Abstract
Forest die-back and impaired tree vitality have frequently been ascribed to Al-toxicity and Al-induced nutritional disorders due to increased acidification of forest soils. Therefore, in this experiment effects of Al were studied on growth and nutrient uptake with seedlings of five different forest tree species. During growth in culture solutions with and without Al all five species proved to be very Al-tolerant, despite high accumulation of Al in roots. In the coniferous evergreens Douglas-fir and Scots pine shoot as well as root Al concentrations were significantly higher than in the deciduous broad-leaved species oak and birch. Larch showed intermediate Al levels.
In none of the five species did Al reduce nutrient concentrations or the Ca/Al ratio to values below the critical level. Besides differences in Al accumulation, coniferous and broad-leaved species also differed with respect to uptake and assimilation of nitrogen. Due to extra NH +4 uptake, oak and birch showed a much higher N uptake and higher NH +4 preference than the coniferous species. Especially with oak this high NH +4 preference in combination with a low specific root surface area resulted in a high root proton efflux density. In comparison to both broad-leaved trees and Scots pine the NO −3 reduction capacity of larch and Douglas-fir was extremely low. This may have important consequences for both species if grown in NO −3 -rich soils.
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Keltjens, W.G., van Loenen, E. Effects of aluminium and mineral nutrition on growth and chemical composition of hydroponically grown seedlings of five different forest tree species. Plant Soil 119, 39–50 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02370267
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02370267