ALBERT

Description: O2 litter and A1 horizon soil samples from various locations within the Santa Fe and Cibola National Forests of New Mexico were assayed for sulfate adsorption, organic S formation, and organic S solubilization and mineralization (mobilization). During a 48-h incubation, samples of O2 litter were found to adsorb between 1.6 and 4.1 nmol g−1 of added sulfate S and to form 2.0 to 9.8 nmol g−1 of organic S from this anion. Between 17 and 48% of this organic S was mobilized within 24 h. A1 horizon soils adsorbed 1.2 to 4.9 nmol g−1 of added sulfate S and formed between 1.6 and 4.8 nmol g−1 of organic S during 48 h. Between 20 and 50% of this organic S was mobilized within 24 h. Estimations of S-accumulation potentials for both horizons were made from these determinations. Intrinsic S pools were quantified to determine the S status of the samples prior to incubation. Carbon-bonded forms of S were found to predominate in samples from both horizons, while ester sulfate accounted for most of the remaining S. Sample pH, moisture content, and total carbon content were also determined. Attempts were made to correlate these characteristics and S pool sizes with laboratory determined potentials for sulfate adsorption, organic S formation, and mobilization. For some sites, relationships were established between sulfate adsorption, soil pH, and total C, whereas the total S and organic S content of most samples agreed well with organic S formation potentials.

Description: Flooding for 30 days induced several changes in Quercusmacrocarpa Michx. seedlings, with stomatal closure among the earliest responses. Stomata remained more closed in flooded than in unflooded plants during the entire experimental period. Leaf water potential was consistently higher in flooded than in unflooded plants. Other responses to flooding included acceleration of ethylene production by stems; formation of hypertrophied lenticels on submerged portions of stems; growth inhibition, with greatest reduction in roots; and formation of a few adventitious roots on submerged portions of the stem above the soil line. Some of the morphological responses to flooding, especially formation of hypertrophied lenticels, appeared to be associated with increased ethylene production. Quercusmacrocarpa seedlings adapted poorly to flooding as shown by failure of stomata to reopen after an early period of flooding and low capacity for production of adventitious roots. The much greater inhibition of root growth than shoot growth by flooding will reduce drought tolerance after floodwaters recede.

Description: Water stress of subalpine conifer species may be measured with the pressure chamber after several hours of tissue storage. Tissue samples stored in cool, humid vials exhibited very little change in xylem pressure potential over a 4-h period. However, xylem pressure potential declined steadily when a source of water vapor was not available. Xylem pressure potentials of current-year and 1-year-old needles of lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta var. latifolia Engelm.) were slightly lower than those of older needles.

Description: Data from 278 trees felled in a loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) plantation were used to include crown ratio as a measure of tree form in a taper equation. The data were divided into 10 crown ratio classes. A segmented taper equation was fitted to each of the 10 classes to detect trends in the coefficients. Coefficients were then expressed as functions of crown ratio. The resulting three-segment taper equation with crown ratio as an additional independent variable was more flexible and provided more accurate predictions of upper stem diameters. Similar techniques were used to include crown ratio in a two-segment taper equation. The three-segment equation fitted the data better than the two-segment equation and provided superior taper predictions for the test data set.

Description: Carbohydrate reserves and root growth potential (RGP) of 2 + 0 Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings were monitored through a lifting season and during dark, cold storage. Concentrations of total nonstructural carbohydrate and extractable sugars in root and stem tissues remained relatively constant through winter, while foliar sugars showed a sharp midwinter peak at about 195 mg•g−1 dry weight. RGP was lowest in November and March and peaked in January. During storage at +2 and −1 °C, carbohydrates were depleted in all tissues through respiratory consumption. In contrast, RGP increased during the first 6 months in storage and then fell rapidly. The results do not support the view that changes in RGP are driven by changes in carbohydrate concentrations. Storage may affect frost hardiness and drought resistance through its effect on sugar concentrations.

Description: The effect of aluminum (Al) on the growth of sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) was studied in two experiments in nutrient solution containing from 0 to 2000 μM Al at pH 4. Visible symptoms of injury to shoots or roots were not observed in either experiment. Reductions in seedling shoot size at the 1000, 1500, and 2000 μM concentrations were readily apparent; however, root biomass for these same concentrations did not differ significantly from the pH 4 controls. A plot of the relative total dry matter accumulation versus Al in solution showed that above 600 μM Al total seedling biomass declined exponentially. Of the mineral elements examined in these experiments, Ca was the most severely affected by increasing Al in solution. Even at 100 μM Al reductions in leaf, stem, and root Ca content were 17, 13, and 50% of the pH 4 controls, respectively. Some stimulation of growth and slightly higher P and K tissue concentrations were observed at low (100–500 μM) Al concentrations. At higher Al levels, P, K, and Mg were also reduced below the tissue content of the controls. The Al critical toxicity level for a 20% reduction in total seedling biomass was found to be 137 μg Al g dry weight−1 for newly expanded leaves.

Description: The pipe model theory presents the idea that a unit weight of tree foliage is serviced by a specific cross-sectional area of conducting sapwood in the crown. Below the crown, a large fraction of the tree bole may be nonconducting tissue, so the sapwood area would have to be known to estimate foliage. We applied the pipe model theory to the analysis of several western coniferous species to learn whether the distribution of canopy leaf area could be accurately estimated from knowledge of the sapwood cross-sectional area at various heights, including breast height (1.37 m). Results are excellent, but taper in the conducting area must be considered when sapwood area is measured below the crown.

Description: Stand development patterns and growth rates of even-aged mixed stands of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamensiesii Mirb. Franco) and grand fir (Abiesgrandis Dougl. Lindl.) were investigated by stand reconstruction in eastern Washington. Although Douglas-fir dominated the stands early, grand fir of the same age eventually overtook the tallest Douglas-firs. Dominant trees of both species were found to have highly variable taper form (based on basal area to height ratios), although a linear relationship existed in other crown classes. Stem volume growth rates were determined by reconstructing past diameters and heights and were found comparable to site class IV Douglas-fir in western Washington. Intensive management, especially planting and thinning, could improve upon the observed mean annual increments of 800 board feet per acre at 80 years of age.

Description: Log and stumpage price formation in the United States and China appear mathematically identical, but are radically different. In the United States, prices are derived from the demand for final wood products in competitive markets. In China, prices are set centrally based on direct costs of production. The system is borrowed from Russia and is based on a theory of labor value that ignores time and interest rates. We explore the existing Chinese price determination model and Chinese proposals to change it, as prices have had little relation to the value of wood in use or the cost of wood from other sources. A cost-based model has few incentives to minimize costs of production, but ignoring the cost of capital has made stumpage prices abnormally low. Both systems are products of different philosophies of value and evolution in pricing technology must occur in the context of the parent economy.

Description: Light, moisture, and temperature measurements beneath sprout clumps were compared with similar measurements outside the clumps on eight clear-cuttings in southwestern Oregon. Light intensity was higher beneath madrone than beneath tanoak or chinkapin. Soil moisture was higher beneath the clumps and soil temperature was lower than outside them during the cool moist summer of 1983. Soil temperature remained lower beneath the clumps during the warm dry summer of 1985, but moisture conditions were similar beneath and outside the clumps after the prolonged 1985 drought.

Description: At 10 locations in Oregon and Washington, tree mortality resulted in dry-matter transfer of 1.5–4.5 Mg•ha−1•year−1 of boles and branches to the forest floor and 0.3–1.3 Mg•ha−1•year−1 of large-diameter roots directly to the mineral soil. The first value is about the same as that reported for leaf fall in similar stands; the second value generally is smaller than that reported for fine root turnover. Results are based on measurements by the U.S. Forest Service spanning 16–46 years and areas as large as 42 ha. Values based on intervals

Description: Field and laboratory studies were used to evaluate physiological plasticity in water relations and leaf structural characteristics of CerciscanadensisL. (redbud) saplings growing in a gallery forest understory and an adjacent prairie in eastern Kansas. Two study periods were defined based on high (greater than −0.2 MPa in May) and low (−1.5 MPa in July) predawn soil water potential (ψsoil). Leaf conductance to water vapor diffusion (gwv) was greater for prairie than understory redbud saplings during both sampling periods (maximum gwv = 7.5–8.7 mm s−1). Moreover, gwv for prairie redbud remained high at both high and low ψsoil, but was significantly lower for understory redbud during midday at low ψsoil. Transpiration flux was also higher in the prairie than in the understory site and reached a maximum for prairie redbud (318 mg m−2 s−1) in July, in conjunction with high leaf to air vapor pressure deficits (maximum, 5.3 kPa). Leaf water potential declined significantly at both sites with decreased ψsoil and the minimum values (−3.0 MPa) were recorded in understory redbud. Leaves of prairie redbud were significantly smaller, thicker, and had higher specific leaf mass and stomatal density than leaves of understory redbud, which are consistent with differences between xeric and mesic species, respectively. These differences in water relations and leaf morphology between understory and prairie redbud suggest a high degree of physiological plasticity for this species in eastern Kansas.

Description: Three years after harvesting a mixed conifer–hardwood forest in Ontario, the density of sweet fern (Comptoniaperegrina (L.) Coult.) was far greater on a whole-tree harvest site (logging slash removed) than on an adjacent conventional harvest site (logging slash present). These differences were related to the degree of site disturbance, particularly forest floor removal. Nodule fixation rates also appeared to reflect the degree of disturbance, being highest in plants growing along a logging road where the sandy, nitrogen-poor mineral soil was exposed, and exceptionally low on the conventional harvest site (0.67 μmol C2H4 g dry weight−1 h−1). Overall, acetylene reduction activity showed a significant negative correlation (r = −0.77, p 

Description: Cao's compatible, segmented polynomial taper equation (Q. V. Cao, H. E. Burkhart, and T. A. Max. For. Sci. 26: 71–80. 1980) is fitted to a large loblolly pine data set from the southeastern United States. Equations are presented that predict diameter at a given height, height to a given top diameter, and volume below a given position on the main stem. All estimates are inside bark. A condition is given that forces the Cao model to be exactly compatible with any total main stem volume equation. An exact volume estimation formula is derived. Twelve benchmarks, which represent realistic utilization criteria, are used to describe expected errors in actually applying the taper equation rather than the more common fit statistics that describe errors encountered when estimating model parameters. Errors in using the fitted model are very similar to errors using Cao's estimates.

Description: The general ecology of an undescribed indigenous earthworm species in the Megascolecidae, found in the organic horizons of Podzolic soils under mixed stands of Tsugaheterophylla, Abiesamabilis, Thujaplicata, and Pseudotsugamenziesii, is described. The earthworm is a member of the genus Arctiostrotus. Over a range of sites, population numbers of earthworms were correlated to rooting concentration in and immediately below the mor humus. By micromorphological examination, earthworm casts were found to account for up to 60% by volume of the constituent solids of the organic horizons. The abundance of both fine roots and fungal hyphae in the worm casts suggested high nutrient availability. Analysis of fresh faecal material showed a marked increase in most important nutrients (N, P, K, Mg, Fe, Na) relative to levels in noningested litter. Observations indicate that this earthworm species, whose population density may reach 200 m−2, has a major role in the decomposer subsystem of these ecosystems.

