Raija Laiho, Sakari Sarkkola, Seppo Kaunisto, Jukka Laine, Kari Minkkinen. (2008). Macroscale variation in peat element concentrations in drained boreal peatland forests. Silva Fennica vol. 42 no. 4 article id 233. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.233

Keywords: drainage; peat soil; nutrient deficiencies; spatial variation; soil nutrients

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Information on the variation in soil element concentrations at different spatial scales is needed for, e.g., designing efficient sampling strategies, upscaling the processes related to carbon cycling, and planning land use and management. In spite of intensive land use, such information concerning peat soils is still scarce. We analyzed the variation in peat mineral element concentrations in boreal peatland forests drained 50–60 years earlier. We wanted to quantify the proportions of variation deriving from differences between regions and peatland basins and from within-peatland heterogeneity, and to model the variation using relatively easily measurable site and soil characteristics. We utilized 878 peat samples representing the 0–20 cm layer and collected from 289 sites in 79 peatland basins. The sites represented three different drained peatland forest site types. The two strongest gradients in the element composition captured by principal component analysis were correlated with both the North-South gradient and the site type variation, and the East-West gradient. In general, most of the variation in the element concentrations was contributed by differences among peatland basins, and variation within the floristically determined sites. Most of the element concentrations were best modeled when either the bulk density or the ash content of the peat, or both, were used in addition to site type and geographical location. The explanatory power remained modest for most element concentrations. As for the P concentrations in soil, however, our models provide means for estimating a large part of the variation among drained pine mire sites.

Laiho, University of Helsinki, Department of Forest Ecology, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail: raija.laiho@helsinki.fi
Sarkkola, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Unit, P.O. Box 18, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: ss@nn.fi
Kaunisto, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Parkano Research Unit, Kaironiementie 54, FI-39700 Parkano, Finland E-mail: sk@nn.fi
Laine, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Parkano Research Unit, Kaironiementie 54, FI-39700 Parkano, Finland E-mail: jl@nn.fi
Minkkinen, University of Helsinki, Department of Forest Ecology, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail: km@nn.fi

article id 433, category Research article

Raija Laiho, Timo Penttilä, Jukka Laine. (2004). Variation in soil nutrient concentrations and bulk density within peatland forest sites. Silva Fennica vol. 38 no. 1 article id 433. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.433

Keywords: thinning; drainage; peat soil; spatial variation; nutrients; bulk density; sampling; variance components

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The within-site variability of soil characteristics on sites with different soil types remains poorly quantified, although this information is crucial for the success of research on soil properties, and especially for monitoring soil properties over time. We used coefficients of variation and multilevel variance component models to examine the within-site variation of soil (0–30 cm) mineral nutrient concentrations (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, mg g–1; Mn, Zn, mg g–1) and bulk density (kg m–3) on boreal deep-peat sites. We then evaluated the reliability of the site-level estimates (sample means) obtained using different sampling intensities (numbers of samples per site). Our 11 sites represented a single original site type within the oligotrophic nutrient level. Two of the sites were undrained while the rest had been drained for forestry at different points in time. Overall, P concentrations showed the smallest and Mn concentrations the largest within-site variation. The sampling depth contributed more than 50% of the total variance in all other characteristics except the concentrations of P and Fe, and bulk density. The variance proportions of peatland basin, site (within basin), and sampling location (within site) varied by sampling depth for most soil characteristics. The estimates obtained when using a certain number of samples per site were always more reliable for the 0–30 cm layer’s composite samples than for any single 10-cm layer at any depth sampled. On average, it was found that between 4 (P) and some 200 (Mn) samples per site would be needed for the estimates to have a theoretical 10% maximum deviation.

Laiho, Univ. of Helsinki, Dept. of Forest Ecology, Peatland Ecology Group, P.O. Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail: raija.laiho@helsinki.fi
Penttilä, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Centre, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: tp@nn.fi
Laine, Univ. of Helsinki, Dept. of Forest Ecology, Peatland Ecology Group, P.O. Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail: jl@nn.fi

article id 503, category Research article

Jyrki Hytönen. (2003). Effects of wood, peat and coal ash fertilization on Scots pine foliar nutrient concentrations and growth on afforested former agricultural peat soils. Silva Fennica vol. 37 no. 2 article id 503. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.503

Keywords: wood ash; afforestation; Scots pine; vegetation control; herbicides; coal ash; peat ash; peat soils

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

The effects of ash and commercial fertilizers on the foliar nutrient concentrations and stand growth of Scots pine were studied in four field experiments established on former cultivated peat soils. The aims were to compare ash types (wood, peat and coal ash), study the effects of ash treatment (pelletization), compare ash fertilization with commercial fertilizers, and to study the interaction between ash fertilization and weed control. Foliar samples were collected 1–3 years and 7–8 years after fertilization. In the unfertilized plots, the foliar nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were fairly high, while those of potassium were low in all the experiments. The boron levels were low in three out of the four experiments. Application of either loose or pelletized wood ash, as well as of commercial fertilizers, increased foliar potassium and boron concentrations, and thus successfully remedied the existing nutrient imbalances and deficiencies. Since phosphorus deficiencies are rarely encountered on field afforestation sites, poor-quality wood ash with low phosphorus concentration could be used. Peat ash containing phosphorus, but only small amounts of potassium and boron, was not found to be very suitable for soil amelioration in connection with field afforestation. Coal ash, containing only small amounts of potassium, was a good source of boron for pine even when used in small amounts, and thus it can be used in cases where boron deficiencies alone are encountered. Wood ash significantly increased the height growth of Scots pines in two of the experiments, but peat ash and coal ash had no statistically significant effect. Wood ash increased the number of healthy seedlings. Vegetation control decreased seedling mortality by 24%, increased the growth of pine and decreased the proportion of trees damaged by elk and by deciduous trees.

Hytönen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Kannus Research Station, P.O. Box 44, FIN-69101 Kannus, Finland E-mail: jyrki.hytonen@metla.fi

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