Skip Navigation

Forestry 2002 75(5):553-567; doi:10.1093/forestry/75.5.553
© 2002 by Institute of Chartered Foresters
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kakei, M.
Right arrow Articles by Clifford, P.E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Long-term effects of liming on needles, soil properties, and soil water in a Sitka spruce stand on deep peat

M. Kakei1 and P.E. Clifford2

1 Department of Natural Sciences, Örebro University, 701 82 Örebro, Sweden 2 School of Biology and Biochemistry, The Queen's University of Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland

Long-term effects of liming on concentrations of minerals in needles and soil water and peat soil properties in a 29-year-old Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) stand in Northern Ireland were investigated. Liming resulted in increased concentrations of P, Ca, S, Mn and Fe in the peat. It also lowered the average water-table depth during the growing season (March–September). Although the pH in the litter layer of limed plots was still high 26 years after lime application compared with unlimed plots (pH = 3.59), re-acidification of the litter layer was apparent. The pH in the below-litter layers was increased by lime application to a depth of at least 30 cm. Concentrations of Ca and S in the litter layer and top 30 cm of the peat profile and concentrations of P, Mn and Al in the litter layer and top 5 cm of the peat profile were increased by liming. In contrast, concentration of K in the litter layer and concentration of Zn in the 5–25 cm depth of the peat profile were decreased by liming. Concentration of P in needles was increased as a result of liming. Lime had no effect on soil water pH, but lime application increased concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+ and Fe2+ and decreased concentrations of Zn2+ and Al3+ in the soil water. In February, concentration of NH4+-N in the soil water increased in plots which had received 7.5 t ha–1 and decreased in plots which had received 22.5 t ha–1 lime, compared with unlimed plots. Tree growth and fine-root distribution into the peat were highest in the plots which had received lime at 15 t ha–1, and fine-root growth in these plots was higher than in the unlimed plots. Therefore, it is likely that a further application of lime at 15 t ha–1 as the best dosage for increasing tree growth would serve to prevent soil acidification. Lime doses and time after initial lime application are important factors affecting nutrient leaching.

Received 17 November 2001.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.