Description: The growth and N status of Sitka spruce on deep peat sites low in available N is improved in the presence of larch. It has been suggested that larch stimulates N mineralization because of high N concentrations in its litter and the large N input resulting from its annual litter fall. However, while larch foliar N concentrations were shown to be high, marked withdrawal and storage in other tree components resulted in a relative and absolute impoverishment of the litter. P and K could be leached from senescing foliage in relatively large amounts, but the potential loss of N was low. Field measurements of throughfall substantiated this finding. Larch seemed extremely conservative in its use of N, suggesting that larch litter does not directly enhance N availability in mixed stands.

Description: Stem profile models for loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) that allow for both taper and form changes were constructed and evaluated. In 1956, H. R. Gray defined form to be the basic shape of the tree (e.g., cone or paraboloid) and taper to be the rate of narrowing in diameter given a tree form. D. W. Ormerod's stem profile model was selected as the basic model since its parameters were readily interpretable in terms of Gray's taper and form definitions. Two-stage modeling procedures were used to relate individual tree taper and form parameters to tree and stand characteristics. Two second-stage parameter estimation alternatives were evaluated. Parameter estimates for both techniques, ordinary least-squares and random function analysis, were similar. Characteristics used to predict stem form were total tree height, crown ratio, height to the live crown, site index, and tree age. The taper parameter was related to diameter at breast height, crown ratio, and site index. Error evaluations suggest that a 10–20% gain can be made in predicting stem diameters using the variable-taper and variable-form stem profile models.

Description: Water chemistry profiles of an 18-year-old forest ecosystem are compared with those of a 70- to 90-year-old forest ecosystem for a 9-month period. The younger ecosystem was dominated by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) and red alder (Alnusrubra Bong.) whereas western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), Douglas-fir, and western red cedar (Thujaplicata Donn.) dominated the older ecosystem. Concentrations of nutrients and other chemicals were measured in throughfall, forest floor and mineral soil lecachates, saturated-zone water, and stream water. Concentrations of dissolved chemicals were much greater in the younger ecosystem than in the older ecosystem at intermediate stages in the profiles. However, stream water concentrations differed less between the two ecosystems for most of the chemicals investigated. Nitrate and silica were exceptional; stream water nitrate concentrations in the younger ecosystem averaged 16 times greater than those in the older ecosystem. This was probably a result of biological nitrogen fixation by red alder in the younger ecosystem, a process which would more than compensate for the higher nitrate losses. Silica concentrations in the younger ecosystem consistently exceeded levels in the older ecosystem by 40 to 100%. suggesting a possibility of a greater rate of mineral weathering in the younger ecosystem.Although nutrient concentrations were higher in the soil leachates of the younger ecosystem, these higher levels failed to persist through the saturated-zone water and stream water stages of the water chemistry profile. Consequently, the younger ecosystem appeared relatively more efficient at retaining dissolved nutrients than the older ecosystem. Stream water chemistry was relatively insensitive to the magnitudes of the differences in biogeochemical process rates of the two ecosystems.

Description: Soil and tree water potentials were studied over a 10-year period in a Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) stand that was treated when 24 years old with different thinning and nitrogen fertilization regimes. Throughout the 10-year period, thinning increased the soil water potential during the dry summer periods (July–September) by as much as 1 MPa both with and without fertilization. Fertilization effect on soil water potential was slight and only apparent in the latter part of the study in spite of large increases in leaf area (50% after 7 years) possibly because of better stomatal control of water loss. Fertilization increased water use efficiency. The favorable soil water conditions produced by thinning led to improved shoot water potential only during predawn and early morning. Removal of understory in a thinned and fertilized plot did not affect soil or shoot water potential.

Description: A data screening algorithm (SCREEN) identified stand age, average stand diameter, timber type, soil type, aspect, habitat type, and elevation as forest stand or site characteristics strongly associated with root-disease occurrence in northern Idaho forests. The logistic regression model was used to predict root disease center occurrence. A second algorithm (RISK) was used to compute the estimates for the coefficients and to test different prediction equations. On wet aspects, highest probability of root disease centers was found on soils with lowest year-round moisture availability. The reverse was true on dry aspects. Increased slope was associated with increased root disease. Root disease center frequency was inversely related to elevation and directly related to occurrence of Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco and Abiesgrandis (Dougl.) Lindl. Expression of disease centers was maximum at 60–100 years of stand age on all habitat types. A habitat-type–age interaction was observed in oldest aged stands.

Description: Trends of foliar moisture content variations were determined for jack pine (Pinusbanksiana Lamb.), black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.), white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss), and balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.) in central Alberta. New and old tree foliage was periodically sampled between early March and mid-September during 2 consecutive years. The seasonally recurring variations in foliar moisture contents were characterized by (i) early spring declines of moisture in the old foliage, (ii) flushing of new foliage at high bud moisture contents when the contents in the old foliage were low, and (iii) summer recoveries of moisture in the old foliage and simultaneous decreases of moisture in the new foliage until both eventually converged toward comparable moisture contents. The cumulative effects of temperature, in terms of degree days above 6 °C, were reflected in timing of the declines and the recoveries of moisture in the old foliage. These results may be applied in rating the crowning potential of local forest fires.

Description: The effects of defoliation by western spruce budworm (Choristoneuraoccidentalis (Freeman)), on Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) radial growth at breast height and tree mortality are given. Four hundred and twenty trees were marked in an 81-year-old stand, and their defoliation levels were recorded annually from 1970 to 1980 in an outbreak that lasted from 1970 to 1974, inclusive. Forty-one trees were felled and dissected in 1977, 3 years after recovery began. The number of stems per hectare was reduced by 39.3% and basal area by 11.6% through mortality, most occurring among the small diameter, suppressed, and intermediate trees. Relationships were established between mortality and defoliation. Radial increments were examined, and the presence of four outbreaks during the life of the stand was detected. The combined effect of these infestations amounted to a loss of about 12% of the estimated potential diameter had not the insects been active. The most recent outbreak (1970–1974) caused a total of 10 years of subnormal growth, including 5 years due to defoliation and 5 years of recovery. The relationship between radial increment losses and defoliation intensity and duration is studied and quantified.

Description: The vegetative phenology of Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss and P. mariana (Mill.) B.S.P. was determined in 1979 based on four ramets selected from each of 14 clones of each species located at a seed orchard in northern Ontario. The time of flushing of the leaders and four lateral branches was determined by a qualitative index of bud and shoot development; time of growth cessation was scored as the date at which 95% of shoot growth was complete. The flushing of the vegetative buds of white spruce lasted for a 10-day period compared with only 6 days for black spruce. Although the average date of flushing for white spruce clones was 9 days ahead of the average date for black spruce clones, the latest white spruce clone flushed only 3 days before the earliest black spruce clones. As well, degree-day requirements for flushing were significantly different for clones within each of the two species. These results suggest that the selection of late-flushing white spruce trees for seed orchard stock has the potential to decrease spring frost damage in this species in northern Ontario. Date of budbreak was not correlated with date of growth cessation for either white or black spruce; however, early-flushing clones of black spruce produced significantly greater leader extension than late-flushing clones.

Description: Sapling sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) trees were defoliated artificially at 10-day intervals beginning May 27 and ending August 5, 1981. Refoliation, terminal bud and shoot development, and xylem starch and sap sugar concentration were observed in defoliated and control trees. All defoliated trees refoliated, but decreasingly with later defoliation. Defoliation caused an acceleration in the rate of primordia initiation in terminal shoot apices. After early season defoliations, the developing buds in the axils of the removed leaves abscissed, but axillary and terminal buds on the refoliated terminal shoots survived through winter. In late season defoliation, most buds of refoliated shoots did not survive and the next year's growth depended on axillary buds formed prior to defoliation. Thus, when progressing from early to late defoliations, the next year's shoot growth depended decreasingly on the last-formed and increasingly on the first-formed portions of the previous year's shoot. Early October starch concentration in xylem decreased with later defoliation and was nearly absent in shoots and roots of trees defoliated in late July. There was not, however, a corresponding decrease in sap sugar concentration. Mortality occurred only in late defoliated trees and was associated with starch depletion.

Description: Five families of competition indices were evaluated and compared on the basis of simple correlation with loblolly pine individual tree growth and multiple correlation with growth in the presence of other tree and stand attributes. The family of distance-independent indices included various relative size measures in the form of tree size to mean size ratios. Crown ratio was also included as a distance-independent measure. The four families of distance-dependent indices included various influence area overlap indices, distance-weighted size ratio indices, Spurr's point density, and Brown's point density or area potentially available (APA). All indices were significantly correlated with dbh and basal area growth. The relative size ratio indices, crown ratio, Spurr's point density, and several APA variations were judged best in simple correlations after accounting for tree size and stand density. The best distance-dependent indices had little if any advantage, either in simple or multiple correlation, over the best distance-independent indices. However, the point density index of Spurr and especially APA contributed significantly to growth prediction even in the presence of tree size, stand density, and the distance-independent size ratio and crown ratio indices. Further, APA had the highest partial correlation when all variables were included in this multiple correlation. It was concluded the APA would be a good index for growth prediction models when other tree and stand attributes are already known.

Description: Ocular and shoot-count defoliation estimation techniques were compared for accuracy and precision at the levels of branches and crown position within trees, whole trees, plots, and stands. A shoot-count estimate of defoliation for a midcrown branch had the best relative accuracy (±7%), while the best ocular estimate was for the whole tree by an experienced observer (accuracy ±12%). Ocular estimates were biased towards ovcrestimation at low defoliation levels (error 20–30% defoliation), and previous defoliation caused the ovcrestimation of current defoliation by 30–40% on trees that had been previously severely defoliated. Observers were found to be consistent in their rating, but biased by about ±10%; experienced observers were about 5–10% more accurate than inexperienced observers. Intertree variance in defoliation was greater than intratree variance or variance between plots in a stand. It was concluded that ocular estimation of defoliation is a viable technique that can give accuracy within the limits required for surveys and many research applications, if the influence of observer experience, observer bias, and previous defoliation arc recognized, and adjusted for when necessary.

Description: The response of root systems of four conifer species (Pinusstrobus, Pinusresinosa, Piceaglauca, and Piceamariana) to saturated soil conditions was examined in growth chamber experiments using 2- to 4-year-old nursery transplants potted into Plexiglas cylinders using a soil-containing mix. None of the conifers appeared adapted to grow roots into flooded soil, with the deepest roots of any species reaching only 10 cm below a water table after allowing time for maximum growth (30 days, 23 °C). Accordingly, anatomical observations of root cross sections indicated that none of the species had a significant internal air-filled pore space. There was a major difference between the pine and spruce genera in the response of aerobically grown roots to flooding. In both spruce species, no root tips survived flooding treatments longer than 1 day, whereas in both pine species, 35% or more tips survived even the longest (7-day) treatment. This difference could not be readily related to differences between these species in drainage preference in the field. Despite the much greater loss of root tips in the spruces, the postdrainage recovery of transpiration, after a depression during flooding, was as rapid in the spruces as in the pines.

