ALBERT

Description: Seedlings of Avicenniagerminans (L.) Stearn., Lagunculariaracemosa (L.) Gaertn., and Rhizophoramangle (L.) were subjected to flooding, signified by soil redox potentials around −92 mV, and salinity in the range of 342 mol•m−3. Leaf conductance and net carbon assimilation rates per unit area of leaf did not change significantly under flooding or salinity treatments compared with control plants. There was no significant interaction of flooding and salinity with leaf conductance and net carbon assimilation; however, significant reduction in total leaf area per plant in response to flooding (minus salinity) was found in L. racemosa and A. germinans compared with control plants, which would result in a substantial reduction of net carbon assimilation per plant. In R. mangle, total leaf area per plant did not change significantly in response to various treatments. Generally, salinity alone or combined with flooding enhanced dry weights, whereas flooding (minus salinity) resulted in reduced dry weights. The mean values of leaf conductance and net carbon assimilation differed significantly among the study species, with greatest values recorded in A. germinans. The differences in conductance in combination with changes in net carbon assimilation rates resulted in substantial differences in water-use efficiency among these species. Water-use efficiency was greatest in L. racemosa. The overall results showed that these species were tolerant of a wide range of salinity and waterlogging conditions, with differences in physiological responses being evident in changes in biomass partitioning.

Description: Crown recession rates were estimated by branch mortality dating on 357 sectioned Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) stems from temporary plots. Numerous nonlinear, logarithmic, and gamma-theory generalized linear models were developed for predicting 5-year crown recession across a range in tree, stand, and site conditions. Residual analyses and indices of fit demonstrated that a multiplicative model with lognormal errors was the most appropriate model form. The recommended logarithmic model predicts crown recession from current crown ratio, total height, breast height age, height growth, and crown competition factor. Data from southwestern Oregon indicate that within a given stand, trees with midsized crown ratios experience the most rapid crown recession.

Description: In view of the possible applications of ectomycorrhizae to forestry, this paper discusses the important functions of ectomycorrhizae, the conditions affecting their formation, and methods for the production and application of inoculum. A rationale for selecting appropriate ectomycorrhizal fungi and considerations in selecting sites where ectomycorrhizal seedlings should be planted are presented. Suggestions are also made on encouraging the use of ectomycorrhizal technology. A cost–benefit analysis of inoculation is done.

Description: Repeated measures data occur in a wide variety of experimental situations and are often analyzed without full consideration of the statistical issues involved. In this paper, a discussion of model construction, univariate versus multivariate solutions, and statistical assumptions is motivated by examples from a tree physiology experiment. In addition, several examples from the forestry literature are reviewed. It is hoped that this discussion will help scientists with little statistical training to become aware of the different analyses available and perhaps to recognize the associated models in their own research. The examples range from a simple repeated measures design with one within-subject factor and no between-subjects factors to a more complex design involving multiple within-subject and between-subjects factors. The modelling approach used here permits a straightforward comparison between the univariate and multivariate solutions. Although no single approach is consistently best, the multivariate approach is always appropriate and provides the same interpretations as the univariate approach. However, when appropriate assumptions such as sphericity are met, power considerations tend to favor the more traditional univariate analysis.

Description: In the assessment of S cycling in forest ecosystems, solutions passing through the forests are normally analyzed for inorganic SO4; other forms of S are rarely considered. In this study, organic S (estimated as the difference between total S and SO4-S) was measured in canopy and soil solutions from eight forest stands spanning a broad range of overstory and soil types. Organic-S concentrations varied among the different types of solutions and among the forests, with values ranging from 0 to 50 μmol S•L−1. Organic S was ≤10% of total S in precipitation, 5 to 54% in throughfall, 1 to 50% in stem flow, 16 to 46% in O-horizon solution, 11 to 21% in A- or E-horizon solutions, and 0 to 29% in B-horizon solutions. Organic S was positively correlated with organic C and organic N in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) and red alder (Alnusrubra Bong.) soil solutions and in Douglas-fir stem flow (r2 = 0.68 to 0.96, p 

Description: A probabilistic model predicts means and variances of the total number and volume of large woody debris pieces falling into a stream reach per unit time. The estimates of debris input are based on the density (trees/area), tree size distribution, and tree-fall probability of the riparian stand adjacent to the reach. Distributions of volume, length, and orientation of delivered debris pieces are also predicted. The model is applied to an old-growth coniferous stand in Oregon's Cascade Mountains. Observed debris inputs from the riparian stand exceeded the inputs predicted from tree mortality rates typical of similar nonriparian stands. Debris pieces observed in the stream were generally shorter, with less volume per piece, than those predicted by the model, probably because of bole breakage during tree fall. As a second application, predicted debris inputs from riparian management zones of various widths are compared with the input expected from an unharvested stand.

Description: Ten forest litters with decomposition state varying from 16.6 to 100% weight remaining were partitioned into sub-samples; each subsample was analyzed for proximate carbon fractions using one of two chemical analysis procedures (forage fiber and forest products analyses). Proximate carbon fractions from the simpler forage fiber techniques accurately estimated extractives, cellulose, lignin, and acid-hydrolyzed carbohydrates (R2 〉 0.83) determined by the more complex forest products analyses. Decomposition state accounted for most of the residual variance and significantly improved predictive equations for lignin and extractives. The relationship between proximate carbon fractions from the different techniques also varied somewhat among wood, hardwood leaves, and conifer leaves; however, variations were minor relative to the overall trend. Equations developed can be used to extend data availability for developing and validating decomposition models.

Description: Limits are frequently encountered in the range of values of independent variables included in data sets used to develop individual tree mortality models. If the resulting model is to be utilized, its ability to extrapolate to conditions outside these limits must be evaluated. This paper describes the development and evaluation of six assumptions required to extend the range of applicability of an individual tree mortality model previously described. The assumptions deal with mortality in very dense stands, mortality for very small trees, mortality on habitat types and regions poorly represented in the data, and mortality for species poorly represented in the data.

