Combined effects of loose wood ash and carbon on inorganic N and P, key organisms, and the growth of Norway spruce seedlings and grasses in a pot experiment

The effects of wood ash on the growth of Norway spruce seedlings and grasses, nitrogen and phosphorus leaching, and soil fauna were investigated at two levels of carbon availability in a greenhouse experiment simulating harvested boreal forest. While sucrose-C amendment reduced grass biomass regardless of wood ash by 88%, the shoot and root biomass of spruce seedlings increased by 38% and 370%, respectively. Despite the large variation in above-ground biomass, C addition did not alter the concentration of water extractable ammonium nitrogen in humus, but it counteracted the ash-induced increase in soil phosphate concentration. C addition reduced the proportion of bacterial-feeding nematodes in the nematode community. Wood ash reduced enchytraeid size, but their biomass was not affected. Carbon treatment was crucial for enchytraeids probably because amended pots were moister than controls. Small compensatory grass growth following harvest implied that soil fauna made little nitrogen available to plants in one growing season. The results support the hypothesis that C availability may be an important determinant of nutrient retention, and has the potential to control plant competition in intensively harvested forests.