The chemical composition of newly shed needle litter of Scots pine and some other pine species in a climatic transect. X Long-term decomposition in a Scots pine forest

Abstract

Significant differences in the chemical composition of falling needle litter were found among various pine species. A comparison between the needle litter of northern species (Scots pine and lodgepole pine) and that of 17 other, southern species combined showed that concentrations of N, P, Mg, K, and lignin were significantly lower in the northern group. In contrast, the Mn concentration was significantly higher in this northern group. Along a transect from the Barents Sea (69°45′N) to the Carpathian Mountains (49°53′N), concentrations of N, P, S, and K in Scots pine litter fall increased significantly. The best-fit regression models described asymptotic curves, suggesting that concentrations of these major nutrients approach their maximum values at sites with high values for actual evapotranspiration (AET). Low values were found in the north. By contrast, Mn concentrations, increased with latitude and decreased with increasing AET. High covariation among concentrations of the major nutrients (N, P, S, and K) can be attributed to their being major constituents of structural compounds. Analysis of various regression models relating the chemical composition of needle litter fall to latitude and AET, together with a factor analysis, suggested that concentrations of N, P, S, and K were related mainly to climatic conditions, whereas those of Mg and Mn were related more to site-specific properties such as soil fertility. A high level of predictability was found for concentrations of N, P, S, and K using multiple regression, with values for R2adj between 0.63 and 0.93. Key words: litter fall, chemical composition, interspecific variability, geographical variability, climate, soil fertility.

Site index estimation in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands in the High Ebro Basin (northern Spain) using soil attributes

“…The different decomposition rates in boreal and mountain Mediterranean forest soils complicate the interpretation of this finding, but in general the nutrient supply has a lower impact than water supply in tree growth in the studied forest stands. Berg et al (1995) supported this idea because they found that the annual actual evapotranspiration was positively related with mineral (N, P, S and K) decomposition so that when the cycling rate was high (warm sites), an adequate supply and retention of water has the highest importance for tree growth.…”

Global pattern of leaf litter nitrogen and phosphorus in woody plants

“…For instance, Aerts (1997) reported that leaf-litter N concentration followed a positive nonlinear relationship with actual evapotranspiration (AET) with the data collected from temperate, Mediterranean and tropical (2009b) regions, but with mimimal samples from boreal regions. Berg et al (1995) established exponential functions (p < 0.001) between both N and P concentration and MAT and MAP for Scots pine foliar litter across a small transect of MAT from -1.7 to 10.5…”

“…Based on Berg's et al (1995) data, Oleksyn et al (2003 showed that for Scots pine, leaf-litter N decreased with latitude across European continent.…”

“…Other climatic factors that have been implicated include actual evapotranspiration (AET, mm) which when integrated with precipitation it can describe the water balance (Aerts, 1997). Lastly the use of latitude (LAT, defined as degrees away from the Equator) can act as an alternative measure of temperature and water availability combined with seasonality (Berg et al, 1995).…”

Nutrient conservation increases with latitude of origin in European Pinus sylvestris populations

“…3b). Between 47 and 55N needle P concentration averaged 1.5 mg g 1 and Berg et al 1995). In situ litter (c, d) N and P divided by green needle concentrations shown in Fig.…”