Description: The relevance of organosulfur formation and sulfate adsorption as S retention mechanisms in forest soils based upon the sulfur status of samples collected by horizon was investigated. Several forests of varying elevation, vegetation, location, and soil type were considered. Organic S was found to constitute over 78% of total S in the uppermost mineral (0–20 cm; A,E) horizons. This trend was also observed for both intermediate (20–40 cm; primarily A/B) and deeper (40+ cm; B,C) horizons, where organic S exceeded 65% of total S in all but one site examined. Adsorbed sulfate generally constituted only a minor component of the S pool in the uppermost mineral horizons (

Description: This paper reports results of a study designed to examine the control that soil temperature exerts on soil processes associated with nutrient flux, and in turn, on tree nutrition in interior Alaska black spruce ecosystems. Approximately 50 m2 of forest floor in a 140-year-old black spruce ecosystem, which had developed on permafrost, was heated to 8–10 °C above ambient temperature. This perturbation amounted to approximately a 1589 degree-day seasonal heat sum (above 0 °C), 1026 degree-days above the control total of 563 degree-days. The forest floor, surface 5 cm of mineral soil, and soil solution were compared with those of an adjacent control plot to evaluate the change in nutrient content and decomposition rate of the forest floor. The nutritional response to soil heating of current black spruce foliage also was evaluated. Soil heating significantly increased decomposition of the forest floor, principally because of an increase in biomass loss of the O21 layer. The increased decomposition resulted in greater extractable N and P concentrations in the forest floor, higher N concentrations in the soil solution, and elevated spruce needle N, P, and K concentrations for the experimental period. These results are discussed in light of the importance of soil temperature and other state factors that mediate ecosystem function.

Description: Coarse woody debris from streamside forests plays important biological and physical roles in stream ecosystems. The distance from stream bank to rooting site was determined for at least 30 fallen trees at each study site on 39 streams in the Cascade and Coast ranges of Oregon and Washington. The study sites varied in channel size (first- through third-order), side-slope steepness (3 to 40°), and age of surrounding forest (mature or old-growth stands). The distribution of distances from rooting site to bank was similar among streams, with 11% of the total number of debris pieces originating within 1 m of the channel and over 70% originating within 20 m. Stands with taller trees (old-growth conifers) contributed coarse woody debris to streams from greater distances than did stands with shorter (mature) trees.

Description: Rooted cuttings of three clones of Sitka spruce (Piceasitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) were grown in 2 m tall transparent acrylic tubes of peat in insulated boxes out of doors. Roots of many of the trees formed mycorrhizas with Thelephoraterrestris Ehrh.:Fr.; the extra-matrical mycelium and associated strands were visible in the tubes, together with the roots. Some of the tubes were waterlogged to submerge the lower part of the root and mycelial systems. Waterlogging was carried out in October, when roots were growing slowly, or in November, when growth had stopped. The fungal mycelium was growing on both occasions. The tubes were drained in the following March, and survival of main roots and fungus was measured to the point of regeneration. There were large differences between the two waterlogging treatments in root survival. October waterlogging caused substantial dieback, and roots survived to a mean depth of only 122 mm below the water table. November waterlogging resulted in little dieback, and survival depth was 308 mm. Differences between clones in root survival were statistically significant but small. The extra-matrical hyphae of Tterrestris died in both treatments, but all of the strand systems survived and regenerated in the following spring. Factors affecting survival are discussed, including growth and oxygen transport in roots and fungal strands.

Description: We classified red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) sites from northern Maine by radial growth release history. Two major releases were apparent for a majority of the sites. The first was a reduction and subsequent increase in radial increment in 1920. The second was an increase in radial increment from 1935 to 1955. Red spruce radial growth reduction in the 1960s is apparent only for sites released from 1935 to 1955 (approximately 54% of the sites in this study). These sites are now approaching the radial growth rates of the unreleased stands. Birch dieback is suggested as a probable contributor to the 1935–1955 red spruce growth increase and subsequent 1960s growth reduction.

Description: In a Rocky Mountain aspen forest, the detailed pattern of mass loss from decomposing leaf litter of trembling aspen (Populustremuloides Michx.) during the first 6 months of decay was compared with that from aspen leaves modified to produce a more recalcitrant litter type by removal of leachable material (31.7% of original mass). Leaching litter removed substantial quantities of N (24%) and P (54%), but did not change the litter's C/N ratio (77:1); and leached leaves still contained 33% labile (benzene alcohol soluble) material. Decomposition of intact aspen litter was best described by a double exponential model (k1 = −7.91/year, k2 = −0.21/year), except during the first 2 weeks, when an extremely rapid mass loss (14.2%) apparently resulted from leaching. Microbial metabolism was probably responsible for most of the subsequent decay (35% total in 6 months). In contrast, decomposition of leached aspen showed no exponential trend and was best described by a simple linear regression with a slope of −19.7%/year. Additional data from a 2nd year (12–15 months decay) reduced the regression estimates of decay rates but did not alter the best fit models. Fits were improved slightly if temperature sum replaced time in the regressions, especially if 2nd-year data were included.

Description: Differences in N, P, and K status and N efficiency of some North American willow species and their clones were observed and evaluated. Salixeriocephala Michx., S. lucida Mühl., and S. exigua Nutt., represented by five clones each, were raised from cuttings in potted loamy sand for 113 days. Plants were subjected to three levels of fertilization (equivalent to 125, 250, or 500 kg N/ha) applied at exponential rates of addition (0.06, 0.071, and 0.082, respectively), using complete nutrient solutions and were compared with control plants (no fertilizer added). The experiment showed that nutrient concentration and nutrient uptake in the plants depended not only on treatments but also on species and clones. Thus, species and clones that removed smaller amounts of nutrients per unit of biomass could be selected. Species had a larger effect than clones on nutrient concentration and content. Total nutrient content, at the same treatment level, depended primarily on biomass production. Significant variation existed among species and clones in the ratio of biomass/total N. Salixeriocephala (the best species) produced 35.1% more than the other species, and the best experimental clones within species produced 27.8–41.6% more stem per unit of N than the poorest clones.

Description: An area-based forest plan is formulated and solved by mixed integer programming and a random search algorithm. This is a computationally difficult problem because operational and environmental constraints require that harvest units and road projects be defined as strict binary variables. It was found that the random search algorithm could easily identify several solutions with objective function values within 10% of the true optimum. The best solution found was within 3% of the optimum. The random search algorithm is simple and can be readily implemented on the microcomputer. It is concluded that the random search algorithm is an effective technique for generating acceptable alternatives to complex area-based planning problems.

