Influence of acid rain and ozone on soil heavy metals under loblolly pine trees: A field study

A field growth chamber study was conducted to determine the effects of ozone and simulated acid rain (SAR) on soil heavy metals. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), grown in open-top chambers, was exposed to three concentrations of ozone (charcoal filtered air with 0.026 µL O₃ L^-1, and two non-filtered treatments in which ozone concentrations were 0.074 µL L^-1 and 0.147 µL L^-1, respectively) and two levels of SAR (pH 3.5 and 5.2). Ozone was applied for 12 h d^-1 for 9 months and acid rain deposition was 125 mm event^-1. After 9 months exposure, soil pH, organic matter and DTPA-extractable heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Zn, Mn, Fe, Cu) were determined on soil samples collected from exposed chambers at two depths (0–15 cm and 15–30 cm). Simulated acid rain decreased the original soil pH. The concentrations of Cd, Pb and Mn at SAR pH 3.5 were significantly higher than at SAR pH 5.2. Ozone did not affect Zn, Fe and Cu, but a significant interaction between pH and O₃ on Mn, Pb and Cd was observed. Due to the poor drainage capacity of this soil, leaching of heavy metals was not observed.     

Influence of Tree Species on Forest Nitrogen Retention in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA

This study examines the effect of four tree species on nitrogen (N) retention within forested catchments of the Catskill Mountains, New York (NY). We conducted a 300-day ¹⁵N field tracer experiment to determine how N moves through soil, microbial, and plant pools under different tree species and fertilization regimes. Samples were collected from single-species plots of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L.), red oak (Quercus rubra L.), and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh). Using paired plots we compared the effects of ambient levels of N inputs (11 kg N/ha/y) to additions of 50 kg N/ha/y that began 1.5 years prior to and continued throughout this experiment. Total plot ¹⁵N recovery (litter layer, organic and mineral soil to 12 cm, fine roots, and aboveground biomass) did not vary significantly among tree species, but the distribution of sinks for ¹⁵N within the forest ecosystem did vary. Recovery in the forest floor was significantly lower in sugar maple stands compared to the other species. ¹⁵Nitrogen recovery was 22% lower in the fertilized plots compared to the ambient plots and red oak stands had the largest drop in ¹⁵N recovery as a result of N fertilization. Aboveground biomass became a significantly greater ¹⁵N sink with fertilization, although it retained less than 1% of the tracer addition. These results indicate that different forest types vary in the amount of N retention in the forest floor, and that forest N retention may change depending upon N inputs.     

Influence of scattered paddock trees on surface soil properties: A study of the Northern Tablelands of NSW

Summary Surface soil conditions were assessed under three tree species on a property near Armidale on the Northern Tablelands of NSW. In both a stocked and adjacent destocked paddock, five trees each of three eucalypt species: Eucalyptus melliodora, Eucalyptus blakelyi and Eucalyptus nova‐anglica, were selected. Soil samples were collected (depth 0–10 cm) along transects 20 m in length running from beneath the tree canopy progressively outwards into the open paddock. Six additional transects were also sampled outside the influence of the trees. Soil properties at a distance from the trees differed little between the stocked and destocked paddock with only a slight acidification in the stocked paddock. However, soil properties around the scattered trees showed considerable variation between stocked and destocked equivalents and most notably in a systematic pattern with distance from the trees themselves. For example, bulk density increased significantly, whereas soil pH, carbon, nitrogen and extractable phosphorus contents all decreased significantly with distance from the trees. However, stocking and camping had modified some of these soil properties. In the stocked paddock, the systematic change in nitrogen and phosphorus with distance from the trees was less clear and the degree of dispersion of the data was largest at the most heavily camped site. In this paddock, bulk density was also generally higher whereas pH, carbon and nitrogen contents were lower compared with the destocked equivalent. Extractable phosphorus content was also higher around the trees in the stocked paddock especially where camping activity was most intense. It is concluded that, although animal camping can modify their effects, scattered trees have a beneficial effect on soil properties and in this respect they have value in the grazing system from a soil conservation perspective.     

