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Nutritional status of a Norway spruce stand in SW Sweden in response to compensatory fertilization

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Abstract

The response of a Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) forest, located in SW Sweden, to various combinations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and dolomite was investigated two and five years after fertilization in a semi-factorial experiment. The aim has been to apply a diagnostic field test as a base for development of suitable composition of compensatory or vitality fertilizers within an area showing nutritional imbalances. Different ways of describing foliar analysis were tested: current needle (C) critical concentrations, Deviation from Optimum Percentage (DOP), and nutrient/N percentage ratios. The graphical Relative Concentration and Content change (RCC) technique was also used. Nutritional status of the control plots showed deficiency in N, P and K. According to the analyses, N alone or N together with P are the growth-limiting elements. Fertilization with N alone induced limitation of K or P. Based on our results, NPK is a suitable compensatory fertilizer at the site. The only significant difference between dolomite and non-dolomite treatments was in Ca and Mg concentrations. The effect of dolomite on Ca and Mg became more evident during the fifth season following fertilization.

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  1. Department of Ecology and Environmental Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7072, S-750 07, Uppsala, Sweden Fax

    Nagwa Salih & Folke Andersson

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  1. Nagwa Salih
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  2. Folke Andersson
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Salih, N., Andersson, F. Nutritional status of a Norway spruce stand in SW Sweden in response to compensatory fertilization. Plant and Soil 209, 85–100 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004528102242

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