Description: A mechanized whole-tree harvesting system, which has recently found widespread use in northern New England, was evaluated for its impact on residual crop trees in two northern hardwood stands in western Maine. Stand type, skid trail spacing, and whether or not skid trails were designated prior to harvesting significantly influenced stand damage levels. A higher mean percentage of residual trees was injured in a Betulapapyrifera Marsh, stand (49%) than in similar treatments in a Fagusgrandifolia Ehrh. – Quercusrubra L. stand (32%). A spacing of 20 m between predesignated trails resulted in less damage (22%) to the remaining trees than a spacing of 40 m (53%), but with many more potential crop trees cut for trails. At both sites, highest total damage was found in treatments where no skid trails were predesignated, with 82 and 43% of the crop trees damaged or removed in the B. papyrifera stand and the Fagus–Quercus stand, respectively. Models were developed to predict the effects of thinning systems, tree size, species, dbh, stand basal area, and distance from tree to skid trail on the probability of being damaged. High damage levels indicate that such harvesting systems are unsuitable for some sites and require careful planning and layout on all sites.

Description: Shallow, rapid landslides are common events and significant causes of vegetation disturbance in the Pacific Northwest. Landslides remove surface soil and above- and below-ground biomass from steep slopes and deposit them downslope or in streams. Vegetation cover and frequency were sampled on 25 landslides aged 6–28 years in the Cascade Mountains of western Oregon. Landslides sampled were debris avalanches ranging in surface area from 36 to 1287 m2, in elevation from 460 to 1100 m, and in slope from 40 to 173%. The landslides originated in undisturbed forests, recently harvested tracts of timber, road cuts, and road fills. Substrates within landslide areas were separated into five types and the vegetation cover was estimated for each: bedrock, 19%; secondary erosion, 25%; primary scar, 51%; secondary deposition, 57%; primary deposition, 71%. Vegetation cover averaged 51% overall and cover ranged from 7 to 88% among landslide sites. No relation between landslide age and vegetation cover was established. Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco was the most common tree species overall and dominated all substrates except bedrock, where no single tree species occurred on more than 20% of the plots. Rubusursinus Cham. & Schlecht. was the most common shrub species on all substrates. Anaphalismargaritacea (L.) B & H and Trientalislatifolia Hook, were the most common herb species on all substrates except bedrock, where annual Epilobium spp. were most common.

Description: The effects of salal (Gaultheriashallon Pursh.) understory removal on the growth of thinned 32-year-old Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) trees were determined in a stand subject to growing season soil water deficits. Four pairs of similar trees were selected and the understory was completely removed from around one of each pair, the root zones of which were both isolated using plastic sheeting buried to bedrock. Photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, soil water potential and canopy microclimate were measured intensively in one pair on 4 clear days during an extended dry period in June 1982. Basal area increment of the four pairs of trees was measured over three growing seasons. To determine the effect of soil water potential on tree photosynthesis, the same variables were intensively measured over 3 consecutive days in late August 1982 for another tree initially subjected to a soil water potential of approximately −1.6 MPa, but irrigated to approximately −0.02 MPa between the 1st and 2nd days. Solar irradiance decreased markedly between the 2nd and 3rd days, thereby creating a unique data set. Findings were as follows: (i) removal of understory significantly increased rates of photosynthesis in the trees, both diurnally and seasonally, (ii) photosynthesis was not generally limited by stomatal conductance unless vapour pressure deficit was high and photon flux density was saturating, and (iii) tree growth response to salal removal was due to higher soil water potential, which increased both photosynthetic capacity and stomatal conductance.

Description: The recent history of Piceaabies (L.) Karst. at its altitudinal tree limit has been studied in the southern Swedish Scandes. Altitudinal transects (131) were evenly distributed over a tract of mountains of ca. 40 × 200 km. The age of spruces growing at the tree limit and downhill were estimated by annual ring counts. The spruce tree limit had risen (on average by ca. 50 m altitudinally) in ca. 70% of the studied transects as a result of the subsequent growth in height of old, established, formerly stunted individuals. Their growth in height accelerated during the 1930's, in response to the general climatic warming. A rise in the tree limit because of the establishment of new individuals (after 1915) was noted in only 7% of the studied transects. Most of the spruces growing in the tree-limit ecotone established around the 1860's and the 1940's, which were epochs with relatively snowy winters. After 1860, spruce establishment was not correlated with the summer mean temperature. Successful regeneration of spruce at the tree limit is dependent of a deep and stable snow cover and the requisite balance between precipitation–meltwater and evaporation being maintained in the early summer. The importance of air temperatures in May for successful growth and natural regeneration was evident. High air temperature in May is detrimental, since it promotes a too early initiation of growth and a consequent increased risk of frost damage. The spruce populations at the tree limit are recruited both from local seed parents and from long distance dispersal of seed from trees growing at lower altitudes.

Description: Flaming combustion is dependent upon the production of flammable volatiles that originate from the heating of the fuel materials. The thermal reactions that take place during this heating are determined by the chemical composition of the fuel. A knowledge of fuel chemistry and thermal reactivity can be useful in understanding and predicting fire behavior. Four plant materials were studied because their thermal decomposition curves showed unusually strong peaks from unknown combustible volatiles. The objective was to isolate and identify the chemical source of these volatiles. The tissues were methodically fractionated by following previously published techniques. Effects of each fractionation were carefully monitored by thermogravimetric analysis before and after treatment. Arabinogalactan was identified as the source of 325–350 °C volatiles from western larch (Larixoccidentalis Nutt.) wood. The major component of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) bark that decomposed above 400 °C was suberin. Foliage from gallberry (Ilexglabra (L.) Gray) and ponderosa pine (Pinusponderosa Laws.) contained cutin, which was responsible for their volatiles produced above 400 °C. The thermal behaviors of suberin and cutin reflect their similar chemical composition. The presence of these chemical components may produce similar thermal behavior in numerous other plant tissues.

Description: Decomposition rates of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) and red alder (Alnusrubra Bong.) wood (simulating logging residues) were determined in clear-cuttings at the Charles Lathrop Pack Experimental Forest of the University of Washington, which is located approximately 120 km south of Seattle, WA. The influence of diameter (1–2, 4–6, and 8–12 cm), vertical location (buried, on the soil surface, and elevated), season of logging (summer and winter), aspect (north and south), and wood temperature, moisture, and chemistry on wood decomposition rates were determined. Red alder wood decomposed faster (k = 0.035–0.517 year−1) than Douglas-fir wood (k = 0.006–0.205 year−1). In general, buried wood decomposed faster than surface wood, which decomposed faster than elevated wood. Small diameter wood generally decomposed faster than larger diameter wood. Aspect and season of logging had little influence on decomposition rates. Moisture and temperature were the dominant factors related to Douglas-fir wood decomposition, with initial chemistry playing a minor role. Initial wood chemistry, particularly soda solubility, was the dominant factor related to red alder wood decomposition.

Description: Seven thinning treatments with residual densities between 60 and 160 ft3/acre (13.8 and 36.8 m2/ha) of basal area were applied to a highly productive (site index, 81 ft (24.7 m); base age, 50 years) red pine (Pinusresinosa Ait.) plantation. After 10 years, periodic basal area growth was maximized over a lower and much broader range of residual densities than previously found in lower site quality stands. Total and merchantable cubic foot volume growth for the 10 year period was not significantly different between treatments. Application of these thinning treatments on a 6- compared with a 10-year interval reduced total and merchantable cubic foot volume growth while increasing the average stand diameter.

Description: Genetic and environmental variances in cone size, seed yield, and germination properties were evaluated for Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P. using material from ramets of 19 clones in a northern Ontario seed orchard. Thirty-seven percent of the variance in cone volume (mean, 2.2 cm3) was accounted for by differences among clones (range, 1.3–3.5 cm3) and 19% was accounted for by ramets within clones. Clone means for number of seed per cone ranged from 49 to 100 and averaged 71; 18% of seed was filled. Clonal variances for number of seed per cone and percent filled seed were 31 and 23% of the total variance, while ramets accounted for 18 and 13%, respectively. Germination of filled seed averaged 68% and clone means ranged from 28 to 90%. Sixty-seven percent of the variation in germination percent was due to clonal differences and 18% was associated with ramets.

Description: The distribution and vertical variation of juvenile wood was studied in an 81-year-old dominant tree and an 83-year-old suppressed tree of Larixlaricina (Du Roi) K. Koch. Two criteria, growth ring width and tracheid length, were used to demarcate the boundary of juvenile wood. The width of juvenile wood, expressed in centimetres and the number of growth rings, decreased noticeably from the base to the top of the tree. The volume of juvenile wood decreased in a similar pattern. These decreasing trends had a strong negative correlation with the year of formation of cambial initials at a given tree level. The length of these cambial initials decreased with increasing age of formation of the cambial initials. In the juvenile wood zone, there was a positive linear regression between the growth ring number (age) and the tracheid length. The slopes of these regression lines at various tree levels increased as the age of the year of formation of the cambial initials increased. At a given tree level, the length of tracheids increased from the pith to a more uniform length near the bark. However, the number of years needed to attain a more uniform tracheid length decreased from the base to the top of the tree. These relationships suggest that the formation of juvenile wood is related to the year of formation of the cambial initials. Consequently, the juvenile wood is conical in shape, tapering towards the tree top.

Description: The relationships of root attributes and tree, stand, and site factors to root contact between second-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) were studied in excavated root systems. Type 1 contacts (tenuous) were positively related to root length and inversely related to root volume. Type 2–3 contacts (with slight to severe root deformation) were positively related to number of roots. Type 4 contacts (apparent grafts) were positively related to root number and cross-sectional area. Differentiation among groups containing no contacts. Type 1 contacts only or all contact types showed that intertree distance, tree diameter, rooting depth, soil gravel content, and percent slope were significant in determining probability of root contact.

Description: Bald cypress (Taxodiumdistichum L.) seedlings were subjected to flooding with saline water containing 0 to 8 parts per thousand (137 mequiv. L−1 NaCl) under controlled environment conditions. Imposition of flooding and salinity stresses was designed to simulate the increase in submergence and salinity level which Louisiana's extensive cypress forests are currently experiencing as a result of rapid subsidence. The effect of flooding and salt water intrusion on subsequent stomatal behaviour and net photosynthesis for leaves developed before and after salt exposure were measured. Flooding and salinity resulted in a substantial decrease in stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis in both young and old leaves. Leaf aging did not significantly affect stomatal conductance and photosynthesis. Only plants flooded with freshwater and those flooded with low salinity concentration produced new leaves with improved stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis, which suggests some stomatal and photosynthetic acclimation to flooding and low salinity for bald cypress. Increase in salinity, however, caused more extensive impact and greater reductions of stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis in both leaf ages.