Microbial biomass C and N,and mineralizable-N,in litter and mineral soil under Pinus radiata on a coastal sand: Influence of stand age and harvest management

Microbial biomass C and N, and anaerobically mineralizable-N, were measured in the litter and mineral soil (0–10 cm and 10–20 cm depth) of Pinus radiata plantations in two trials on a nitrogen-deficient coastal sand. The trials comprised (a) stands of different age (1 to 33 years), with five of the seven stands studied being second rotation, and (b) a harvest-management trial, with stands established after different harvesting treatments of the first-rotation trees and understorey development controlled by manual weeding and chemical sprays. The harvest-management stands were sampled in the fifth year after the second-rotation establishment.In the stands of different age, the levels of microbial biomass C and N, and also mineralizable-N, in the litter and mineral soil showed no relationship with tree age and were similar to those in the oldest (33 years) stands of P. radiata. In the harvesting trial, five years after establishment of the second rotation, levels of microbial N and mineralizable-N in the litter and mineral soil were generally lowest where whole trees and the original forest floor had been removed; they were higher in associated plots in which the original forest floor had been removed but fertilizer N was regularly applied. No marked differences were then found between the other harvest treatments, viz. whole-tree harvest, stem-only harvest with slash remaining on site, and stem-only harvest plus extra added slash materials. In each trial, levels of microbial C and N and mineralizable-N were closely related to total C, and especially total N, in 0–10 cm depth mineral soil, but not generally in litter. Respiratory measurements strongly suggest that the microbial populations in mineral soil had a high metabolic activity.On an area basis in the harvest-management trial, total tree N and microbial N in the litter and mineral soil were lowest in stands where the original forest floor had been removed. In this particular treatment, microbial N in the litter plus mineral soil (0–20 cm depth) after five years of second-rotation growth comprised 7.3% of the total ecosystem N; values in the other treatments ranged between 5.6 and 6.0%.Our results emphasise the importance of slash and litter, and probably volunteer shrubs and herbaceous under-storey species, in conserving pools of potentially available N during the early stages of tree development.     

The effect of liming on quantity and chemical composition of soil organic matter in a pine forest in Berlin,Germany

The study was carried out in a 40-yr old pine plantation on a Cambic Arenosol within the urban area of Berlin. Lime application (6.1 t ha^-1) has led to a pH increase in the forest floor from 3.3 to 5.5 within one year and to a strong stimulation of macrofaunal and microbiological activity. Three years after liming, the C:N ratio of the forest floor decreased from 28 to 25 and P, Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd concentrations in organic matter increased significantly. The organic C pool of the forest floor was almost 7 t ha^-1 lower in the limed plot which is attributed to increased microbial respiration. In the mineral soil too, C-pools are lower in the limed plot, amounting to 13.2 t ha^-1 or 14% less than in the control. C:N ratios have narrowed significantly from 27–29 to 23 in 10–30 cm depth. The humic acid fraction is lower throughout the limed profile while the percentage of fulvic acids has increased significantly below 10 cm. The results point to severe losses of organic matter and to profound changes in its composition. This may be of consequences for site quality and leaching processes.     

Dynamics of the internal soil nitrogen cycles under moder and mull forest floor types on a slope in a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis> D. Don plantation

To examine the influence of microbial carbon (C) availability on the internal soil nitrogen (N) cycles under moder and mull forest floor types within the same slope sequence, surface mineral soils (0–5cm depth) taken at upper (moder-type forest floor) and lower (mull-type forest floor) positions on a slope in a Cryptomeria japonica D. Don plantation were incubated for 300days. During the incubation, changes in net and gross N transformations, the organic C and N pools, and microbial respiration were monitored. Despite relatively small differences in net N mineralization in both soils, very rapid rates of gross N transformations were found in mull soil during the initial 15days of the experiment. A rapid net nitrification occurred after days 150 and 100 in moder and mull soils, respectively, presumably because of decreased microbial C availability. However, a rapid net nitrification also occurred in the mull soil during the initial 15days when microbial C availability was high, and gross nitrification was detected in both soils, except at day 0 in the moder soil. Changes in gross N transformations and in organic C and N pools over the experiment suggested that the start of rapid net nitrification might be influenced not only by microbial C availability, but also by the microbial availability of N relative to C.     