Description: A model was developed to estimate total leaf dry weight of individual standing trees of Eucalyptusregnans F. Muell. in even-aged, monoculture stands aged 8–20 years. Tree biomass data were collected for a sample of 42 trees from four plots at three sites in Victoria and Tasmania. One plot had been heavily thinned 10 years prior to sampling. The model was based on the pipe model theory, L(x) = as(x)p(x), where L(x) is leaf dry weight above some height (x), s(x) and p(x) are, respectively, stem sapwood area and permeability at x, and a is a parameter. Permeability is known to vary with site and tree conditions, and an empirical model was developed that replaced ap(x) in the pipe model theory with a function in terms of tree age, diameter at breast height over bark, and distance along the stem from the tip of the tree. The resulting model to predict leaf weight appeared to be unbiased across sites, among trees within sites, and with respect to thinning treatment. It was found that given a prediction from the model of total leaf dry weight of one tree, it could be assumed with 95% confidence that the true value of leaf weight fell within an interval bounded by values of −60 to +76% of the estimate. When the model was used to predict stand leaf weight by summing estimates from many individual trees, the interval was bounded by minimum values of −3 to +19% of the stand estimate. These errors of estimate were probably conservative. It appeared that errors of similar magnitude may apply to other published models of this type.

Description: Thirty-six forest gaps were monitored for 12 years in an old-growth forest dominated by Acersaccharum Marsh. and Fagusgrandifolia Ehrh. Most gaps were formed by single tree falls, although some larger ones were created by the deaths of two to four canopy trees. Gap closure rates suggest that most saplings need the occurrence of more than one gap to reach the canopy. Newer, small-scale disturbances, because of their geometry, occur near older disturbances at high rates. After gaps form, woody vegetation increases in density for 5–10 years and then decreases in density. The four main species of this study show different patterns of response, with optima as follows: small gaps of all ages for Acer, old gaps of all sizes for Fagus, large young gaps for Fraxinusamericana L., and large gaps of all ages for Liriodendrontulipifera L. The presence, size distribution, and species composition of saplings immediately preceding gap formation help determine which species will dominate the gap. In general, the processes occurring in gaps are sufficient to maintain the stand at its current canopy composition. A map of disturbances found in different parts of the eastern deciduous forest suggests that many forests, particularly those located near the center of the biome, renew themselves primarily by way of gaps.

Description: Precise estimates of biomass are needed in productivity and nutrient cycling studies, and for improved estimates of potential productivity. Improvements in prediction of foliage and branch biomass were sought by comparing multiple regression models using stem diameter, sapwood radial thickness, and tree height as independent variables in stands of Sitka spruce (Piceasitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) in southeast Alaska. Five sites were sampled by stratifying trees into four diameter and three sapwood-thickness classes. Within stands, sample trees with thick sapwood consistently had 2–3 times more foliage and branch biomass than paired trees with thin sapwood but nearly equal diameter. Inclusion of both diameter and sapwood thickness in equations increased precision of foliage and branch biomass, leaf area, and net primary productivity by 15–31% and reduced standard error by 35–48% when compared with equations containing only diameter as an independent variable. Height growth over the last 30 years of intermediate and codominant trees with thick sapwood was 12–27% greater than that of paired trees with thin sapwood but nearly equal diameter at breast height. The addition of total tree height to multiple regression models, however, had little effect on their precision. Stem biomass equations were not improved by including tree height or sapwood thickness. The use of a diameter – sapwood thickness sampling matrix for construction of biomass equations may reduce the sample size needed and result in equations with wider application.

Description: A protocol is described for plantlet formation in juvenile tissues of Pinuscanariensis Sweet ex K. Spreng. (Canary Island pine). Adventitious buds were induced on 3-day-old cotyledonary explants cultured on Bornman's MCM medium supplemented with cytokinin. The concentration of benzylaminopurine, the use of other cytokinins alone or in combination with benzylaminopurine, and the concentration of mineral salts strongly affected the bud forming capacity of the cotyledonary explants. Also, the age of the explants significantly influenced the frequency of adventitious bud formation. Bud development was enhanced by the elimination of phytohormones, a reduction of mineral salts and sucrose, and the inclusion of activated charcoal in the medium. The conditions used during the induction phase strongly affected the ability of the induced buds to develop into vigorous rootable shoots. Vitrification problems were eliminated by transferring the shoots to the elongation medium solidified with Gelrite, and shoot remultiplication was enhanced by removing the apical bud. Maximum rooting was obtained by pulsing shoots with a high concentration of indolebutyric acid and by using peat–vermiculite or peat–vermiculite–perlite as substrates. Roots developed within 6–8 weeks, and the regenerated plantlets were transferred to soil under nonsterile conditions, where further development occurred.

Description: High cuticular water loss, desiccation, and leaf mortality during winter in conifers at alpine timberline represent especially dramatic examples of the ecophysiological importance of cuticular transpiration. However, little research has been conducted on the winter water relations of forest trees, even though recent evidence suggests a potentially high leaf mortality due, at least in part, to winter desiccation. Two factors that could have important influences on cuticular transpiration, leaf surface wax and the ratio of leaf area (A) to saturated water content (Mw), were compared for six conifer species common to the central Rocky Mountains, United States. Leaves were collected from forest trees at the end of winter (May) to compare the amount of leaf surface wax, cuticular conductance to water vapor (gc), and leaf water content. Decreases in relative leaf water content were much more linearly related to transpiration per unit saturated water content than either gc or A/Mw, separately. Only A/Mw appeared correlated with the rate of cuticular transpiration. Also, linear increases in gc occurred with increasing leaf water content. Estimated desiccation resistance during winter corresponded closely to the degree of drought tolerance characterized previously for each species based only on summer growth conditions. Thus, winter desiccation resistance may be an important, yet under-emphasized, ecological factor influencing conifer distribution patterns.

Description: Nutrient movements in the senescing foliage of a Rhode Island Populustremuloides Michx. clone were measured during the years 1986–1988. Mean resorption of nitrogen, phosphorus, and copper was 43, 51, and 10%, respectively. Aluminum, boron, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, and zinc increased or remained unchanged in senescing foliage during 1986. Resorption of nitrogen and phosphorus decreased, respectively, from 56 and 64% in 1986 to 24 and 38% in 1988. Mean resorption differed among the 20 ramets studied. Older, larger ramets resorbed less nitrogen and copper than younger, smaller ramets. Timing of abscission strongly influenced resorption and may have been related to drought conditions in 1988 and to differential exposure to wind in all years. Resorption of nitrogen, phosphorus, and copper was lowest in those ramets that lost their leaves earliest and in leaves that senesced earliest on individual ramets. Because P. tremuloides ramets had the physiological potential to resorb more nitrogen and phosphorus than they actually did in 1988, we introduced the terms potential resorption and realized resorption to differentiate between physiological potential and ecological reality. Our data suggest that at least some portion of realized resorption is determined stochastically by environmental constraints.