Description: The soil pH under 20 coniferous plantations on abandoned farmland at the Petawawa National Forestry Institute was remeasured after 46 years and showed a significant decrease. Soils under white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) showed the greatest degree of acidification, with the average pH in 13 plantations decreasing by 1.28.

Description: Potential nitrogen mineralization and nitrification were studied in three upland forest ecosystems to develop an understanding of nitrogen turnover on a landscape basis. The northern Michigan forests studied were an oak ecosystem primarily associated with glacial outwash features and two sugar maple ecosystems that occurred on morainal landforms but differed in the diversity and abundance of ground flora species. Four randomly chosen stands separated by at least 6 km were sampled within each of the three ecosystems. Potential net nitrogen mineralization and nitrification were determined by an aerobic laboratory incubation. Litter was collected from all ecosystems during autumn. Litter production, nitrogen returned to the forest floor, and net mineralization differed by a factor of two between the oak and sugar maple ecosystems. The species-rich sugar maple ecosystems exhibited a fourfold increase in potential nitrification compared with the species-poor sugar maple ecosystem. Nitrification was virtually absent in the oak ecosystem. The distribution of ecosystems could be used to predict differences in potential mineralization and nitrification. Areas susceptible to nitrate loss following intensive forest management practices may be related to the occurrence of plant associations. In this upland landscape, high nitrification potentials appear to be confined to species-rich sugar maple forests.

Description: Analysis of dead boles of Piceasitchensis (Bong.) Carr. and Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. in open- and closed-canopy forests of the Olympic Peninsula Washington, U.S.A., revealed that hemlock mortality in both forest types was due mainly to windthrow, whereas spruce typically died upright. The open forest contained 120 t/ha of dead bole wood; the closed forest contained 161 t/ha. Hemlock boles decayed more rapidly than the larger spruce boles, although both showed considerable variability. On a per-hectare basis, 146–223 kg of N, 147–197 kg of Ca. 39–61 kg of K, 18–29 kg of Mg, 6–14 kg of Na, and 17–29 kg of P were contained in dead boles of the open- and closed-canopy forests, respectively. Except for N and Mg, the nutrient concentrations of the wood were not significantly different after 33–68 years of bole decay. The N:P ratios increased with increasing decay for both species.

Description: The biomass of 76 jack pine (Pinusbanksiana Lamb.) trees (29 stands) and 72 red pine (P. resinosa Ait.) trees (28 stands) from throughout the northern Lake States was determined. All trees were from even-aged, unthinned plantations ranging from 20–61 years old; site indexes represented nearly the complete range for these species. Individual tree component weights (foliage, live branches, dead branches, stem wood, and stem bark) were regressed against dbh and tree height using the nonlinear form Bt = aDbHc. Stand biomass was also estimated with stand basal area and mean height of dominant and codominant trees using the equation form Bs = a + b(B) + c(Hs) or a + b(B)(Hs). The equations were tested in two additional stands of red pine and two of jack pine and by comparison with literature values. Individual tree equations were most accurate for estimating bole components and the total tree and less accurate for foliage and branches. The standard error of the estimate divided by mean weight ranged from 0.06 to 0.17 for bole components, from 0.21 to 0.28 for live crown components, and from 0.43 to 0.49 for dead branches. For all components, jack pine equations were slightly less precise than those for red pine. The individual tree equations appear to be applicable over a wide geographical area and usable for both natural stands and plantations. The equations appear to be valid for the majority of unthinned stands in the age range of 20–50 years. The stand equations, while less precise than individual tree estimates, should give reasonably accurate estimates of stand biomass components in most situations.

Description: This paper is a comprehensive review of operational research studies in forest fire management during the years 1961 through 1981. It includes a brief discussion of fire management decision making, summaries of and comments regarding the practical merits of the work that has been done, and suggestions concerning future efforts in this field.

Description: Retranslocation from leaves was investigated as a means of retaining nutrients in stands of Quercusprinus L. on two sites in southern Illinois, where wind rapidly moves litter downslope. Foliage samples were collected from late summer until leaf fall to describe the trends of leaf dry weight and nutrient concentration (N, K, P, Ca) changes. Free-falling rain and throughfall were collected to estimate foliar leaching. Foliar concentrations of N, K, and P decreased markedly during senescence while Ca concentrations increased. The pattern of concentration change was unique for each element, and the change in N concentration was closely correlated with change in leaf color. For the study sites as a whole, leaf dry weight decreased to 70% of the original value. Of 84.2 kg N/ha in green foliage, only 22.6% was returned to the site as litter. The canopy gained 0.3 kg N/ha (0.4%) from rainfall. The 78.5% N unaccounted for is attributed to retranslocation. Similarly, from 51.4 kg K/ha; 8.2, P; and 47.8, Ca in green foliage, 9.8, 1.3, and 3.3%, respectively, were removed by leaching; 27.4, 43.7, and 85.1% were returned to the site in litter. The remaining 63.0% K, 55.0% P, and 11.5% Ca unaccounted for is attributed to retranslocation. Retranslocation and leaching of nutrients was greater on the site of higher quality. But on both sites it appears that retranslocation is an important means of retaining and conserving N, K, and P countering the effect of annual litter removal.

Description: Seeds from 21 populations of Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P. from five forest sections of the boreal forest regions in Newfoundland were analyzed for electrophoretically detectable variation in 15 proteins coded by 23 genetic loci. On the average, 38% of the loci per population were polymorphic, the number of alleles per locus was 1.44, and the expected and observed heterozygosities were 0.107 and 0.120, respectively. Contingency χ2 analysis for homogeneity of allele frequencies indicated differentiation (P 

Description: The nitrate reductase activity of Deschampsiaflexuosa (L.) Trin., an evergreen grass species common in northern coniferous forests, was tested as an indicator of nitrate availability in forest soils. A positive linear correlation (correlation coefficient significantly different from zero, p 

Description: The feasibility of using the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) carried by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) series of satellites to monitor forest fires was tested during a severe fire outbreak in north central Alberta between June 12 and June 21, 1982. A multispectral technique used AVHRR channels 3 and 4 to identify fires and estimate fire size. This multispectral approach enabled identification of subpixel-sized fires as small as 1 ha. During the study, fires were obscured from satellite view by the presence of cloud and smoke 59% of the time. In the remaining time, 80% of the fires listed by the Alberta Forest Service were identified by satellite. Satellite observations of forest fires are not sufficiently accurate to replace existing monitoring methods, but they are of value in providing a rapid, inexpensive supplement, especially in remote forested areas.

Description: Balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.) trees dead between 0 and 5 years were sampled in three widely separated areas that had distinctly different population levels of the secondary, stem-attacking, balsam fir bark beetle (Pityokteinessparsus (Lec.)). The percentage of stem volume affected by sap rot increased significantly with the number of years since tree death. The wood volume lost in debarking tests, simulating pulp mill conditions, averaged 23% in trees dead 4–5 years in the two areas with the most sap rot, and in individual trees, debarking losses were significantly correlated with the extent of sap rot. Sap rot developed most quickly where stems had the most bark beetle activity, whereas where the bark beetle population was very low, sap rot development was significantly slower. These results are consistent with those of many earlier studies and observations in which a close relationship has been noted between the extent of sap rot and the intensity of bark beetle attack in stands of budworm-killed balsam fir. Evidence is presented indicating that stem deterioration rates and beetle activity frequently change with time in specific regions during any one budworm outbreak. It is postulated that inoculum levels of Polyporusabietinus (Dicks ex Fr.), the fungus responsible for the sap rot, and population levels of the balsam fir bark beetle are similarly and greatly affected by earlier occurrences of balsam fir mortality in a region. The average density of bark holes, caused by bark beetle tunneling in recently killed trees, can be used as a nondestructive and quick indicator of the average rate of development and probable extent of stem sap rot in budworm-damaged balsam fir stands. This information can be useful in assessments of the economic feasibility of proposed salvage operations.

Description: Microbial biomass and relative bacterial and fungal percentages were measured in organic forest soil from a Rocky Mountain site subjected to four harvesting treatments: RL, clear-cut and residue left; RR, clear-cut and residue removed; RB, clear-cut and residue burned; C, uncut control. Microbial biomass peaked in spring and fall regardless of treatment. Biomass in soil from the RB treatment was significantly (p 

Description: Calorific values of six softwoods and four hardwoods were determined for components such as stump, main stem, treetop, branches, foliage, and bark. Tree components among groups (hardwoods and softwoods) and within species differed highly significantly (P 

Description: Hidden knots and regions of decay in aspen (Populustremuloides Michx.) sample are highlighted using the nuclear magnetic resonance imaging technique. The images were obtained on a whole-body nuclear magnetic resonance scanner that operates at 0.14 T for protons. The water in different regions of the sample responds differently, thereby imparting this useful information.

Description: The use of commercially available porous cup soil water samplers for soil solution extraction was evaluated. Ortho-P, (NO3 + NO2)-N and potassium (K) were adsorbed by the porous cup during extraction of soil water samples, but the retention of (NO3 + NO2)-N was minimal. The screening of NO3− by the cup was not obvious. The retention of ortho-P and K was a function of solution concentration and the time of contact between soil solution and the cup. A rest period between extractions, during which samplers remained in contact with solution at zero tension, appeared to enhance phosphorus sorption capacity of the ceramic cup. Furthermore, phosphorus sorption was reversible in nature. The porous cup subjected to high solution concentration initially, released phosphorus when flushed with soilsolution of low concentration. It is recommended that several consecutive soil water extractions be carried out at high (0.6 bar) tension, using high flow rate porous cups. The sample collected in the last extraction should be used to determine true soil water quality.

Description: A study designed to assess gaseous losses of N as N2O and N2 from soils of conventional till fields seeded to wheat in the Chernozemic soil region of Saskatchewan, together with limited supporting laboratory investigations, has confirmed that for the May-November period losses were in the vicinity of 3 kg N∙ha−1 or less. In contrast, total losses from a summer-fallowed field were approximately 300% higher. Comparisons at one site were made of N losses from a conventionally tilled and zero-tilled Dark Brown Chernozemic soil seeded to wheat; the total losses of N were twice as high for the zero till as the conventional till treatments. The N2O fluxes were shown to be the result of both reductive (denitrification) and oxidative (nitrification) processes and generally, under the conditions of these field experiments, both occurred simultaneously. This experiment also confirmed that C2H2 inhibited nitrification in a manner very similar to N-serve, a well-known nitrification inhibitor.