Variation in wood anatomical structure of Douglas-fir defoliated by the western spruce budworm: a case study in the coastal-transitional zone of British Columbia,Canada

Key message

An outbreak of the western spruce budworm temporarily modifies cellular wood anatomy of stem wood in natural and mature Douglas-fir stands impacting wood quality properties.

Abstract

Western spruce budworm (Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman) is a widespread and destructive defoliator of commercially important coniferous forests in western North America. In British Columbia, Canada, Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] is the most important and widely distributed host. Permanent sample plots were established at a number of locations in southern interior at the beginning of a severe western spruce budworm outbreak in the 1970s. Two of the sites were sampled in 2012 to determine whether modifications had occurred in the anatomical characteristics of stem wood formed during outbreak years. We determined that rings formed during the western spruce budworm 1976–1980 outbreak had a significantly lower proportion of latewood, reduced mean cell wall thickness and smaller radial cell diameters. While the cellular characteristics of the earlywood remained fairly constant, significant reductions in lumen area occurred in 1978 and 1979 at each site. Our study shows that western spruce budworm outbreaks not only reduce annual radial growth, but also temporarily modify cellular characteristics in latewood cells, which has implications for wood density and quality in Douglas-fir.     

The cumulative effects of resource development on biodiversity and ecological integrity in the Peace-Moberly region of Northeast British Columbia,Canada

Rapid acceleration of industrial development in north-eastern British Columbia is currently occurring without a comprehensive assessment of the effects it will have on ecological or cultural systems. The cumulative effects of past development are already being felt within the Treaty 8 First Nations of the region but these effects have not been quantified from a landscape point of view. Using habitat modeling and GIS analysis the effects of 35 years of agricultural and industrial development on forest biodiversity and ecological integrity were investigated for a 410,000 ha landscape in north-eastern British Columbia. The study identified a significant increase in area impacted by developments which lead to a shift in landscape structure and significant change in forest biodiversity. Forest fragmentation and habitat loss has resulted in an increase in open, early seral and edge habitats at the expense of contiguous mature forests. The change in landscape structure resulted in a significant increase in species richness as generalist and early seral species responded positively to increases in these habitats. A significant increase in brown-headed cowbird parasitism risk was also detected. Changes in landscape structure, reduction in habitat for 22% of modeled species, increase parasitism and predation risk due to fragmentation, and increased access have resulted in a cumulative effect of recent resource development on ecological integrity that is both additive and synergistic. The propose acceleration of future development will increase the risk to maintaining the biodiversity and ecological integrity in the Peace-Moberly region of British Columbia.     

Effects of forest fertilization on nitrogen leaching and soil microbial properties in the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria

Several boreal and alpine forests are depleted in nutrients due to acidification. Fertilization may be a remedy, but rapidly-soluble salts (N, P, K, Mg) may pose nitrate problems for the groundwater or decrease microbial activity.With the aim to investigate potential nitrogen leaching after fertilization we set up an experiment employing intact soil cores (11 cm diameter, 20–40 cm long) from a mixed forest and a Picea abies stand (soil type Rendsina) in the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria. The cores were fertilized with a commercial NPK fertilizer or a methylene-urea-apatite-biotite (MuAB) fertilizer at a rate corresponding to 300 kg N ha^-1 and incubated for 28 weeks together with unfertilized controls. Both soil water (retrieved 5 cm below the soil surface) and leachate were analyzed for nitrate and ammonium in regular intervals. After the incubation, soil microbial biomass and basal repiration were determined and a nitrogen mineralization assay was performed.For the control, in the soil water and leachate maximum NH₄ ⁺ and NO₃ ^- concentrations of 5 and 11 mg N L^-1, respectively, were found. Compared to that, MuAB fertilizer resulted in a slow increase of NH₄ ⁺ and NO₃ ^- in the soil water (up to 11 and 35 mg N L^-1 respectively) and in the leachate (4 mg NH₄ ⁺-N L^-1 and 44 mg NO₃ ^--N L^-1). Highest nitrogen loads were found for the fast release NPK fertilizer, with NH₄ ⁺ and NO₃ ^- concentrations up to 170 and 270 mg N L^-1, respectively, in the soil water. NH₄ ⁺-N levels in the leachate remained below 5, while NO₃-N levels were up to 190 mg L^-1. Fast- release NPK caused a significant decrease of microbial biomass and basal respiration. These parameters were not affected by MuAB fertilizer.The results suggest that the MuAB fertilizer may be an ecologically appropriate alternative to fast-release mineral fertilizers for improving forest soils.     

