Decades of atmospheric deposition have not resulted in widespread phosphorus limitation or saturation of tree demand for nitrogen in southern New England |
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Authors: | Adrien C Finzi |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA |
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Abstract: | It is commonly assumed that nitrogen (N) is the primary mineral resource limiting the productivity of temperate forests. Sustained
inputs of N via atmospheric deposition are altering the N status of temperate forests raising the possibility that nutrients
such as phosphorus (P) are increasingly limiting productivity. The objective of this study was to determine whether P availability
limits tree growth alone or in combination with N. This study was conducted in two forest types common throughout the New
England landscape of the northeastern United States; in sugar maple and white ash dominated stands growing on base rich parent
material characterized by rapid rates of N cycling and high N availability, and in red oak–beech–hemlock dominated stands
growing on base-poor parent material characterized by slow rates of N cycling and low N availability. Starting in 2004, N
and P were added to replicate plots in each forest type in factorial combination at a rate of 150 and 50 kg ha−1 year−1, respectively. Diameter growth rates of all trees >10 cm DBH were measured in 2005 and 2006 using dendrometer bands and converted
into units of basal area increment (BAI) and wood production. Following 2 years of fertilization, basal area increment in
the sugar maple–white ash forests remained strongly N limited. Fertilization with P did not significantly increase BAI alone,
although both N and P fertilization tended (P < 0.10) to increase diameter growth in white ash. Wood production in the N-fertilized plots increased by 100 g C m−2 year−1, roughly doubling production in the non-fertilized plots. In the red oak–beech–hemlock stands, there was no overall effect
of N or P fertilization on BAI or wood production because BAI in some species was stimulated by fertilization with N alone
(e.g., black cherry, red oak), while in other species BAI was unaffected (e.g., red maple, beech) or negatively affected by
fertilization with N or P (e.g., eastern hemlock). Given that BAI in several tree species responded to fertilization with
N alone and that only one species responded to P fertilization once N was added, this study suggests that decades of atmospheric
N deposition have not (yet) resulted in widespread P limitation or saturation of tree demand for N. |
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Keywords: | Nitrogen Phosphorus Temperate forest Nutrient limitation Productivity |
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