Description: Two separate field experiments were conducted on several crops to determine the effect of selenium (Se) applied to soils with pH levels between 5.7 and 6.6. Tissue Se levels after a single application of Se and lime, were monitored for up to six cropping years or until the tissue Se fell below 0.1 ppm, the level considered to be necessary for animal nutrition. For applications of 1.12 and 2.24 kg Se/ha, the minimal tissue Se concentration (〉 0.1 ppm) was maintained in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) for two cropping years, but with a very sharp decrease for the first 3 yr. In the case of timothy (Phleum pratense L.), tissue levels greater than 0.1 ppm were maintained for 3 yr at the higher rate of Se without lime and up to 5 yr at high soil pH levels. At the applied rates of 0.28 and 0.56 kg Se/ha, the tissue Se levels above 0.1 ppm in timothy, red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) were maintained for one and two cropping years, respectively. In spite of the sharp decrease in plant tissue Se levels, little decrease in total soil Se was noted at rates of 1.12 and 2.24 kg Se/ha after successive croppings of barley and timothy. Although not always significant, liming, in general, increased the plant Se concentration. The Se concentration (log ppm) for tissues (or depletion of Se availability) in the Se-applied plots decreased linearly for at least the first three cropping seasons.

Description: The uprooting of forest trees leads to the formation of microsites on the forest floor, contributing to fine-scale heterogeneity in soil properties. We found the types of microsites formed depended on the way the tree fall occurred. Tree falls were classified as either hinge or rotational types. Hinge tree falls formed when the root mat of a tree and the surrounding soil were uplifted vertically, leaving an adjacent pit in the soil. Hinge tree falls varied as to thickness of the root mat and angle of uplift. Rotational tree falls were usually a result of a ball and socket motion of the root mat and soil, which positioned the tree bole over the newly created pit. The tree falls disrupted and redistributed surface soil organic matter and subsoil. In rotational tree falls, the surface material remained intact, covering some of the pit and the adjacent side of the mound. In hinge tree falls, the surface organic matter was deposited on the throw side of the mound, leaving subsoil on the other side and in the pit. With time, however, hinge-type pits accumulated litter and eventually had more organic matter than mounds. Old mounds from both hinge and rotational tree falls had lower concentrations of calcium and magnesium, lower pH, and less moisture than pits. The tree fall process creates long-term soil patterns and maintains microsite heterogeneity in forest communities.

Description: Averaged over one growing season for four conifer and four hardwood stands in central Nova Scotia, incident bulk deposition (IP) was partitioned into 28% canopy interception, 70% throughfall (TF), and 2% stemflow (SF). Hydrogen ion, ammonium, and nitrate fluxes in TF + SF were less than IP; these were presumably consumed by ion-uptake reactions in the canopy or on bark surfaces. All other measured constituents had positive net fluxes, which presumably resulted from some combination of leachage, ion exchange, or washoff of dry-deposited material. The average flux of constituent in TF + SF, expressed as a percent enhancement over IP, was as follows: K, 930; Mg, 274; PO4, 190; Ca, 170; Cl, 116; SO4, 50; Na, 50; H+, −54; NH4, −59; NO3, −69. Tree species differed greatly in concentration and flux of water and nutrient in stemflow. Conifer species generally had lower SF water fluxes, probably because of their greater leaf biomass, which resulted in relatively high rates of canopy interception of IP. Concentrations of K, PO4, and NH4 did not differ between SF of hardwoods and conifers, while NO3 concentration was higher in hardwood SF and concentrations of H+, Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, and SO4 were higher in softwood SF.

Description: Hydrolysis, immobilization and nitrification of urea-N was measured in samples of Ap horizons of a Black Chernozemic and a Luvisolic soil incubated in the laboratory. Urea was either placed as a nest or mixed throughout the soil. Samples were removed over time to determine the two-dimensional redistribution of urea, [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]. Localizing urea in a nest reduced both its rate of hydrolysis and subsequent nitrification, and increased recovery of added N in the presence of straw equivalent to 4 t ha−1. In contrast, urea mixed into the soil was nearly completely hydrolyzed and oxidized in 8 d or completely immobilized in the presence of straw. Kinetic studies showed urea hydrolysis was inhibited in a Luvisolic soil sample with increasing substrate concentration beyond 5 mM. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (Ka) was 19 mM; the inhibition constant (Ki) was 7 mM; and apparent maximum velocity (Va) was 34.5 μg N g−1 h−1. Urease activity in the Black Chernozemic soil was described by normal Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a Km value of 3.4 mM and Vmax equal to 18.2 μg N g−1 h−1. When urea was localized in a nest, most of the nitrite oxidizers originally present in the soil were killed during the first 24 d of incubation. Factors such as solubilized organics, in addition to [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were considered to be involved. It was concluded that nest placement of urea influenced N transformations in two ways. First, the low surface area:mass ratio reduced exposure of urea to the soil, thereby slowing processes such as immobilization by organisms on decomposing straw. Second, at the microsite level, high concentrations of urea can inhibit urease; and NH3, once generated in such concentrated localized areas, can itself inhibit nitrification through direct toxic effects or possibly through dissolution of inhibitory organics. Key words: Kinetics, Michaelis-Menten, inhibition, nest placement, nitrification, urea

Description: The objectives of this study were to evaluate if zero tillage had significantly altered the distribution of certain soil properties formally developed under the shallow cultivation (conventional tillage) soil management systems used on the Canadian prairies. To this end, concentration gradients of available plant nutrients, microbial biomass and mineralizable C and N, were determined in the Ap soil horizon from four locations representing zero and conventional (shallow) tillage systems of 2-, 4-, 12- and 16-yr duration. No significant change coud be detected in total soil organic C and N between tillages systems. Concentrations of plant-available P and K were slightly increased in the surface 0- to 2-cm depth after 16 yr of zero tillage. Except for the 2-yr tillage site, concentration gradients of potential microbial biomass C and N, and potential net mineralizable C and N were significantly greater in the surface soil under zero tillage in comparison to conventional tillage. The reverse situation was observed at the lower depth. The percentage of soil organic C and N that was in the microbial biomass also reflected the above trends. Accumulation of mineral N and calculated N mineralization potentials were closely correlated to both the initial microbial biomass N and the decrease in size of the latter during mineralization. The possible relationships of tillage induced change and redistribution in potential biological activity to N availability were discussed.

Description: The effects of application of manure and P fertilizer on wheat yields in a fallow-wheat-wheat rotation on a Black Rego Chernozemic clay soil have been studied for 36 yr. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of manure on soil characteristics that could be related to the reported progressive yield increases over time and an apparent improvement in soil tilth. Soil samples were taken in 1982 from the check (no treatment), and from treatments receiving 13.4, 20.2 and 26.9 t ha−1 of manure applied each fallow year, and 112 kg ha−1 of seed-placed 11-48-0 applied to wheat after summerfallow. Soil physical and P-related parameters were determined for depth increments to 30 cm; the total-N and 15N data to 90 cm; other data were for the 0- to 7.5-cm depth. Manure had no effect on bulk density or hydraulic conductivity. However, it increased the total C and humic acid (HA) content of the soil, the percent of soil C as HA-C, the C concentration in humin, and the percent of total soil N as humin-N. Manure significantly increased the percent of HA-N but not humin-N present as amino acid and amino sugar-N, but increased amino acids and the amino sugars in the humin hydrolysate. The net rate of N mineralization and the available forms of inorganic P were all increased significantly by manure. The natural 15N-abundance technique showed that a significant though small proportion of soil N was derived from manure. Manure had no effect on soil microbial biomass C and N, soil respiration, and the quantity of potentially mineralizable N. Applied P had no effect on N-related parameters measured; its effect on available P was not measured. It was concluded that manure increased crop yields by improving the N- and P-supplying power of the soil, and improving the physical environment of the soil through its effects on the humic colloids. Key words: Humic substances, soil P fractions, soil biological properties, natural 15N abundance, net N mineralization

Description: Experiments were done to characterize the hydrolyzed solutions of aluminum nitrate, aluminum chloride and aluminum sulfate. The hydrolysis of the dilute solutions (10−3M) was accomplished under reflux process at 92 °C. The results showed that anions associated with Al have an effect on hydrolysis of aluminum and the order of ease of hydrolysis for similar concentrations of Al was NO3 〉 Cl 〉 SO4. The average composition of the hydroxyaluminum cation (Aln(OH)m) was calculated as [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] for hydrolyzed solutions of Al(NO3)3, AlCl3, and Al2(SO4)3, respectively. The infrared spectra of the hydrolyzed species of aluminum were obtained by a subtraction technique and infrared peaks at 1410 cm−1 and 1085 cm−1 in the AlCl3 system and at 1435 cm−1 and 1070 cm−1 in the Al2(SO4)3 system were assigned to polynuclear hydroxyaluminum species having been formed due to reflux process.

Description: Amounts and turnover rates of biomass and water-soluble organic C (WSOC) were measured at the Breton plots where records of long-term management of a Gray Luvisolic soil are available. Plots (control, manure, and NPKS) which had been cropped to either a wheat-fallow or a wheat-oats-barley-forage-forage rotation for 50 yr were sampled 13 times during 1981 and 1982. Biomass C and flush of microbial N were measured using the chloroform fumigation technique. Long-term crop yields were used to derive C supply to the plots. Regression analyses were used to relate seasonal fluctuations in environmental conditions to biomass and WSOC dynamics. Reinoculation with soil was unnecessary but Lysobacter sp. formed a greater proportion of isolates following incubation of fumigated soil than of unfumigated samples. Reinoculation with Lysobacter sp. is suggested to provide a more standardized biological assay. The 5-yr rotation contained 38% more N but 117% more microbial N than did the 2-yr rotation, and manured treatments contained twice as much microbial N as did NPKS or control plots. A management effect on soil organic matter quality is indicated. Averge turnover rates of biomass were 0.2–3.9 yr−1; being 1.5–2 times faster in the 2-yr rotation than in the 5-yr rotation. Replenishment of the WSOC component would have to occur 26–39 times yr−1 to supply microbial turnover. Most of the biomass must be dormant because annual C inputs are two orders of magnitude less than maintenance energy requirements. Seasonal variations in biomass were most consistently related to losses during desiccation and regrowth upon moistening. Regrowth appears to be at the expense of native soil organic matter. Management practices and environmental conditions therefore affect amount of organic matter by controlling both input of C and biomass turnover. Key words: Crop rotations, Luvisol, organic matter, biomass, soluble C, Breton plots

Description: Current irrigation water criteria for boron (B) are based upon the B concentration of either the irrigation water or the soil saturation extract. The effects of the leaching fraction (LF) and the boron adsorption capacity (BAC) of the soil upon the soil solution concentration have not been considered. The objectives of this paper were (i) to develop a predictive model relating soil solution B concentration at equilibrium to the B concentration in irrigation water and the LF, and (ii) to show how the relationship between the B concentration of the soil solution under field conditions and the B concentration of the soil saturation extract can be modelled. The predictive model, derived from the mass balance concept, indicated that at equilibrium the value of the soil solution B in well-drained soil would be close to that of irrigation water, at the soil surface and will increase with depth with the highest value being near the bottom of the root zone where its magnitude is determined primarily on the degree of leaching. For irrigation water concentrations between 0.5 and 10 mg B/L, the weighted average B concentration of the soil solution in the profile of an alfalfa field would be about 1.9–2.7 times the irrigation water concentration at a LF of 0.1; it would be 1.4–1.9 times for a LF of 0.25; and 1.3–1.5 times for a LF of 0.4. The model of the relationship between soil solution B at field capacity and saturation extract B indicates the importance of the BAC of the soil. Without considering BAC, the ratio between the two would be 2. However, the model indicates that the ratio ranges from 1.0 to 1.8 depending upon the B concentration in the solution and the BAC of the soil. This suggests that the B concentration of the soil saturation extract does not provide a true representation of the soil solution B. In assessing B toxicity, the saturation extract concentration should be converted to the soil solution concentration at the actual water content of the soil.