Insects associated with the Sitka spruce weevil,Pissodes Strobi [Col.: Curculionidae] on Sitka spruce,Picea sitchensis in British Columbia,Canada

BioControl - Insects associated with the Sitka spruce weevil,Pissodes strobi (Peck), on Sitka spruce,Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr. were sampled at 9 locations in British Columbia. Fourteen species...     

The simulation of soil organic matter and nitrogen accumulation in Scots pine plantations on bare parent material using the combined forest model EFIMOD

The individual-based combined forest model EFIMOD including the soil-sub model SOMM has been used for the simulation of Scots pine stand growth and soil organic matter (SOM) accumulation on a humus-free bare mineral surface. The growth of Scots pine plantation, with an initial density of 10 000 trees ha⁻¹ and average tree biomass of 0.01 kg was simulated for 50 yr under Central European climatic conditions (i) with varying atmospheric nitrogen inputs and (ii) different rates of initial application of raw undecomposed organic material or compost, on humus-free parent material. The accumulation of typical raw humus was simulated in all cases. The accumulation was most intensive in the simulation of high atmospheric nitrogen input. The humus pool in the mineral topsoil was small but achieved its maximum value with compost application. SOM nitrogen accumulation was scant in all cases, except the compost applications with low atmospheric nitrogen input. No statistically significant differences of SOM and stand parameters were found between variants without organic matter and those with low input of organic manure. However, the maximum relative rate of SOM and nitrogen accumulation was found in the scenario without organic manure, under slowly growing unstable Scots pine plantation. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Potential impacts of climate change on nitrogen transformations and greenhouse gas fluxes in forests: a soil transfer study

Relatively little research has been conducted on how climate change may affect the structure and function of arid to semiarid ecosystems of the American Southwest. Along the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks of Arizona, USA, I transferred intact soil cores from a spruce‐fir to a ponderosa pine forest 730 m lower in elevation to assess the potential impacts of climate change on soil N cycling and trace gas fluxes. The low‐elevation site has a mean annual soil temperature about 2.5°C higher than the high‐elevation site. Net rates of N transformations and trace gas fluxes were measured in high‐elevation soil cores incubated in situ and soil cores transferred to the low‐elevation site. Over a 13‐month period, volumetric soil water content was similar in transferred soil cores relative to soil cores incubated in situ. Net N mineralization and nitrification increased over 80% in transferred soil cores compared with in situ soil cores. Soil transfer significantly increased net CO₂ efflux (120%) and net CH₄ consumption (90%) relative to fluxes of these gases from soil cores incubated in situ. Soil net N₂O fluxes were relatively low and were not generally altered by soil transfer. Although the soil microbial biomass as a whole decreased in transferred soil cores compared with in situ soil cores after the incubation period, active bacterial biomass increased. Transferring soil cores from the low‐elevation to the high‐elevation site (i.e. simulated global cooling) commonly, but not consistently, resulted in the opposite effects on soil pools and processes. In general, soil containment (root trenching) did not significantly affect soil measurements. My results suggest that small increases in mean annual temperature can have large impacts on soil N cycling, soil–atmosphere trace gas exchanges, and soil microbial communities even in ecosystems where water availability is a major limiting resource.     

A brief review of the fossil history of the family Rosaceae with a focus on the Eocene Okanogan Highlands of eastern Washington State, USA, and British Columbia, Canada

Many of the oldest definitive members of the Rosaceae are present in the Eocene upland floras of the Okanogan Highlands of northeastern Washington State and British Columbia, Canada. Over a dozen rosaceous taxa representing extant and extinct genera of all four traditionally recognized subfamilies are known from flowers, fruits, wood, pollen, and especially leaves. The complexity seen in Eocene Rosaceae suggests that hybridization and polyploidy may have played a pivotal role in the early evolution of the family. Increased species diversity and the first appearance of additional modern taxa occur during the Late Paleogene in North America and Europe. The Rosaceae become increasingly important components of fossil floras during the Neogene, with taxa adapted to many habitats.     

