Effects of ontogeny and soil nutrient supply on production, allocation, and leaf area efficiency in loblolly and slash pine stands

Abstract

The effects of ontogeny and soil nutrient supply on aboveground biomass accumulation, allocation, and stemwood growth efficiency of loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) and slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) were investigated in north-central Florida over 16 years using a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment (species, fertilization, weed control). Aboveground biomass growth responses to the combined fertilizer and weed control treatments (FW) averaged ~2- and 2.8-fold for slash and loblolly pine, respectively. In the same treatment, annual needlefall (NF) production for slash pine approached a "steady state" of 6 Mg·ha-1 at ages 8-14 years, while loblolly pine NF production peaked at 7 Mg·ha-1 at age 10 years, and then declined 17% following curtailment of the fertilizer treatment. Periodic stemwood biomass increment (PAI) for the FW treatment for both species culminated at about 15 Mg·ha-1·year-1 at age 8 years and then declined rapidly (~275%) to <4 Mg·ha-1·year-1 at 15 years; reductions for the untreated control were considerably slower. The progressive decline in PAI following peak leaf area development was closely associated with a decrease in stemwood production per unit leaf area (growth efficiency). A unit increase in leaf area index in the 7- to 9-year-old stands produced about 3.0 and 3.1 times more stemwood biomass per year than in the 14- to 16-year-old stands for loblolly and slash pine, respectively.

Irrigation and Fertilization Effects on Nantucket Pine Tip Moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Damage Levels and Pupal Weight in an Intensively-Managed Pine Plantation2

“…Contrast comparisons showed that fertilization significantly increased diameter, height, and volume after year one, but only height and volume after year two (Table 2). These results are in agreement with other studies examining the effects of fertilization on P. faeda growth in the Southeast (Samuelson 1998, Jokela and Martin 2000, Retzlaff et al 2001, Yin and Sedjo 2001. Irrigation and fertilization, in addition to weed control, significantly increased tree height and volume after each of the first three growing seasons in the Georgia Coastal Plain (Nowak and Berisford 2000).…”

“…Particularly susceptible is loblolly pine, Pinus faeda L., the most commercially important tree species in the southeastern U.S. (Schultz Intensively-managed forest plantations now occupy over 14 million ha of timberland in the southeastern U.S. (Guldin and Wigley 1998). Large gains in P. faeda productivity can be achieved with intensive forest management practices such as herbaceous weed control, irrigation and fertilization (Pritchett and Smith 1972, Jokela and Martin 2000, Nowak and Berisford 2000, Borders and Bailey 2001, Retzlaff et al 2001. However, intensive management has, at times, resulted in an increased frequency and severity of pest infestations (Cade andHedden 1987, Ross et al 1990).…”

Morphology and foliar chemistry of containerized Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir. seedlings as affected by water availability and nutrition

“…4) indicates improved efficiency with increased fertilization and irrigation. Previous studies of the growth efficiency of fertilizer loblolly pine and slash pine found sustained increases (Albaugh et al, 2004) or increases that disappeared as the stand grew older (Jokela and Martin, 2000;Will et al, 2002). Improvements in biomass growth efficiency observed in this study can be attributed to improvements in photosynthetic abilities and a decrease in stomatal limitation due to the effect of water stress (Trichet et al, 2008).…”

Modeling Crown Biomass for Four Pine Species in China

“…This might be the reason that the proportion of branch biomass for P. elliottii was obviously lower than the other three pine species. Furthermore, Jokela and Martin (2000) found that proportion of branch to aboveground biomass was smaller for P. elliottii than P. taeda, while the opposite was true for proportion of foliage biomass regardless of treatment [40]. Chmura et al (2007) also concluded that P. elliottii produced significantly smaller crowns and also had a smaller proportion of branch to aboveground biomass than P. taeda at a given tree size [39].…”