Description: Six Manitoba soils of varying physical and chemical compositions were used to determine the efficiency of nitrate analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The nitrate was extracted with distilled water and the extract was analyzed with a reverse phase column using a mobile phase of 1:1 methanol-water, pH 3.0. In five soils, the HPLC method of nitrate analysis resulted in near 100% recovery of added nitrate. An average 90.2% recovery was obtained with the hydrazine sulfate method using sodium bicarbonate, pH 8.5, as the soil extractant. Variable recoveries were obtained with the phenoldisulfonic acid method using a silver sulfate-copper sulfate extractant. Key words: HPLC, nitrate analysis, soil

Description: This study evaluated the relative responses of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.), and soybeans [Glycine max (Merr.)] on two calcareous Ontario soils. The B-horizon of a Pontypool sand (Typic Psammentic Hapludalf) and the Ap-horizon of a Plainfield Fine Sand (Typic Udipsamment) were each cropped to all three species in the greenhouse. Thirty-six treatments comprised factorial combinations of three rates (0, 0.25 and 1.00 μg/g) of B, two rates (0 and 25 μg/g) of Mn, the two soils, and the three crops with three replications. Plants were clipped at soil level at flowering stage, oven-dried to constant weight, and analyzed for nutrient content. Boron and Mn additions significantly increased concentrations of these elements in plant tissue. Boron uptake was significantly higher on the coarser-textured Pontypool soil and toxicity significantly reduced soybean yields on this soil, but alfalfa and peanut yields were unaffected. Peanuts appeared least sensitive to B toxicity and Mn deficiency. Soybeans were most sensitive to B toxicity and alfalfa most sensitive to Mn deficiency. The differences in tolerance to B seem attributable to the relative abilities of the three species to withstand high B concentrations in plant tissue rather than to differences in uptake. Differential susceptibility to Mn deficiency on the other hand seems attributable to relative efficiencies of the crops to extract Mn from Mn-deficient soils. Soil organic matter may have had some ameliorative effect on B toxicity. Yield and nutrient uptake were not significantly affected by B × Mn interactions.

Description: Soil samples contaminated in the laboratory with a NaCl solution were leached with water after various amendments had been added. With no amendments added, percolation rates were reduced more on a light-textured Dark Brown Chernozemic A than on a medium-textured Black Chernozemic A. Undisturbed B horizon cores showed a smaller decrease in percolation rate than the A horizons, but natural gypsum or carbonates were of no benefit in maintaining percolation through the unamended contaminated subsoils. Percolation generally increased as more Ca-amendment was added to the contaminated A horizons, but rate of (surface-applied) amendment had no effect on the percolation through the B horizon cores. Gypsum mixed into the contaminated soil was much more effective than gypsum applied on the surface; adding NH4NO3 to the gypsum had no effect. The efficiency of incorporated amendments decreased in the order: gypsum 〉 MgSO4 〉 Ca(NO3)2. Surface-applied Ca(NO3)2 was a better amendment than mixed-in Ca(NO3)2. Caching losses decreased in the order: Cl 〉 Na 〉 Mg 〉 Ca 〉 K. Initial losses of Cl, Na, Mg and Ca were faster than expected from the rule of thumb that one pore volume of water reduces the salt content by about one-half. Subsequently, losses were much slower than in the rule of thumb as most of the remaining cations are in exchangeable form.

Description: Soil carbon and nitrogen were determined by a LECO CHN-600 determinator; precision and rate of analysis by the new method were compared with those by two other methods. Precision of total carbon data as expressed by the range of standard deviations of seven values for each of 10 samples with carbon contents of 0.1–11% were: CHN-600, 0.01–0.13; LECO induction furnace 0.02–0.86; and wet oxidation 0.04–0.96 Standard deviations of nitrogen data by the CHN-600 ranged from 〈 0.01 to 0.02 for samples with total nitrogen of 0.01–0.95%. Rate of determination of carbon and nitrogen by the CHN-600 was more than double that of either of the other carbon methods combined with nitrogen by Kjeldahl. Key words: Soil, carbon, nitrogen, precision, rate of analysis

Description: The Podzolic B horizon of the Calder series sampled in Quebec was incubated at field capacity for 2 yr in the presence of various amounts of P (0–1500 ppm). Total and available P measured after incubation ranged from 179 to 1627 ppm and from 26 to 489 ppm, respectively, following the different P additions. Charge properties were determined using 1 N NH4OAc at pH 4.8 and 7.0, potentiometric titration and ion adsorption techniques. The CEC of the sample measured at pH 4.8 varied from 7.2 to 11.4 meq/100 g, while at pH 7.0 it ranged from 9.1 to 16.3 meq/100 g following the 0- to 1500-ppm P additions. This increase in negative charges was attributed to the progressive lowering of the pHzpc (from 4.30 to 3.35 in NaCl) determined by potentiometric titrations of the P-treated samples and as a result of specific P adsorption. Ion adsorption in 0.01 N NaCl showed a gradual increase in Na+ adsorbed as a function of pH and amount of P added while an opposite trend was observed for Cl− as a function of pH. P added did not seem to change the amount of Cl− adsorbed or compete for adsorption sites; this would rather demonstrate the specificity of these sites for anion adsorption.

Description: The effects of different tillage methods (normal, chiselling and deep plowing) on chemical characteristics and reclamation of a Duagh, Black Solonetz, soil were evaluated separately and in combination with chemical amendments of lime and gypsum. It was found that within the tillage treatments, deep plowing was the most effective in reducing exchangeable sodium percentage, sodium adsorption ratios and alkalinity potential in most soil layers. Also, deep plowing changed the chemistry of the soil solution thereby improving plant nutrition conditions in the root zone. There was only one significant difference in exchangeable sodium percentage values within the chemical amendments under tillage treatments, namely for the Ap and Bnt horizons of the chiselling treatment where lime and gypsum lowered the ESP. This indicates that chiselling hastened the penetration of the amendments. However, the amended values were not markedly lower than the ESP for the normal tillage treatment without chemical amendments.

Description: Nutrient availability in different forest soils must be known before increased wood production can be sustained either by adding supplemental nutrients or by judicious silvicultural operations to optimize the linkage between the variable nutrient requirements of forest crops. This is complicated by the variable availability of nutrients on forest sites during crop development. Forest crops unlike agricultural crops have long rotation periods which make it difficult to apply agricultural methods of estimating potentially available nutrients directly to forest soils. Presented in this review are (i) various approaches used in forestry to estimate the nutrient supplying potential of different sites, (ii) factors affecting nutrient availability, and (iii) evidence to suggest that nutrient cycling processes in forest ecosystems are important factors affecting tree growth. It is suggested that data from chemical analyses of soil samples collected at specific times and sites should be used with caution for both practical decision making and simulation modelling purposes. Key words: Nitrogen, phosphorus, litterfall, throughfall, stemflow, mineralization

Description: The spatial variability of soil strength, porosity, and microbial biomass was determined under 4-yr continuous direct-planted silage corn (Zea mays L.) on Prince Edward Island. All soil properties changed relative to the row position. Microbial biomass C and N were lower in the in-row compared to the between-row position. Positional and depth differences for soil bulk density and volume of macropores (EPD 〉 50 μm) were only evident at the soil surface (0–8 cm). Temporal and spatial variations in soil strength indicated the extent of the rooting potential within the soil profile, the depth to compacted soil layers, and the degree of soil structure regeneration during the winter period. Key words: Spatial variability, soil strength, soil porosity, microbial biomass, direct-planted corn, Zea mays L.

Description: In the Black soil zone of the Canadian Prairies seedbed preparation is important for handling crop residues from high yields and for incorporating herbicides and fertilizers into soil in the fall or prior to seeding in spring. There are numerous tillage implements available to the producer for this operation. The question often arises as to the relative merits and demerits of using these implements, especially with respect to their effect on yield and on soil quality. A 25-yr (1959–1983) continuous spring wheat study was carried out at Melfort, Saskatchewan, in a split-plot design. The main plots were: four fall tillage implement treatments (plow, heavy duty cultivator, one-way disc and double disc), chopped straw in the fall and spring burn of straw. Four rates of fertilizer (0/0, 5/10, 22.5/10 and 45/10 kg ha−1 N/kg−1 ha−1 P) were subplots from 1959 to 1977; the fertilizer rates were doubled for 1978 to 1983. The results showed that there was no significant effect of tillage on yield but there was a significant fertilizer by tillage interaction. The spring burn treatment gave the highest yield (2073 kg ha−1) and the plow treatment the lowest yield (1963 kg ha−1). Fertilizer increased yields when moisture was adequate and either had no effect or depressed yields when precipitation was low. Only the plow treatment caused a loss of organic C and N. All tillage treatments increased the erosive fraction of the soil (fraction

Description: Twenty-one topsoils, with texture varying from sandy loam to clay and organic matter content ranging from 1.6 to 11.9%, were submitted to compaction and settling at different moisture contents where dry bulk density was determined. Under compaction, the density curve went through a maximum while a minimum was observed in the case of settling. Optimum moisture contents corresponding to these two characteristic densities were almost the same. The most important physical properties affecting soil behavior under compaction and settling were found to be water retention properties at low matric potential which themselves depended primarily on organic matter content. Samples submitted to compaction had saturated hydraulic conductivities less than 1 cm/h, while after settling, Ksat measurements ranged from 0.8 to 234 cm/h. Organic matter played an important role in reducing the effects of compaction, and moisture content alone was not sufficient to predict the best conditions for workability in the fields.

