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Long-term nutritional trends of conifer stands in Europe: results from the RECOGNITION project

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Abstract

Since 1999–2002 the European Commission has funded and the European Forest Institute has coordinated the interdisciplinary RECOGNITION project aiming at elucidating the causes of the growth acceleration which has been observed in some forest tree species in several parts of Europe. Within this project, it was our task to identify and quantify long-term changes in the nutritional status of representative forest stands that potentially could explain this growth increase, using available long-term series of foliar analyses. An inquiry among 25 forest research institutions in Europe resulted in 28 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and 21 Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) stands for this historical development investigation (HDI). The stands generally are control plots of fertilization experiments and are located mainly in Central Europe and in Scandinavia. The monitoring periods vary from 15–40 years. The foliar data were given to us by our partner organisations, subjected to rigorous tests for plausibility and comprehensively evaluated using mainly single linear regression approaches. Most Scots pine stands under study in Central Europe, which grow predominantly on naturally poor or devastated soils in regions with relatively high atmospheric N deposition, suffered from N deficiency at the start of the monitoring period, but exhibited a considerable improvement in N nutrition over the past decades. The increase in N levels was usually associated with an increase in the ratios of N and P, K, Ca, and Mg, although critical values of these ratios are far from being reached. For the majority of the investigated Scots pine stands in Central Europe, growth acceleration due to a better N supply is highly probable. In contrast, N seems to be far less important as a potential driving factor for long-term growth changes in Scots pine in Scandinavia. Norway spruce stands examined in Central Europe were, in general, initially well supplied with N and characterised by a decreasing trend in foliar N levels although they received considerable N deposition from the atmosphere. This decrease in concentrations of N and other macronutrients is believed to be mainly a dilution effect as indicated by a simultaneous increase in needle weights. Spruce in Finland also turned out to be adequately provided with N at most sample sites, and no general trend of improving N nutrition was detected.

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Acknowledgements

The project was funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the European Forest Institute. We especially appreciate the moderation task of Timo Karjalainen and Anette Schuck from EFI and the valuable contributions of more than 25 colleagues in various European countries, who made their foliar data collections available for our evaluation.

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  1. Unit of Forest Nutrition and Water Resources, Technische Universität München, Germany

    Karl Heinz Mellert, Ralf Straussberger & Karl Eugen Rehfuess

  2. Chair of Soil Science, Technische Universität München, Germany

    Jörg Prietzel

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  1. Karl Heinz Mellert
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Correspondence to Karl Heinz Mellert.

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Mellert, K.H., Prietzel, J., Straussberger, R. et al. Long-term nutritional trends of conifer stands in Europe: results from the RECOGNITION project. Eur J Forest Res 123, 305–319 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-004-0044-4

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