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Boreal forest plant species responses to pH: ecological interpretation and application to reclamation

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Abstract

Aims

Reclamation following oil sands mining in northeastern Alberta (Canada) creates adverse reforestation soil conditions, including extreme pH values. We elucidated pH tolerance limits of boreal plant species and how pH affects nutrient uptake in these plants.

Methods

We measured growth, gas exchange, and foliar nutrient concentration of 15 common northern boreal forest plants after eight weeks exposure to root zone pH ranging from 5.0 to 9.0. Cluster analyses were used to group these species based on their pH responses.

Results

Based on their growth and gas exchange responses to pH, the 15 plant species could be divided into five groups, each of which contained species that commonly co-occur in particular boreal forest site types. For the foliar nutrient responses to pH, the 15 species could be grouped into only two categories; both showed decreases in foliar N, P, Fe and Zn concentration with increasing pH, with a more pronounced effect on the group that included trembling aspen, paper birch and chokecherry.

Conclusions

The evidence of differential adaptation to pH by habitat type suggests the importance of soil pH as a factor affecting boreal plant species distribution and could be helpful for selection of species suitable for reclamation of sites with altered soil pH.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge research funding for the study provided through the Syncrude Canada Ltd., Suncor Energy Ltd., Albian Sands Ltd., and NSERC Collaborative Research and Development grants to J.J.Z.

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Author notes

  1. Monica Calvo-Polanco

    Present address: Biochimie et Physiologie Moléculaire des Plantes, SupAgro/INRA, Place Viala 1, 34060, Montpellier Cedex 2, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 4-38 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada

    Monica Calvo-Polanco, Wenqing Zhang, S. Ellen Macdonald, Jorge Señorans & Janusz J. Zwiazek

Authors
  1. Monica Calvo-Polanco
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  2. Wenqing Zhang
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  3. S. Ellen Macdonald
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  4. Jorge Señorans
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  5. Janusz J. Zwiazek
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Janusz J. Zwiazek.

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Responsible Editor: Michael A. Grusak.

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Calvo-Polanco, M., Zhang, W., Ellen Macdonald, S. et al. Boreal forest plant species responses to pH: ecological interpretation and application to reclamation. Plant Soil 420, 195–208 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3356-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3356-0

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