Description: A field was artificially eroded by levelling in 1957 and then continuously cropped to barley for 7 yr. Subsequently, a wheat-fallow experiment was conducted from 1965 to 1979 to determine the effects of four fertilizer treatments and green manure (yellow sweet clover) on restoring the productivity to soil that had been "eroded" to various depths. After 22 yr and 14 crops, the productivity of the land from which soil was removed has been improved but not fully restored. Although green manuring with yellow sweet clover improved soil structure, wheat yields were not improved because of competition for soil moisture and poorer in-crop weed control in this part of the rotation. The addition of 45 kg N plus 90 kg P2O5 per hectare in each crop year to sites from which 8–10, 10–20, or 46 + cm of soil had been removed resulted in yield increases of 18, 46, and 70%, respectively, over the unfertilized check of each treatment; the average yields were 104, 91, and 70%, respectively, of the undisturbed, unfertilized (check) treatment. On "erosion" treatments where only 8–10 cm of soil were removed, 45 kg N plus 22 kg P2O5 per hectare were sufficient to restore the productivity. Precipitation apparently had a greater effect than fertilizer application on wheat yields. The loss of organic matter and associated soil structure characteristics seemed to be critical factors contributing to yield losses associated with soil erosion. These results show that it is more practical to use management practices that prevent soil erosion than to adopt the practices required to restore eroded soil. Key words: Soil erosion, topsoil loss, water-stable aggregates, soil organic matter, green manure, precipitation

Description: Application of the seed-applied fungicides captan, DL-Plus, Evershield, thiram and Metalaxyl reduced nodulation in the field bean cultivar Lancer (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in the field. Captan, Evershield, B3 and Thiram also lowered the acetylene reducing activity under the same conditions. Captan, DL-Plus, and B3 resulted in significant yield reductions of field bean inoculated with commercial multi-strain rhizobial inoculant. Since captan or captan-containing fungicides were the most potent inhibitors of symbiotic N2 fixation in field bean, spontaneous mutants of Rhizobium phaseoli strains 3644 and 8215 were selected on the basis of ability to grow in microbial medium containing 100 ppm of Captan 50 W. Controlled environment chamber and field evaluations indicated that all mutants were less sensitive to commercial rates of Captan 50 W (2.0 g per kilogram seed) than either parent strain or commercial multi-strain inoculant. Inoculation of captan-treated seed with these mutants 24 h prior to seeding did not affect nitrogenase activity or yield. Assessment of the effect of captan on the N2-fixing symbiosis and the captan tolerance of R. phaseoli strains by the acetylene reduction assay or 15N isotope dilution at levels of 15N natural abundance gave similar results. The existence of mutants of R. phaseoli tolerant to seed-applied captan but unaltered in symbiotic properties makes the combined use of captan as a seed protectant and seed-applied rhizobial inoculation fully compatible. Key words: Phaseolus vulgaris L., Rhizobium phaseoli, captan, N2 fixation, 15N isotope dilution, acetylene reduction

Description: Yield of corn on Brookston clay increased 0.45 t∙ha−1∙yr−1 as distance from subsurface drain was reduced by 2 m (2.5 vs. 0.5 m). Yield increases associated with this drain-spacing interval were significant [Formula: see text] in eight of the individual years 1971–1980. While drain spacing affected yield and plant height, it had little effect on plant leaf percent NPK, soil porosity and compaction. Variation in soil measurements appeared to be primarily due to climate and rotation. Analysis of the yield data suggests that the effects of soil drainage, crop rotation and use of fertilizer are primarily additive, and that each of these practices is essential to achieving high yields of corn on southwestern Ontario clay soils. The response of rotation corn to applied fertilizer was lower than that of continuous corn, indicating that adjustment of N application in accordance with cropping history of soil may be cost effective.

Description: The rate of release of plant-available sulfur (S) from two soluble sources (thiosulfate, and sulfate) and four elemental S forms (S powder, S-coated urea, S suspension, and S-impregnated urea) was determined in a growth chamber study, using five successive harvests of rapeseed as the test crop. The soluble S sources were plant-available shortly after application. Thiosulfate was rapidly oxidized, and was comparable to sulfate in its short-term release pattern. The elemental S forms, however, showed widely different rates of release, apparently related to the initial particle size of the product and the dispersion of the particles within the soil. Finely-divided S suspension was rapidly oxidized, and the product was completely converted to sulfate by the third harvest. Relatively coarse S powder was oxidized more slowly and in some cases was not completely converted to sulfate even after 124 days. S-impregnated urea, which yields a pocket of finely divided S particles upon urea dissolution, showed negligible initial oxidation but rapid oxidation after the soil was mixed. S-coated urea produced minimal amounts of sulfate over the five harvests and could not be considered a viable fertilizer S source. Key words: Sodium sulfate, sodium thiosulfate, S-coated urea, S-impregnated urea, S oxidation, elemental S

Description: The NH4+-N concentration at the point of anhydrous ammonia injection of 19 Saskatchewan soils ranged from 200 to 800 μg/g. More than 90% of the NH4+-N was retained in a zone 5 cm in diameter from the injection point. Increasing the application rate generally increased the NH4+-N concentration in the retention zone.

Description: Acidification of two soils was measured in an experiment in which fertilizer and CaCO3 treatments were applied in various combinations. The highest rate of fertilizer used, which included N at 139 kg/ha, decreased the pH in 4–5 yr in unlimed Donnelly (Gray Luvisol) and Josephine (Eluviated Gleysol) soils by 0.43 and 0.18 units, respectively. The fertilizer increased the soluble Al content in both soils. Yields of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) were greatly increased by the fertilizer and lime treatments. However, by the fourth crop on the Josephine soil, fertilizer failed to give a yield increase in the absence of lime; this was apparently due to declining soil pH and increasing soluble Al. In another experiment, loss of lime was measured over an 8-yr period in six soils that had been limed with Ca(OH)2 to pH 6.5–7.0. The average loss of lime from the soils was equivalent to 495 kg of CaCO3/ha annually. This was accompanied by a decline in pH of 0.48 unit in the 8 yr. Liming caused substantial increases to subsoil pH for three of the soils. Despite the decline in surface soil pH, increases in yields of barley from liming were sustained over the 8-yr period. The implication of these findings to soil fertility practices in the Peace River region are discussed.

Description: Urea, ammonium nitrate, and anhydrous ammonia were compared as sources of N for barley in southern Alberta in spring and fall, using broadcast and banded applications. No significant difference in effect was found among fertilizers when they were banded at a depth of 15 cm. When broadcast, the granular forms of N were not as effective as equivalent rates and forms added in a band. Spring-applied N was more effective than fall-applied N in three of the eight comparisons made. N uptake accounted for between 18 and 54% of the added N in the 2 yr of the experiment. Fertilizer additions had no effect on barley yield when water was limited over the growing season. Key words: Nitrogen, urea, ammonium nitrate, anhydrous ammonia, yield response

Description: Biocides were applied singly and in combination to determine their effect on target and nontarget microorganisms in mineral soil from a lodgepole pine forest and to determine microbial interaction effects on N mineralization. Soil was sterilized and reinoculated with field populations of bacteria, fungi and protozoa. Streptomycin (a bactericide), fungizone (a saprophytic fungicide), chloroform (reduces protozoa and a portion of the bacteria and fungi), a combination of cygon (an acaricide), carbofuran (an insecticide-nematicide) and chloroform and a combination of streptomycin and fungizone were used. Reduction of bacteria produced the same decreases in N immobilization and increases in soil inorganic N in forest soil as observed previously in grassland soil. Further, reduction of fungi decreased N mineralization. Chloroform reduced protozoa to below detection limits, reduced bacterial populations 2- to 10-fold, but only reduced fungal populations by twofold. Despite reductions in both bacteria and fungi, NH+4-N increased similarly to streptomycin treatments where only bacteria were reduced. When fungal populations increased after a reduction in bacterial populations, inorganic N concentrations increased. However, when fungal populations were reduced, bacterial populations did not increase, suggesting that bacteria do not compete with fungi for substrates. Key words: Microbial ecology, N mineralization, streptomycin, amphotericin B, chloroform, pesticide effects, lodgepole pine soil

Description: Our study consisted of three sites, continuously cropped with grain corn and fertilized annually with N rates ranging from 0 to 336 kg ha−1. Soil NO3-N was measured to 90 cm at least twice yearly over three cropping seasons. In Ontario’s semi-humid environment, soil nitrate (NO3-N) is usually completely lost from soil profiles over the winter months by leaching and denitrification. We found this to be generally true over 3 yr on a sandy loam and on a silt loam soil. However, on a clay loam soil in 2 of 3 yr NO3-N concentrations in the spring were almost as high as those of the previous fall. Key words: Nitrate, corn, continuous cropping, retention

Description: The objectives of this study were to determine the changes in response of alfalfa (cv. Saranac) to molydbenum applications from variations in soil pH and soil moisture. To achieve these ends the test crop was grown on three replicates of the following treatments: Three soils (Ste Rosalie clay, Greensboro loam and Danby sandy loam) adjusted to approximately pH 5.0, 6.5, and 7.5 fertilized at 0.0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mg Mo kg−1 of soil and maintained at three moisture levels: dry, optimal and saturated. Yields were not affected by molybdenum applications regardless of soil type, soil pH or soil moisture regimes. Mo content of alfalfa increased linearly with rates of Mo from 0.2 ppm to 23 ppm Mo. Liming soil to pH 7.2 produced the same increase of Mo content in alfalfa as applying Mo at the rate of 0.2 mg kg−1 to acid soils. Mo content of alfalfa was also slightly increased by soil moisture. A Mo content of 20 ppm or more was obtained as a result of the combined effect of molybdenum application, liming and soil moisture regimes. The exchangeable Mo content found in soils after the experiment increased with rate of Mo but decreased with increasing soil pH. The uptake of molybdenum was increased so much by liming that the Mo left in soil after cropping was decreased as soil pH increased. Key words: Mo content of soil, Mo content of alfalfa, soil pH, soil moisture, alfalfa

Description: In this review, the fate of herbicides in Canadian field soils and their effects on soil fertility are discussed. Pertinent data are summarized for field persistence studies involving single and repeated annual applications, for the movement of herbicides in and from the soil, for the incorporation of metabolites into soil colloids, and for their effects on soil microflora and fauna.

Description: A method for calculating the fractions of water leached through the profile (leaching factor) in irrigated soils high in gypsum was developed. The method requires data on long-term changes in the salinity status of the soil profile, and is based on the principle that water moving through gypsum-rich soils becomes saturated with gypsum. The average total soluble salt content of two soils to a depth of 180 cm has decreased logarithmically since 1917. The average Ca content has decreased linearly at rates of 0.091 and 0.097 meq∙100 g−1∙yr−1 in a clay and clay loam soil, respectively. A leaching fraction 0.16, as obtained by our method, is similar to that calculated from a water balance procedure. However, the latter method required accurate information on the annual rate of irrigation and precipitation and consumptive water use by the crops grown. The results indicate that irrigation management at the two sites has provided sufficient leaching water to reduce the total soluble salts and to actually improve the suitability of the sites for crop production.

