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Effectiveness of wood ash containing charcoal as a fertilizer for a forest plantation in a temperate region

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Abstract

Amendment of forest soils with mixed wood ash (MWA) generated in biomass power plants can prevent the depletion of soil nutrients that results from the intensive harvesting of forest plantations. Unlike fly wood ash, MWA contains charcoal and is characterized by a lower release of nutrients, so that it might be useful as a long term source of nutrients and soil organic matter. However, in order to use MWA as a fertilizer in forest systems, its effectiveness as regards supplying P and N must be improved. These aspects were studied in a 4 year-trial carried out in a Pinus radiata plantation. MWA was added alone or with mineral P, and the results were compared with those obtained with a combination of Ca(OH)2 and mineral P. The application of MWA together with mineral P fertilizer increased the nutrient supply to the trees, as revealed by the changes in nutrient concentrations, lower values of resorption efficiencies and improved tree growth. The results showed that the amounts of Ca, Mg and K supplied by the MWA were suitable for maintenance of soil reserves. However, the presence of charcoal may have decreased the availability of P. The application of the MWA led to lower soil N mineralization rates and mineral N concentrations, which may affect N-limited systems. The use of density-dependent single tree increment models enabled the positive effects on tree growth of fertilization and thinning to be distinguished. For the treatments supplemented with mineral P, multiplicative factors of 1.13 to 1.15 can be applied to obtain post-thinning predictions of 4-year single-tree basal area increments. Although MWA can be used as a long term source of nutrients, charcoal temporarily reduces the availability of P and N.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, and Financiera Maderera S. A. (FINSA). We are grateful to Sergio Blanco, Ramiro García and Victor Torrado (FINSA) for their help in carrying out the project. Analyses of the soils and plant material were carried out by Verónica Piñeiro and Montse Gómez (RIAIDT-University of Santiago de Compostela).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sustainable Forest Management Unit, Escuela Politécnica Superior, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002, Lugo, Spain

    Martín Santalla, Beatriz Omil, Roque Rodríguez-Soalleiro & Agustín Merino

  2. Department of Crop Production, Escuela Politécnica Superior, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002, Lugo, Spain

    Roque Rodríguez-Soalleiro

  3. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Escuela Politécnica Superior, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002, Lugo, Spain

    Agustín Merino

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  1. Martín Santalla
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  2. Beatriz Omil
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  4. Agustín Merino
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Correspondence to Agustín Merino.

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Responsible Editor: Tibor Kalapos.

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Santalla, M., Omil, B., Rodríguez-Soalleiro, R. et al. Effectiveness of wood ash containing charcoal as a fertilizer for a forest plantation in a temperate region. Plant Soil 346, 63–78 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0794-y

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