Indices of soil nitrogen availability for an ecological site classification of British forests

Critical loads and nitrogen availability under deposition and harvest scenarios for conifer forests in Ireland

“…The results here are supported by the classifications of Pyatt (1995) in which peats, podzols and unflushed peaty gleys were designated as having 'poor' to 'very poor' nutrient status while surface water gleys and well-drained brown earth soils were mainly designated 'medium' status. Attempts to relate these soil classifications to soil chemistry identified soil pH, soil available base cations and NO 3 − as indicators of soil nutrient regime (Wilson et al, 2005;Farrelly et al, 2011). Additionally, soil organic carbon plays a major control on N cycling with peat soils (Rowe et al, 2012) and is often shown to have lower rates of net-N mineralization rates than mineral soils (Rangeley and Knowles, 1988;Westbrook and Devito, 2004;Sheppard et al, 2004).…”

Effects of climate and site characteristics on Scots pine growth

“…A tree core from each of the three trees was also extracted and stored at\5°C for further analysis. The soil sampling followed the method described by Wilson et al (2001Wilson et al ( , 2005. Here we provide a brief summary.…”

“…The soil attributes of texture, rooting depth and stoniness were used to estimate the available water capacity, and this was related to climatic moisture deficit (MD) to provide an estimate of SMR for the site (for details of method see Pyatt et al 2001). SNR was calculated for each stand using the field layer vascular plants and humus type (Wilson et al 2001(Wilson et al , 2005. Climatic factors include the following: accumulated temperature (AT)-annual sum of mean daily temperatures exceeding 5°C averaged over 1961; moisture deficit (MD)-the maximum annual accumulated monthly excess of evaporation over rainfall averaged over 1961-1990 (mm); continentality Quine and White 1994).…”

“…This knowledge-based approach was used to create a decision support tools for application in British forestry. The Ecological Site Classification (ESC, Pyatt et al 2001;ESC, Ray 2001) is a knowledge-based model that provides information on the suitability of species for particular site conditions and an estimate of the potential productivity is derived by assessing the climate and soil nutrient and moisture status using relationships between plant indicator species and soil fertility (Wilson et al 2001(Wilson et al , 2005. In such a modelling approach, it is crucial to include the latest knowledge about the ecology and growth potentials of each species.…”

Predicting soil nitrogen content using narrow-band indices fromEucalyptus grandiscanopies as proxy

“…Specific challenges that face managers in the commercial forestry sector are twofold, namely (1) optimising fertiliser applications in order to sustain stand productivity and establishment whilst protecting the environment (Wilson et al 2005) and (2) addressing the environmental concerns over the possible leaching of nutrients to nearby water bodies. Growth rates of forest trees in many parts of the world are limited by the supply of soil N and phosphorus (P), either singly or in combination (Niinemets and Kull 2005).…”