Description: Dynamics of woody material degradation were studied in the soils of six forest ecosystems of meridional Quebec. This comparative study was performed measuring weight losses of wood samples, buried for long periods of time in the different horizons of each soil studied. In all cases, degradation was much faster close to the soil surface; thus a more or less marked decreasing vertical gradient was observed in the activity for most of the soils studied. The lengths of time necessary for half decomposition (50%) were calculated for the samples buried in each station. For the hardwood forests, values of about 1.7, 2.8 and 2.3 yr were obtained for half decomposition in the Melanic Brunisol, the Sombric Brunisol and the Dystric Brunisol, respectively. A value of 4.6 yr was calculated for the Minimal Humo-Ferric Podzol of the mixed forest to reach half decomposition. Similarly about 35 and more than 40 yr would be necessary for half decomposition of the samples in the Orthic Ferro-Humic Podzol and the Ortstein Ferro-Humic Podzol of the two coniferous forests, respectively. The influence of major environmental factors, such as climate, soil and vegetation on the dynamics of microbial and faunal soil communities is discussed.

Description: The extent to which horizons can be differentiated from one another on the basis of chemical properties was examined. The horizons studied included F, H, Ah, Ae, Bhf and Bf and were taken from Podzolic soils developed on granodiorite-derived sediments in southwestern British Columbia. The determination of the degree to which the horizons form distinct groups in a multivariate context was performed using a grouping procedure based on the multivariate density equation. It was found that 63% of the observations were nearer to their own horizon centroid than to any of the other centroids. When horizon membership was altered in an attempt to form optimal groupings, the membership of 54% of the observations was unchanged. Considerable overlap was shown to exist between the F and H horizons and between the Ah and Bhf horizons. Otherwise the picture that emerges is one in which the horizons do not form distinct clusters, but do tend to fall into definite regions of the multivariate space.

Description: Humo-Ferric Podzols (Typic Cryorthods) developed on glacial till or glaciolacustrine deposits were sampled in the Chapleau-Foleyet area of northeastern Ontario. pHs of Ae horizons ranged from 3.30 to 4.20 and of C horizons from 4.40 to 4.85. Cation exchange capacities (CEC) of mineral soil horizons averaged 1.7 meq/100 g, whilst those of the forest humus (fibrimors) averaged 166 meq/100 g. The CECs of the Bf and BC horizons were highly pH-dependent, averaging 3.2 meq/100 g at pH 4 and 16.8 meq/100 g at pH 8. The pH-dependency of CEC in these horizons was believed to be due to Al-complexes with organic matter. Calculated elemental loss using Zr as an internal standard showed significant losses of Mg, Fe, Ca and Al from Ae (albic) horizons and gains of Fe and, to a lesser extent, gains of Al in Bf (spodic) horizons. The clay mineralogy of Ae horizons was dominated by a high-charge smectite and that of Bf and BC horizons by chlorite.

Description: The effect of fertilizer N on yield, protein content and symbiotic N2 fixation in faba beans (Vicia faba L.) was studied with nine field trials during 3 yr. Forage and seed yields of nodulated faba beans were infrequently and unpredictably affected by rate of application at seeding (up to 300 kg N/ha), type of application (34 and 67 kg N/ha surface-broadcast or placed with the seed), and time of application (at full bloom or at mid pod-fill). Protein content of faba bean forage material was variably affected by applied N; in one-half of the harvests conducted, at least one of the N application treatments resulted in significantly higher forage protein contents. No logical pattern or reason for the forage protein response was found. Seed protein content was unaffected by applied N up to 150 kg N/ha, but was significantly increased by 300 kg N/ha in two out of three trials. Maximum rate of dry matter accumulation and N uptake commenced at blooming and continued up to the mid pod-fill growth stage. In seven trials monitored, the proportion of faba bean shoot N derived by symbiotic N2 fixation was 54%, with values of five out of the seven trials ranging from 63 to 71%. This amounted to 54–111 kg N/ha. Applied N decreased faba bean symbiotic fixation at all trials but one where available soil N was very high and symbiotic N2 was not occurring.

Description: A study of plant uptake, incubation-extraction and acid hydrolysis was carried out on soil samples from a field study using 15N. The samples had varying proportions of residual fertilizer 15N (15Nex) as clay-fixed ammonium and organic N. Availability of 15Nex to plants was positively correlated with percent of 15Nex as clay-fixed ammonium, and negatively correlated with percent of 15Nex as organic N. A similar relationship was noted for recovery of 15Nex in acid hydrolysates. The relationship was reversed for recovery of 15Nex in aqueous extracts following incubation, although this may have been due to lack of removal of N by plant uptake or leaching, and limitation of microbial activity by lack of readily available carbon. This direct comparison of availability of residual fertilizer N as clay-fixed ammonium N and organic N demonstrates that fertilizer N, once incorporated into organic forms, is much less available to plants than fertilizer N in the form of clay-fixed ammonium.

Description: Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of Sea Crop (SC 16) and Ergostim on the yield and nutrient composition of a few crops. Studies conducted under greenhouse and field conditions showed that the yields of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and peas (Pisum sativum L.) were not affected by the addition of SC16. The nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) concentrations of the two crops were not affected by SC 16, except in the control and SC 16 treatment only where the increases were likely due to a concentration effect, since these two treatments had lower yields. Boron (B) and molybdenum (Mo) concentrations in the plants were significantly affected by B and Mo applications, but not by SC 16. A greenhouse study showed that the yields of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and wheat were not affected by the addition of Ergostim. The addition of Ergostim did not affect the N or S concentration of wheat or three cuts of alfalfa.

Description: The refractive index change caused by KCl diffusing from a cylinder into agar gel was found to distort a grid projected through it by laser light. By ray tracing and Fermat’s Principle it was shown that values of concentration of KCl at various times and distances were within experimental error of those calculated from the transient diffusion equation for diffusion from a cylindrical source. The diffusion equation was derived for the first time using Eyres’ method. Since the model and mechanism were confirmed as correct by experiment it was then possible to design a computer program to predict transient concentration gradients and hence concentration at any distance and time. The program has built into it flexibility to deal with such expected variables in soil as tortuosity, water content, etc., as well as different diffusion coefficients for different nutrients and also multiple sources. Such a program should be very valuable to fertilizer suppliers in designing timed release capsules and to those using them to obtain optimum nutrient concentrations in a volume of concern of soil.

Description: The formation and coexistence of four aluminum compounds, namely, gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (AlOOH), alumina (Al2O3) and alunite (NaAl3(OH)6(SO4)2) is reported under laboratory conditions. These solid phases were formed as hydrolytic products of aluminum sulphate solutions at room temperature. These results provide evidence that thermal conditions are not essential and not the only conditions under which boehmite and alumina are formed.

Description: The objectives of this work were to determine the effects of N-fertilizer sources, rates and fractionation on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) yields, petiole-N content, defoliation and tuber specific gravity. To achieve these ends, urea and ammonium nitrate were side-dressed at 0, 70, 140 and 210 kg N/ha, by applying either all at planting or by fractionating the applications into half at planting and the other half a month later. The field experiments were carried out on eight sites consisting of six soil series. Nitrogen fertilization increased yields on all sites; the rate required for attaining maximum yields varied for 130 to 210 kg N/ha, according to the experimental site, with an average of 180 kg N/ha. Generally, both N-sources and fertilization methods had similar effects on yields defoliation, petiole N-content and tuber specific gravity. A 210-kg urea-N application at planting on the Lapointe loamy sand, however, decreased yields significantly. The importance of soil type, available water and total soil-N are discussed in relation to the quantities of fertilizer-N required to achieve maximum yields.

Description: Fertilizer tests using hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were conducted in the field from 1967 to 1979 on stubble and fallow land on the major soil types throughout southwestern Saskatchewan. The yield, percent nitrogen and phosphorus in the grain, kernel and volume weights of the grain were measured, and the responses of each of these characteristics to N and P fertilizer were determined. These responses were related to soil measurements of available H2O, NO3-N, NH4-N and sodium-bicarbonate-extractable P, which were taken at seeding time, at depths to 120 cm, and to the monthly rainfall during the growing season. On fallow, nitrogen rates higher than 15 kg N/ha gave little significant increase. The yield increase per kilogram of P applied decreased as the rate of application increased. On stubble, the yield increase per kilogram of N applied decreased for each additional increment of N added, down to 3.1 kg/ha yield increase per kilogram of nitrogen per hectare when the rate of application was increased from 45 to 60 kg N/ha. Regression analysis showed that the soil and the weather variables used accounted for only 20% of the variability in yield on fallow crops and for 40% on stubble crops. Nitrogen content of the grain was only increased by rates of 45 kg N/ha or greater. The P content of grain was decreased by both N and P fertilizer.

Description: Concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the soil were measured periodically in disturbed and undisturbed Eriophorum vaginatum tussock tundra from 16 July to 21 Aug. 1979. The disturbed sites were in vehicle tracks, on plots cleared of vegetation, and on plots treated with urea, cornstarch, and artificially altered drainage. Vehicle tracks made in 1979 and the artificial impoundments did not significantly affect soil oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations. The lowest soil oxygen concentration occurred in a 15-yr-old vehicle track and on the cleared plots. Urea and cornstarch temporarily reduced soil oxygen concentration and increased soil carbon dioxide levels. Tussocks were more poorly aerated than intertussock areas except in the old vehicle track. Soil oxygen concentration did not usually vary significantly between 5 and 15 cm, but dropped sharply at 25 cm. Oxygen diffusion coefficients calculated from an earlier study on soil oxygen flux and the current data on oxygen concentrations suggest that despite generally well-aerated conditions, anaerobic zones may occur frequently in tussock tundra soils.

Description: Soils were extracted by hot water, dilute CaCl2, and by mannitol-CaCl2 solutions and boron was determined by either azomethine-H or the curcumin method. Results were strongly method dependent; in particular results by the simplest method, mannitol-CaCl2, were generally lower and not highly correlated (r = 0.64) with those by the recommended procedure. This procedure involves extraction with hot distilled H2O (2:1 solution:soil), centrifugation, filtration, color development with azomethine-H and correction for background color. Extractable boron values by this procedure ranged from 0.1 to 1.4 mg kg−1. Background color can be further reduced by the substitution of 0.02 M CaCl2 for distilled water. Key words: CSSC reference soil samples, hot-water-soluble boron

Description: not available

Description: not available

Description: The relative effectiveness of Zn-sulphate (ZnS), Zn-EDTA (ZnE), low-yield ammonium-based lignosulphonate (ZnLY) and high-yield sodium-based lignosulphonate (ZnHY) for bean production was tested in growth chamber and incubation experiments. ZnS and ZnLY were more effective than ZnE and ZnHY in correcting Zn deficiency of bean plants. While biomass production was best with ZnS, ZnLY was more effective in increasing Zn-content in the foliage and in the formation of strong chelates in the soil. Key words: Zn-sulfate, Zn-EDTA, lignosulphonate, spent sulphite liquor, sulphite pulping

Description: Six profiles of soils developed on parent materials poor in SiO2 but rich in total Fe (〉 10% Fe2O3), were sampled in Canada and France. In the French system of soil classification, the soils were classified as Andosols or Andic and Andic Brown soils because of their large amounts of