Description: The recent history and disturbance regime of an old-growth sugar maple – yellow birch forest located in the Tantaré Ecological Reserve, Québec, were determined using tree-ring growth patterns of individual trees that had undergone suppression and release. Within a sampling quadrat (0.25 ha) where all living and dead trees were mapped, the age, size, and spatial pattern of gaps formed since the mid-19th century were inferred from tree-ring signatures of standing trees. From 1860 onwards, more than 30 gaps of various form and size occurred, most gaps being 〈 200 m2 and covering a total area of 3775 m2. During the 1930–1985 period, the tree-fall frequency was 0.45 per year, the tree fall free interval was 3.2 years, and the tree-fall rotation period (turnover rate) was estimated to be 45 years. The rather short life-span of most trees (

Description: Expected efficiencies, in terms of genetic gain from reselection of parents (backwards selection), were compared for hierarchical mating, factorial, partial factorial, modified half diallel, and partial diallel crossing designs and polycrosses; this was done in parallel with a separate study of expected efficiencies for advanced-generation (forwards) selection, assuming a fixed-resources model of 100 parents and 10 000 offspring. The present study considered a single-trait case, with variable numbers of crosses per parent, varying heritability (h2) levels (h2 = 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5), and varying ratios of specific combining ability to general combining ability variance (0, 0.5, and 1). Compared with the case of forwards selection, the relative efficiencies of the different designs were generally similar. Two notable exceptions were the comparative inefficiency of small, disconnected factorial sets for backwards selection and the generally high (but not always maximal) efficiency of polycrosses for this purpose.

Description: Light regimes beneath closed canopies and tree-fall gaps are compared for five temperate and tropical forests using fish-eye photography of intact forest canopies and a model for calculating light penetration through idealized gaps. Beneath intact canopies, analyses of canopy photographs indicate that sunflecks potentially contribute 37–68% of seasonal total photosynthetically active radiation. In all of the forests, potential sunfleck duration is brief (4–6 min), but the frequency distributions of potential sunfleck duration vary because of differences in canopy geometry and recent disturbance history. Analysis of the photographs reveals that incidence angles for photosynthetically active radiation beneath closed canopies are not generally vertical for any of the forests, but there was considerable variation both among and within sites in the contribution of overhead versus low-angle lighting. Calculations of light penetration through idealized single-tree gaps in old growth Douglas-fir – hemlock forests indicate that such gaps have little effect on understory light regimes because of the high ratio of canopy height to gap diameter. However, single-tree gaps in the other four forest types produce significant overall increases in understory light levels. There is also significant spatial variation in seasonal total radiation in and around single-tree gaps. Our results demonstrate that there can be significant penetration of light into the understory adjacent to a gap, particularly at high latitudes. As gap size increases, both the mean and the range of light levels within the gap increases, but even in large gaps (ca. 1000 m2) the potential duration of direct sunlight is generally brief (

Description: The sensitivity of northern red oak (Quercusrubra L.) to soil solution Al was experimentally examined on germinants grown for 10 weeks in a soil sample from the B2/C horizons of a Typic Fragiorthod. Adding AlCl3 raised the solution Al in the saturated paste extract from about 50 to 825 μM in study I and to 392 μM in study II. Phosphorus (KH2PO4) was added in study II. Forty percent of the variation in root growth was related to solution Al, even in study I where severe P deficiency dampened the expression of Al toxicity. Shoot growth was less sensitive to Al. In study II, total root weight was significantly reduced (36%) at 115 μM Al. This is the lowest concentration of Al reported to significantly reduce seedling growth of oak. The Ca and Mg concentrations in leaves and roots were first reduced at 115 μM Al. Higher solution Al further reduced these to levels associated with deficiency in other dicotyledonous trees. Tissue Al concentrations were not closely correlated with growth.

Description: To simulate feeding by the spruce budworm (Choristoneurafumiferana Clem.), potted, 5-year-old balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.) trees were artificially defoliated at the peak of the sixth instar period in the first 1, 2, or 3 years of a 3-year experiment. This schedule allowed trees that were defoliated in the first 1 or 2 years to recover for 2 years and 1 year, respectively. Seven treatments were applied: 0, 33, 66, 90, or 100% of the current-year needles were manually removed, all current-year needles were clipped using scissors (clip treatment), or all current-year shoots were severed at their base (100+ treatment). The dry weights of stem axis, branch axes, and roots were measured at the end of the 3rd year, and current-year and total foliage weight, height growth, and specific volume increment were determined for each year of the experimental period. Needle removal decreased growth throughout the tree, the growth loss increasing with increasing intensity and frequency of defoliation. In the 1st year of defoliation, all treatments reduced specific volume increment, whereas only the 100+ treatment decreased height growth. In every defoliation year, specific volume increment, height growth (manifested in the year following the defoliation), and the final weights of stem axis, branch axes, and roots were generally related curvilinearly to total foliage weight. The 100% and 100+ treatments induced the sprouting of axillary and nodal buds that remained dormant in undefoliated trees. Retaining the defoliated shoot axes (100% treatment), compared with removing them (100+ treatment), increased specific volume increment. Retaining the needle base (clip treatment) prevented the apex necrosis that occurred in some shoots subjected to the 100% treatment. In trees allowed to recover, specific volume increment increased in the 1st year, the degree of recovery increasing with decreasing intensity and frequency of prior defoliation treatment. After 2 recovery years, specific volume increment and height growth were not affected by any previous defoliation treatment, and current-year foliage weight and stem axis weight were decreased only by the 100+ treatment; however, there was still an inhibitory effect of all treatments on the weights of total foliage, branch axes, and roots. The growth responses found in the present investigation were compared with those observed in balsam fir trees defoliated by the spruce budworm.

Description: A detailed set of data has been compiled on large fire whirlwinds occurring on prescribed burns conducted in Ontario. There appear to be two types of such whirlwinds: one occurs in pairs on the leeward side of the convection column and the other is created after the entire convection column begins to rotate. The second type occurs in association with very intense fires that may be described as fire storms. Fire whirlwind occurrence appears to be related principally to meteorological conditions in which wind speeds are less than 10 km/h, to the stability of the atmosphere up to 3000 m altitude, and to conditions where the amount of energy released from the fire is high. The roles of atmospheric stability, rate of energy release from the fire, and ignition pattern in the development of whirlwinds require further study.