Early establishment and dispersal of the weevil, Mogulones cruciger (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) for biological control of houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale) in British Columbia, Canada

First released in Canada in 1997 to control the invasive rangeland weed, houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale), the European root weevil, Mogulones cruciger, is showing early potential as a successful biocontrol agent. Out of 22 experimental releases in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, 100% established, regardless of initial release size (range 100-400). These founding populations persisted beyond 2 years, and quickly dispersed through a treed and variable landscape to colonise new houndstongue patches surrounding the original release patches. Within 3 years, the weevil had moved 1.42 km. Both initial, within-patch and later, between-patch dispersal followed a similar pattern, with M. cruciger adults and/or their feeding/oviposition damage being more concentrated nearest the original points of release and declining with distance. Within-patch, this pattern of distribution and also the rate of spread of weevils were similar regardless of initial release size; suggesting density-independence in dispersal behaviour at this scale. Closer investigation of the sequence of invasion at a larger spatial scale suggested that the weevil arrived at, colonized and increased in number on the closest host patches first. Three years post release, both distance from release patch and the number of M. cruciger released, were significant predictors of the amount of feeding/oviposition damage, and presumably weevil population size, within newly colonized houndstongue patches surrounding the original releases. These data, and the finding that more weevils were retrieved from patches where higher numbers of weevils were released in the previous year (i.e., 300 or 400 vs 100 or 200), suggest that release number and placement of releases within a landscape can be manipulated for effective houndstongue control.     

The invertebrate fauna of epiphyte mats in the canopy of northern rata (Myrtaceae: Metrosideros robusta A. Cunn.) on the West Coast of the South Island,New Zealand

Abstract

The range of microhabitats and microclimatic conditions provided by epiphytes has been linked to the high diversity of invertebrates in many forest canopies worldwide, but comparably little is known about the invertebrate fauna in this habitat in New Zealand. This study compiled an inventory of the invertebrate fauna of epiphyte mats in the canopy of northern rata (Myrtaceae: Metrosideros robusta A. Cunn.) at two study sites on the West Coast of the South Island. A total of 242 069 invertebrate specimens was collected over one year, representing 4 phyla, 9 classes and more than 160 families, 225 genera and 446 species. At least 10 new species and 3 new genera were identified, while 5 species were recorded outside their known geographical range. Epiphyte mats provided habitat for an invertebrate fauna, highly diverse and abundant both taxonomically and functionally, dominated in terms of abundance by Acari, Collembola and Hymenoptera (largely ants), and in terms of feeding guilds by epiphyte grazers and ants. As the first inventory of this taxonomic depth and breadth compiled for New Zealand forest epiphyte habitats, this study provides important baseline data for the conservation of biodiversity in New Zealand's indigenous forests.     

Sustainable forestry: A model of the effects of nitrogen removals in wood harvesting and fire on the nitrogen balance of regrowth eucalypt stands

Abstract Sustainable forest use is an integral part of Australia's recently adopted National Forest Policy; consequently, there is an urgent need for quantitative, ecologically based measures of sustainability. One process that may affect ecosystem sustainability is the removal of nutrients through forest harvesting and fire. This paper presents a model-based analysis of the combined consequences of harvesting and fire management practices for the nitrogen (N) budgets of managed forest ecosystems. The model, called N-BAL, evaluates the balance between N removals due to harvesting and fire (prescribed and regeneration burns), and N inputs (both natural and as added fertilizer), and leads to a criterion for the maintenance of site N reserves. That criterion can be used to estimate the accretion (or depletion) of site N over a single forest rotation, or to predict sustainable stem productivity for given N inputs and management practices. The analysis is applied to managed stands of karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor F. Muell.) in southwestern Australia to investigate whether natural N inputs are sufficient to maintain site N capital under current harvesting and fire practices. Model predictions for stands harvested at age 100 years with slash burns and regular prescribed burns range from a rotation-averaged depletion rate of 22 kg ha^?1 year^?1 to an annual accretion of 14 kg ha^?1 year^?1, depending on assumed N inputs and fire frequency and intensity. The mean annual N balance is highly sensitive to rates of natural N inputs, fire intensity and inter-fire period, and less sensitive to rotation length. These results are tentative and highlight the need for further research to improve estimates of several key model parameters and relationships.