Abstract
The nutrient balance and above ground accumulation of macro nutrients, except for N, resulting from improved or deteriorated availability of water and nutrients in a 25 year old Norway spruce stand in SW Sweden is presented. The site and the productivity of the stand is typical for the area. Treatment include irrigation (I); artificial drought (D1); ammonium sulphate addition (NS); N-free-fertilisation (V) and irrigation with liquid fertilisers including a complete set of nutrients according to the Ingestad principle (IF). At start of the experiment the stand contained 86.5 t dry mass, 342 kg N, 33 kg P, 142 kg K, 172 kg Ca, 36 kg Mg and 34 kg S ha-1. Enhanced accumulation vs control of S was seen in the NS and IF treatments. In the V and IF treatments P accumulation was 7–9 times higher and Ca and Mg, 2–4 times higher compared to the control. K accumulation was increased for the IF treatment. B that accumulated in the needles was decreased in the NS and D1 treatments and increased in the IF and V treatments, as compared to the control. The gross accumulation of nutrients relative to the amounts added was in the IF and V treatments 56 and 47% for P, 40 and 64% for K, 40 and 24% for Mg and, 22 and 8% for S, respectively. We conclude that application with N-free fertilizer, Skogvital (V), including macro nutrients and essential micro nutrients, results in a fast and efficient accumulation above ground of P, K, Ca, Mg and B. The treatment is efficient when aiming at restoring nutrient imbalances in Norway spruce. Application with ammonium sulphate at a rate of 5–6 times higher than the current deposition of N and S did not lead to decreased accumulation above ground of any of the macro nutrients P, K, Ca or Mg. The accumulation of B, however, was significantly reduced. Results from this and other studies indicate that today, N alone, generally is a growth limiting nutrient for Norway spruce in Southern Sweden.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrahamsen G 1980 Acid precipitation, plant nutrients and forest growth. In Ecological Impact of Acid Precipitation. Eds. D Drabløs and ATollan. pp 58–63 SNSF, Norway.
Anderson F 1990 A field experimental approach to understanding of forest damage. In Verification of Hypotheses on the Mechanisms of Damage and Possibilities of Recovery of Forest Ecosystems. Eds. E Klimo and J Materna.pp 157–166. International Workshop, Brno 4–8 September 1989.
Aronsson A 1983 Growth disturbances caused by boron deficiency in some fertilized pine and spruce stands on mineral soil. Commun. Inst. For. Fenn. 116, 116–122.
FAO-UNESCO 1988 Soil Map of the World. Revised legend. FAO, Rome.
Feger K H, Zöttl H W and Brahmer G 1991 Assessment of the ecological effects of forest fertilisation using an experimental watershed approach. Fert. Res. 27, 49–61.
Hüttl R 1986 Forest Fertilisation: Results from Germany, France and the Nordic countries. The Fertiliser Society. Proceedings No. 250, 40 p.
Hüttl R F 1988 Liming and fertilization as mitigation tools in declining forest ecosystems. Water Air Soil Pollut. 44, 93–118.
Hüttl R F 1990 Nutrient supply and fertilizer experiments in view of N saturation. Plant and Soil 128, 45–58.
Ingestad T 1979 Mineral nutrient requirements in Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies seedlings. Physiol. Plant. 45, 373–380.
Katzensteiner K, Glatzel G and Kazda M 1992 Nitrogen-induced nutritional imbalances — a contributing factor to Norway spruce decline in the Bohemian Forest (Austria). For. Ecol. Manage. 51, 29–42.
Nihlgård B 1985 The ammonium hypothesis — An additional explanation to the forest dieback in Europe. Ambio 14, 2–8.
Nilsson J (Ed.) 1986 Critical loads for nitrogen and sulphur. The Nordic Council of Ministers, Copenhagen. Report 11. 223 p.
Nilsson L O 1993 Carbon sequestration in Norway spruce in south Sweden as influenced by air pollution, water availability and fertilization. Water Air Soil Pollut. 70, 177–186.
Nilsson L O 1991 Investigation of impact of air pollution on tree vitality, forest damage and forest production. The Skogaby Project. Biomass performance after 3 years of treatment. IUFRO and ICP-forest workshop on monitoring. Prachatice, 2–6 September 1991. pp 69–77.
Nilsson L O and Wiklund K 1992 Influence of nutrient and water stress on Norway spruce production in south Sweden — the role of air pollutants. Plant and Soil 147, 251–265.
Nilsson L O and Wiklund K 1994 Nitrogen uptake in a Norway spruce stand following ammonium sulphate application, fertigation, irrigation, drought and nitrogen-free-fertilisation. Plant and Soil 164, 221–229.
Nohrstedt H-Ö Sikström U and Ring E 1993 Experiments with vitality fertilisation in Norway spruce stands in southern Sweden. The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden. Report 2. 38 p.
Popovic B and Andersson F 1984 Markkalkning och skogsproduktion litteraturoversikt och revision av svenska kalkningsforsok. (Liming and forest production-literature review and revision of Swedish liming experiments). Swed. Enviro. Protection Agency. PM 1792 107 p. ISBN 91-7590-149-8. (In Swedish).
SAS Institute Inc. 1989 SAS/STAT Users's Guide: Basics, Version 6, Fourth Edition, Volume 2. SAS Institute INC, Cary, NC. 846 p.
Skeffington R A and Wilson E J 1988 Excess of nitrogen deposition: Issues for consideration. Environ. Pollut. 54, 159–184.
Skeffington R A 1990 Accelerated nitrogen inputs — A new problem or a new perspective? Plant and Soil 128, 1–11.
Wallander H and Nylund J-E 1991 Effects of excess nitrogen on carbohydrate concentration and mycorrhizal development of Pinus sylvestris L. seedlings. New Phytol. 119, 405–411.
Zöttl H W and Hüttl R F 1986 Nutrient supply and forest decline in Southwest-Germany. Water Air Soil Pollut. 31, 449–462.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nilsson, LO., Wiklund, K. Nutrient balance and P, K, Ca, Mg, S and B accumulation in a Norway spruce stand following ammonium sulphate application, fertigation, irrigation, drought and N-free-fertilisation. Plant Soil 168, 437–446 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00029357
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00029357