Description: Stem cuttings from 546 loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.) seedlings were set for rooting during each of three separate trials over time. The seedlings arose from 54 full-sib families derived from four factorial mating designs. Phenotypic variation in rooting percentage was partitioned into genetic variance, environmental variance, and genotype × environment interaction variance. Virtually all genetic variance was due to additive gene effects, with little evidence for dominance gene effects and with no epistasis present. Genetic control of rooting percentage was weak with narrow-sense and broad-sense heritabilities of 0.15 and 0.13, respectively. Selection based on either family means or clone means represented a better strategy than mass selection, as evidenced by narrow-sense and broad-sense heritabilities of 0.46 and 0.40, respectively. Predicted genetic gain in rooting percentage was estimated using two population improvement alternatives. Selection of the best 10% of the clones would increase overall rooting percentage to 53.6% in the current generation, an increase of 11.3%; whereas selection of the best individual within the best 24 of the 54 families and intermating the select trees would increase rooting percentage of the next generation to 54.1 %, an increase of 11.8%.

Description: Beaver (Castorcanadensis) herbivory has both immediate and long-term effects on biomass, structure, and composition of riparian forests. Intense beaver foraging of trembling aspen (Populustremuloides Michx.) decreased tree density and basal area by as much as 43% within ~ 1-ha forage zones surrounding two beaver ponds in northern Minnesota. Maximum diameter of trees cut was 43.5 cm; average aspen stem diameter cut was 13.9 and 10.2 cm at the two ponds. Woody biomass harvested per beaver averaged 1.4 Mg•ha−1•year−1 over a 6-year foraging period. Most wood harvested was left on site or used in dam construction, rather than consumed. Selective foraging by beaver decreased the relative importance of preferred species (i.e., P. tremuloides) and increased the importance of avoided species (i.e., Alnusrugosa (Du Roi) Spreng., Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss), with long-term implications to forest succession and dynamics.

Description: Total summer precipitation and throughfall chemistry are investigated beneath black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) in central Canada under the null hypothesis that no variation occurs with postfire stand age nor from one location on the feather moss dominated forest floor to another. Data from collectors at inner, mid, and edge radial positions beneath individual tree crowns and between neighbouring trees (gaps), within each of a 61-, 90-, and 120-year-old stand, were summed to yield a growing season total volume and the deposition of NO3−-N, NH4+-N, PO43−-P, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+. Relative to incident precipitation, NO3−-N and NH4+-N showed highly significant net uptake by the canopy foliage. In contrast, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ showed net losses from the canopy throughfall. No appreciable difference in net throughfall (i.e., throughfall minus precipitation) volume and K+ deposition appeared among the stands. However, NH4+-N, NO3−-N, PO43−-P, Ca2+, and Mg2+ showed significant differences. NH4+-N and NO3−-N were less readily retained by foliage of the old stand than by that of the young stand, whereas Ca2+ and Mg2+ leached more readily from trees in the 120-year-old stand than in the other two. PO43−-P showed no net throughfall in the 61- and 120-year-old stands, whereas there were net losses from the canopy of the 90-year-old stand. This may reflect soil differences between the 90-year-old site and the other two. Significant differences in spatial location emerged for all variables measured. Net throughfall deposition of PO43−-P, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ declined from the inner to gap positions, whereas volume, NO3−-N, and NH4+-N increased. These effects were proportional to the canopy profile depth above each collector. The heterogeneity observed in nutrient deposition on the forest floor has important implications for the distribution and growth of forest floor plants, such as mosses and lichens, which seem to depend on precipitation and throughfall for their nutrient supply.

Description: The proliferation of roots in soil microenvironments was studied to gain an understanding of how nitrogen (N) stress affects root growth. By placing one major lateral root (

Description: This paper describes relationships between tree growth indices based on ring width measurements at 1.4 m aboveground and indices derived from whole-stem analysis for red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) in a high-elevation spruce-fir forest on Whiteface Mountain, New York. Coefficients of determination for linear regressions between mean, standardized chronologies for breast-height ring width versus whole-stem ring width and basal area increment versus annual volume increment are 0.89 and 0.93, respectively. However, substantial variability is apparent in breast-height versus whole-stem relationships for individual trees, particularly for unstandardized growth indices. Also, relationships between unstandardized growth indices exhibit temporal instability associated with individual tree maturation and stand dynamics. Nonetheless, strong relationships between mean standardized chronologies of breast-height and whole-stem growth indices validate the use of breast-height growth indices to represent year-to-year variation in mean growth performance of red spruce. A volume-equation-based procedure is described that provides better dendrochronological estimates of annual volume increment than estimates based on basal area increment alone.

Description: A method is given for approximating and evaluating the consequences of random and nonrandom errors in the independent variables of a nonlinear tree volume function that is used in the estimation of stand volume based on a simple random sample of plots. Sampling error, regression function error, and measurement error are accounted for with the method presented. An application is given where relatively moderate amounts of measurement error in the independent variables of a tree volume function can cause a relatively large reduction in the accuracy of estimated stand volume.

Description: We examined how elevated CO2 affected the growth of seven co-occurring tree species: American beech (Fagusgrandifolia Ehrh.), paper birch (Betulapapyrifera Marsh.), black cherry (Prunusserotina Ehrh.), white pine (Pinusstrobus L.), red maple (Acerrubrum L.), sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.), and eastern hemlock (Tsugacanadensis (L.) Carr). We also tested whether the degree of shade tolerance of species and the age of seedlings affected plant responses to enhanced CO2 levels. Seedlings that were at least 1 year old, for all species except beech, were removed while dormant from Harvard Forest, Petersham, Massachusetts. Seeds of red maple and paper birch were obtained from parent trees at Harvard Forest, and seeds of American beech were obtained from a population of beeches in Nova Scotia. Seedlings and transplants were grown in one of four plant growth chambers for 60 d (beech, paper birch, red maple, black cherry) or 100 d (white pine, hemlock, sugar maple) under CO2 levels of 400 or 700 μL•L−1. Plants were then harvested for biomass and growth determinations. The results showed that the biomass of beech, paper birch, black cherry, sugar maple, and hemlock significantly increased in elevated CO2, but the biomass of red maple and white pine only marginally increased in these conditions. Furthermore, there were large differences in the magnitude of growth enhancement by increased levels of CO2 between species, so it seems reasonable to predict that one consequence of rising levels of CO2 may be to increase the competitive ability of some species relative to others. Additionally, the three species exhibiting the largest increase in growth with increased CO2 concentrations were the shade-tolerant species (i.e., beech, sugar maple, and hemlock). Thus, elevated CO2 levels may enhance the growth of relatively shade-tolerant forest trees to a greater extent than growth of shade-intolerant trees, at least under the light and nutrient conditions of this experiment. We found no evidence to suggest that the age of tree seedlings greatly affected their response to elevated CO2 concentrations.

