönen, E-mail: em@mm.unknown

Category : Article

article id 7589, category Article

Eero Kubin. (1977). . Acta Forestalia Fennica no. 155 article id 7589. https://doi.org/10.14214/aff.7589

English title: The effect of clear cutting upon the nutrient status of a spruce forest in Northern Finland (64 28'N).

Keywords: nutrients; fellings; logging residue; clear cutting; nutrient loss

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The purpose of this paper was to determine the proportions of nutrients remaining in the forest and removed from the forest as a result of cutting. The Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) phytomass remaining after clear cutting was studied in the categories of tree-top waste, branches, twigs, needles and cones. The bole wood, measured in solid cubic metres, was converted to kilogrammes on the basis of relative density determinations, and the amount of stump and root material estimated from the known amount of bole wood and comparable data presented in the literature. The nutrients studied were N (Kjeldahl), P (colour reaction), K, Ca, Mg, Fe and Mn (atomic absorption spectrophotometer). The wood and bark were studied separately. Details of the mineral composition of the bedrock are also presented.

The harvested timber was found to account for 46 % of the total phytomass, or 58 % of the aerial phytomass, while the stump and root material represented one fifth of the total phytomass. The needles and bark contained the highest proportions of nutrients, especially in the case of nitrogen and phosphorus, the needles containing 32 % of total nitrogen and 26 % of total phosphorus. The surface waste wood contained on average more than double the amount of nutrients compared with the harvested bole wood, including more than six times the amount of phosphorus. Approximately one fifth of the nutrient contained in the total phytomass was removed on cutting. The high proportion of basic rocks in the area is suggested as an explanation of the nutrient status at the site, which is in many ways better than that described in the results of other investigations.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

Kubin, E-mail: ek@mm.unknown

Category : Research article

article id 422, category Research article

Mika Nieminen. (2004). Export of dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus following clear-cutting of three Norway spruce forests growing on drained peatlands in southern Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 38 no. 2 article id 422. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.422

Keywords: hydrochemistry; forest regeneration; peatland forestry; leaching; nutrient losses

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

The effect of clear-cutting on the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), organic nitrogen (DON), NH4+, NO3–, and P in outflow water from three productive, Norway spruce dominated drained peatlands (RCC, VCC-1, VCC-2) were studied. Changes in runoff and transport loads (concentration x runoff) at two of the catchments during the frost-free period are also presented. Approximately 40% of the area was cut at RCC and VCC-2, and 72% at VCC-1. The volume removed was 250 m3 ha–1 at RCC, 259 m3 ha–1 at VCC-1, and for VCC-2, 317 m3 ha–1. The mean annual increase in outflow concentrations of DOC during the first four years after clear-cutting was 9.0 mg l–1 at RCC, 22.8 mg l–1 at VCC-1 and 8.4 mg l–1 at VCC-2. Corresponding increases in the forms of nitrogen were: 0.23, 0.51 and 0.16 mg DON l–1; 0.06, 0.31 and 0.04 mg NH4+-N l–1; and 0.05, 0.12 and 0.22 mg NO3–-N l–1. Clear-cutting did not significantly (p > 0.05) increase P concentrations. The increase in non-frost season runoff over the first three years after clear-cutting was 107 mm at RCC and 207 mm at VCC-1. The export loads of DOC during the non-frost season increased by 80 kg ha–1 at RCC and by 184 kg ha–1 at VCC-1 over the first three years. Corresponding increases for the other studied solutes were: 1.78 and 3.98 kg DON ha–1; 0.39 and 1.49 kg NH4+-N ha–1; 0.45 and 0.48 kg NO3–-N ha–1, and 0.09 and 0.06 kg P ha–1. The study demonstrated that clear-cutting may significantly increase the export of DOC and different forms of nitrogen from drained productive peatlands while only small increases in phosphorus export may occur.

Nieminen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Centre, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: mika.nieminen@metla.fi

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