Current issue: 58(5)
Willows (Salix phylicifolia) were grown for four months in organic rich soil at four nutrient levels (fertilization with a micronutrient-macronutrient mixture of 0, 100, 500 and 1,000 kg ha-1 per month) and four CO2 concentrations (300, 500, 700 and 1,000 ppm). Nitrogen and phosphorus concentration of the willows were reduced at CO2 enhancement, the decrease being larger in the leave and roots than in the stems. Nitrogen content of the willows plus extractable nitrate-N in the soil coincided well with the doses of nitrogen supplied, but the corresponding sum of phosphorus in the plants and soil were smaller. The total nitrogen content of willows grown in unfertilized soil was nearly two times higher than the sum of the extractable nitrate-N in soil and N content of the cutting at the beginning of the experiment. The contents of nitrogen and phosphorus of the unfertilized willows were independent of CO2 concentration, suggesting that CO2 concentration did not affect through increased mineralization the availability of those nutrients to the willows.
The Nordic working group for forest fertilization is a group of research workers from the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, which has been working on plant nutrition questions and forest amelioration problems. The group has met annually to discuss current problems, hitherto mostly concerning forest fertilization. In 1976 the question of future working forms came up, and the group decided to arrange a symposium on the subject Nutrient cycle in tree stands in 1977.
This symposium took place in Harjavalta and Ikalis in Finland from the 29th of August to 1st of September 1977. During the symposium 12 papers were presented, which are published in the following, either in full or as summaries of a given lecture. Part of the lectures are in English and part in Swedish.
The paper includes the following titles:
A bioelement budget of an old Scots pine forest in Central Sweden
Mobilization of plant nutrients in a Scots pine forest Mor in Central Sweden
Accumulation of organic matter and nitrogen on sand dunes following sand fixation and planting of dwarf mountain pine
Sambandet mellan torvmarkstyp och yttorvens näringshalt
Changes in the amounts of inorganic nutrients in the soil after clear-felling
Plant nutrient balance in decoration greenery cultivation
The effect of forest fertilization on primary production and nutrient cycling in the forest ecosystem
Förändringar i humuslagret efter skogsgödling
Balanserad näringsupptagning och behovet av gödsling i trädbestånd på näringsfattiga torvmarker
Of fertilization on nutrient contents in needles and litter fall of Scots pine on dwarf shrub pine swamp
Micro-nutrient deficiencies cause growth disturbances in trees
Tallarnas växtstörningar, markens näringsbalans och micronäringsbrist
Yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium Bunge) has been widely planted for biodiesel production in China, but has frequently shown poor field performance. Container-grown yellowhorn seedlings originating from three Chinese provenances, Wengniute Qi (WQ), Alukeerqin Qi (AQ), and Shanxian (SX), were fertilized with slow-release fertilizer (SRF) at 40, 80, 120, 160 or 200 mg N seedling–1. Tree growth, survival and nutrient content were measured after one year’s growth in a greenhouse followed by two years in a field site. Plants from AQ and SX tended to have higher stem and root P contents in the nursery. Higher rates of SRF increased root N, and stem and root P contents. After one year in the nursery, there were a number of interactions between provenance and SRF for plant growth responses and nutrient content in the nursery, however after two years of additional growth in the field, plants from the different provenances generally responded similarly to applied SRF in the nursery, with few interactions. Final plant height was approximately 10% lower in trees from provenance SX but was not affected by application of SRF. Conversely, final trunk diameter and stem and root biomass were unaffected by provenance but increased with higher rates of applied SRF. Our results indicate that application of SRF may be a useful tool to nutrient load yellowhorn in the nursery and facilitate transplanting performance in the field. Overall, optimal nursery and field performance of yellowhorn were observed in provenance AQ at 120–200 mg N seedling–1 SRF. We suggest that growers consider a wider range of yellowhorn provenances and SRF rates (above 200 mg N seedling–1) to yield even better growth response.