Description: An algorithm for cross-dating tree rings based on dynamic programming is presented. The algorithm considers all possible combinations of missing and double rings while minimizing a squared error loss function in relation to a reference chronology. There is a provision for the user to increase the penalty associated with inserting missing or double rings. Therefore, the algorithm is not totally objective and depends on informed user interaction and repeated application to perform successfully. The end result is a list of years where the algorithm suggests that missing or double rings have occurred.

Description: Stem maintenance respiration was linearly related to live-cell volume for lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta var. latifolia Engelm.) from 4 to 36 cm dbh and for Engelmann spruce (Piceaengelmannii Parry) from 0 to 20 cm dbh. Sapwood contained greater than 80% of the total live-cell volume in stems. Bole surface area, commonly used to estimate tree respiration costs, poorly estimated stem maintenance respiration. At 15 °C, maintenance costs for lodgepole pine were 6.6 × 10−5 kg C•(kg C sapwood)−1•d−1. Stem respiration during the growing season, both corrected and uncorrected for maintenance, correlated well with annual stemwood growth. Annual stem maintenance respiration for trees and stands can be estimated using sapwood volume, sapwood temperature, and knowledge of respiratory behavior. Total respiration (construction plus maintenance) estimated using stem growth and a model of maintenance respiration was compared with actual respiration measurements integrated over a 100-d growing season. Estimated respiration agreed with the integrated measurements for Engelmann spruce, but overestimated the integrated measurements by 73% in lodgepole pine. These results suggest that estimates of stem respiration made during the growing season may be affected by transpiration.

Description: Openings created in the forest canopy as a result of the decline of sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) may increase microsite heterogeneity and favor the growth of tree seedlings on the forest floor and possibly neighboring healthy trees because of resource release. To corroborate these hypotheses, I studied the growth of sugar maple seedlings and mature trees, and some microsite characteristics, in healthy and in declining hardwood stands. Sampling was carried out in 400-m2 quadrats in four stands of similar composition. In two of the stands, the trees showed no apparent symptoms of decline (healthy stands), but in the other two (declining stands), dieback had caused tree cover to be reduced by ≈25 to 30%. Photosynthetically active radiation below the canopy was significantly lower and less variable in the healthy than in the declining stands, under both cloudy and sunny conditions. In one of the declining stands, soil pH was higher and soil organic matter content was lower than in both healthy stands. Stem elongation of sugar maple seedlings did not differ among the stands prior to 1984, but following that date it was significantly higher and more variable among seedlings in the declining stands. Ring width of apparently healthy trees decreased markedly in the early 1980s and increased somewhat during the 1985–1987 period on the declining sites. Microsite heterogeneity and growth of tree seedlings on the forest floor were thus greater in the declining than in the healthy stands. Neighboring healthy trees did not necessarily respond to the opening of the canopy (as a result of dieback) by increased ring width; this possibly resulted from the hierarchical position within the canopy, the differential time of reaction, and the age and (or) the health status of each individual.

Description: Basal area and volume growth response of unthinned and thinned Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) stands to single and multiple applications of nitrogen fertilizer were estimated for eight 2-year periods. Response estimates, as differences between growth rates on fertilized and control plots after adjusting for initial volume (or basal area), and trends were analyzed on a regional scale. Average responses to the initial fertilization and to both the second and third fertilizer applications, 8 and 12 years later, were statistically significant (p 

Description: Thirteen techniques for estimating forest overstory cover or mean crown completeness were tested for differences in angle of view of the technique and interaction with mean crown completeness or height to base of live crown. With increasing angle of view from common locations, mean estimates of mean crown completeness increased and the standard deviation decreased. For techniques with angles of view 〉30° there was interaction among techniques with changing overstory cover. As mean crown completeness increased, the differences between wide- and narrow-angled techniques decreased and converged to 0 at a rate dependent on the angle of view. For most techniques the estimate of mean crown completeness increased with height to base of live crown. The more narrow the angle of view the greater was the effect of increasing height to base of live crown. Differences among techniques were those expected from basic trigonometry; they occur because wider angles of view are less likely to encounter only space without canopy. Attempts to develop relations between overstory cover and other factors (e.g., snow interception, understory growth) should use angles of view appropriate to the factor being studied.

Description: A survey to identify Armillaria root rot pathogens, their host range, and geographic distribution was conducted in the Canadian prairie provinces. Collections of basidiocarps and isolates from the wood of gymptomatic or dead trees were made. Armillaria species were identified by interfertility testing and by the L-DOPA method. Three Armillaria species, A. ostoyae (Romagn.) Herink, A. sinapina Bérubé & Dessureault, and A. calvescens Bérubé & Dessureault, were identified. Armillariaostoyae was the most common species in both the subalpine and boreal forests and was found on a wide variety of coniferous and deciduous host species. Armillariasinapina was in both the boreal and subalpine forests but occurred primarily on deciduous host species. Armillariacalvescens was rare and was found only in the boreal forest on both coniferous and deciduous host species.

Description: Leaching of ions from foliage of black gum (Nyssasylvatica Marsh.), chestnut oak (Quercusprinus L.), and white pine (Pinusstrobus L.) in response to increasing exposure time to and concentration of H+ was examined in a laboratory study. Ten individual leaves and needle bundles were exposed to H+ solutions at pH 3.0, 4.0, and 5.6 for periods of 5, 50, 500, and 1000 min. Increases in the removal of Ca2+ and Mg2+ from all species tested were strongly related to increases in experiment duration and H+ concentration, confirming the role of ion exchange in the removal of these ions from the forest canopy. Removal of Na+ and K+ did not appear to be strongly influenced by ion exchange. Positive relations between SO42− and H+ (and presumably Cl−) for the deciduous species suggest that anion exchange may be involved in the removal process. Given the relatively small number of anion exchange sites on cuticles, and because SO42− is the primary anion in both rain and throughfall, anion exchange is not likely to contribute significant amounts of anions under natural conditions. It is difficult to extrapolate results from an experiment of this type to what might be expected under natural conditions. However, the response of whole leaves and needles fits that expected based on the ion selectivity of the cuticle as a carboxylic acid ion-exchange medium and holds promise for understanding the processes involved in ion leaching from forest canopies.

Description: Interior spruce (Piceaglaucaengelmannii complex), lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco), and western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) were grown from seed for 20 weeks in containers, with 18-h photoperiods. Fortnightly, over a 12-week acclimation period (September 7 – December 1) outdoors at Vernon, B.C., samples were taken for (i) foliage frost hardiness measurement, (ii) poststorage root growth capacity, and (iii) outplanting on forest sites. In all species, frost hardiness and root growth capacity increased with weeks of acclimation. Frost hardiness and root growth capacity were correlated with each other in western hemlock, lodgepole pine, and Douglas-fir, and with field performance (survival or growth) in interior spruce, lodgepole pine, and Douglas-fir.

Description: Fine forest fuels, such as grasses, hardwood leaves, and conifer needles, vary greatly in response times and mean moisture diffusion coefficients when exposed to desorption and adsorption conditions. Results are reported for tests made with recently dead and weathered dead fine forest fuels and small woody samples. Test conditions were 26.7 °C (80°F) with changes in relative humidity from 90 to 20% and back, in an environmental chamber. Moisture diffusivities of fine forest fuels were found to be smaller than diffusivities of woody samples. The diffusivities of the foliage and grass fuels tested ranged from near 1.0 × 10−10 to 1.0 × 10−8 cm2/s, whereas the woody fuels ranged from 1.5 × 10−7 to3.0 × 10−5 cm2/s. Weathered fine fuels had faster response times and higher diffusivities than recently cast materials. Adsorption response times were longer and diffusivities lower than for fuels in desorption. Response times of various recently dead fine fuels ranged from 0.2 to 37 h and weathered fuels from 0.5 to 10 h. Therefore, specific fuel types need to be tested to assign more precise response times. Under the drying conditions of 26.7 °C and 20% relative humidity, fine forest fuels had lower diffusivities and longer response times than anticipated in the United States National Fire Danger Rating System. As a result, predicted fire danger during or after a weather change may be overestimated because fuels are responding more slowly than anticipated. Equations are presented for making first estimates of response time and (or) diffusivity if certain physical properties are known: surface area-to-volume ratio, packing ratio, and bed depth.

Description: A Monte Carlo integer programming algorithm was developed to generate short-term (25-year), spatially feasible timber harvest plans for a New Brunswick Crown license. Solutions for the short-term plan are considered feasible if they meet spatial and temporal harvest-flow and adjacency constraints. The solution search procedure integrates a randomly generated harvesting sequence and checks of harvest-flow and adjacency constraints. The model was used to determine the annual allowable cut under three constraint formulations. The three formulations represented increasing levels of adjacency constraints, from no constraints to levels similar to current provincial requirements. The annual allowable cut under the most strict constraint formulation was reduced by 9% from the unconstrained formulation, for a given mapping strategy of a long-term harvest schedule. These applications of the model indicate that it is suitable for spatially constrained harvest scheduling on Crown licenses in New Brunswick.

Description: Types and rates of mortality were measured and canopy gap formation rates were estimated from 5- to 15-year records of mortality in 34 permanent plots in mature (100- to 150-year-old) and old-growth (〉200-year-old) Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco)/western hemlock (Tsugacanadensis (Raf.) Sarg.) forests in western Oregon and Washington. Gap surveys were conducted in a mature and an old-growth stand, and characteristics of 40 gaps and regeneration were measured. Most canopy trees died without disrupting the forest in both mature (87.6%) and old-growth stands (73.3%). The amount of forest area per year representing new gaps was 0.7% in mature stands and 0.2% in old-growth stands. The gap survey found a higher proportion of gaps in the mature stand than in the old-growth stand. Most regeneration (〉 1 m tall) in gaps was western hemlock; Douglas-fir regeneration did not occur. The ratio of seedling density in gaps to density under canopies was about 3 for the mature stand and about 9 for the old-growth stand. Seedling density was correlated with measures of gap age but not gap size. The study suggests that gap disturbances and vegetative responses are important processes in the dynamics of these forests. However, gap formation rates and vegetative responses appear to be slow relative to other forest types. In addition to gap size, canopy structure and disturbance severity are important determinants of gap response.

Description: Soil water storage (0–1.7 m) was measured every 10 m in a 660-m-long transect using a neutron probe and compared to bulk electrical conductivity, ECA, measurements obtained using noncontacting electomagnetic induction meters. Coherency analysis indicated a lack of correlation at scales less than 40 m. At scales greater than 40 m, ECA explained more than 80% of the variation of soil water storage. Measurement of ECA should be a simple and fast method of determining general field patterns of soil water storage. Key words: Spatial variability, soil water, coherency, electromagnetic induction

Description: The persistence of 14C-fenoxaprop acid, the major degradation product of the herbicide 14C-fenoxaprop-ethyl, was studied at different controlled temperature and moisture conditions in three Saskatchewan soils. At 85% of field capacity, degradation approximated to first-order kinetics at soil temperatures of 10, 20, and 30 °C, with half-life values ranging from 42 to 5 d. In a clay at 20 °C, there was no effect of moisture, between 50% and 100% field capacity, on the rate of 14C-fenoxaprop acid breakdown. There was no loss of radioactivity after 65-d in air dry soils. In all soils incubated at 85% field capacity and 20 °C with 14C-fenoxaprop-ethyl, uniformly labeled in the chlorophenyl ring, there was evolution of 14CO2 indicating ring fission. Over a 56-d incubation period, 10–15% of the applied radioactivity was released from the treated soils as 14CO2. Extraction with ammoniated acetonitrile recovered 14–19% of the original radioactivity; between 3 and 5% of the initial 14C was incorporated into soil microbial biomass; and 17–25% into the fulvic acid, 7–12% into the humic acid, and 30–34% into the humin soil fractions. Key words: Herbicide, biomass, fenoxaprop-ethyl, fenoxaprop, persistence

Description: A field study in northern Minnesota was conducted to assess the relative importance of factors that control lateral water movement in peatlands. Hydraulic gradients and groundwater velocities were measured for one mined and three unmined peatlands. Groundwater velocities were measured at shallow depths in the organic soil using the point dilution method. Hydraulic conductivities at different soil depths were estimated by applying the field measurements to Darcy's Law. Hydraulic gradients were persistent from early summer through fall and were generally less than 0.1%, a major factor governing rates of lateral water movement in undisturbed peatlands. Maximum groundwater velocities averaged 0.49 cm h−1 in the upper and least decomposed peat layers and diminished dramatically with depth and increasing decomposition. The von-Post scale of peat decomposition was found to be useful in predicting the hydraulic conductivity of peat layers. The rate of water movement at depths below 35 cm in the natural peatlands averaged less than 0.03 cm h−1. The data contribute to a better understanding of the hydrologic function of peatlands. Key words: Organic soils, peatlands, groundwater velocity, hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic gradient

Description: The effect of root exudates on structural stability and the hypothesis that the growing roots of corn (Zea mays L.) can destabilize soil structure by chelating Fe and Al involved in mineral-metal-organic matter linkages were investigated. Exudates were removed from 14C-labelled corn and bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) plants grown in sand using sequential leaching with water and acetone. The exudates were concentrated by flash evaporation and incubated with 1–2 mm aggregates of a calcareous silt loam soil for up to 240 h. Aggregates to which exudates from bromegrass were added had a higher wet aggregate stability (WAS) and lower dispersible clay content (DC) than aggregates to which exudates from corn were added. The greatest increase in stability occurred on addition of the water-extracted exudates (9.6% for WAS, 27.1% for DC). The increase in stability correlated positively with a release into solution of Ca and Mg from the soil solids. Addition of CaCl2 to the aggregates, to give corresponding amounts of Ca and Mg in solution, had similar effects on stability suggesting that the ions released by the exudates were not in a chelated form. The quantity of carbon added in the exudates and the mineralization of this carbon were positively and negatively correlated with stability, respectively. There was little evidence that corn exudates caused a destabilization of structure. Key words: Wet aggregate stability, dispersible clay, corn, bromegrass, flocculation, calcium

Description: Two soils derived from glacial deposits and one from alluvium were examined for changes in organic matter (OM) and nitrogen levels between 1943 and 1983 across the international boundary in the Fraser Lowland of western North America. Duplicate samples were collected from the upper 0.2 m from 60 randomly selected sites on the five land clearing periods (1943–1955, 1955–1966, 1966–1976, 1976–1983, uncleared) on each of three parent materials: glacial outwash, alluvium, and glacialmarine deposits in the United States and Canada. The land clearing periods were determined from medium scale aerial photographs taken in 1943, 1955, 1966, 1976, and 1983. Cultivation results in a 20% loss of OM after 35 yr on all soils. The largest loss is in the first 15 yr on all soils. Changes in N levels on the three parent materials is irregular. C:N narrows on all soils from about 15:1 to about 12:1. Key words: Organic matter, nitrogen, Fraser Lowland, land clearing, air photo interpretation, parent material

Description: The adsorption of B, in the form of boric acid, was studied on three precipitated humic acids (HA), representing three distinct soil types. B adsorption by HA was strongly pH-dependent, being low and relatively constant in the pH range 3.0–6.5, increasing markedly up to a peak at near pH 9.5, and then decreasing at still higher pH values. Adsorption isotherms for pH values near 6.7 and 8.8 conformed well to the Langmuir equation. The adsorption maxima (b values), as calculated with the Langmuir equation, ranged from 73 to 207 mmol kg−1 HA at a pH near 8.8, and from 10 to 42 mmol kg−1 at a pH near 6.7. The considerable variation in B adsorption by these HA samples was attributed to "Fe + Al" contents present as contaminants in the HA. The role of HA in B adsorption is expected to be minor in most acid and near neutral soils, but may be of greater significance in soils of high pH and above average organic matter content. Key words: Boron adsorption, boric acid, humic acid, Langmuir adsorption isotherm.

Description: The persistence of the herbicidal ester (14C)thiameturon was studied at different temperature and moisture conditions in three Saskatchewan soils. In all soils at 20 °C and 85% field capacity, the (14C)ester underwent rapid hydrolysis to (14C)thiameturon acid. The hydrolysis was over 85% complete in 1 week, and more than 95% complete after 2 wk. The soil degradation of (14C)thiameturon acid was considerably slower than that of the parent ester. Transformation of (14C)thiameturon to acid in all soils at 85% field capacity was temperature dependent, being slowest at 10 °C, and fastest at 30 °C. Conversion to the acid was also moisture dependent. There was no hydrolysis in air-dry soils after 10 wk. At 50% field capacity 22% of the ester remained after 1 wk, and at field capacity less than 2% of the applied ester was recoverable after 1 wk. Soils treated with thiameturon acid at rates up to 500 μg g−1 exhibited no phytotoxicity to canola, lentil, or sugarbeet seedlings. Key words: Herbicide, thiameturon, persistence, phytotoxicity

Description: This study was conducted to determine if deep banding of P fertilizer was as efficient as placing P in a band with the seed. Phosphorus fertilizer (MAP) was deep banded at rates of 0, 10, 20, and 30 kg of P ha−1 which was compared with equal rates applied with the seed, and with one-half seed placed, one-half deep banded. The P rates were applied onto the same plots each year in a cropping sequence of canola (Brassica napus L.), four crops of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and then canola. Plots were located on a Melfort silty clay soil (Orthic Black Chernozem). In combination with MAP treatments, ammonium nitrate was applied by deep banding and by broadcast-incorporation to bring the total N application rate to 75 kg ha−1. Control treatments of 0–0 and 11–20 kg of N-P, respectively, were also included. In the first year of the experiment, when soil moisture conditions were dry, seed placement of the P fertilizer, on average, resulted in a significantly higher grain yield (1.01 t ha−1) of canola than deep banding (0.88 t ha−1). In the last year of the experiment, canola grain yields for the two placements were not significantly different (1.87 vs. 1.83 t ha−1). Over the 4 yr that wheat was grown there was no significant difference in grain yield between seed placed P and deep banding (2.97 vs. 2.95 t ha−1). Seed placement of P resulted in a higher grain yield (3.05 t ha−1) with N broadcast than with N deep banded (2.90 t ha−1), but with half-seed plus half-deep-banded P the yield was higher with N deep banded (3.08 t ha−1) than with broadcast-incorporated (2.87 t ha−1). The application of N and P over the 6 yr increased the available P in the soil from 7.5 (control) to 12.9 μg of P g−1 soil (N P treatments with 75 kg N ha−1). In general the application of P fertilizer either by deep banding or placement with the seed of the crop gave similar yields with the exception that at the low rates of P, seed placement was better for canola in the first year of the crop sequence. Key words: Deep banding, N, P, canola, wheat, placement

Description: Cultivation is known to reduce the number and diversity of microarthropod (Acarina and Collembola) populations from levels observed under natural forest or grassland vegetation. Under no-tillage crop production, the soil remains relatively undisturbed and plant litter decomposes at the soil surface, much like in natural soil ecosystems. The objective of this study was to investigate whether microarthropod populations under long-term (19 yr) continuous corn (Zea mays L.) production were increased by no-tillage (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT; moldboard plow and harrowing) management. Numbers of microarthropods were also obtained from a soil managed as the CT treatment for 15 yr until seeding to bromegrass (Bromus inermus L.) hay for the last 4 yr. During the growing seasons over 2 yr, soil cores were taken every 2–3 wk and extracted for microarthropods using a high gradient extractor. The surface 5 cm of soil was sampled during the first year. All three treatments were different (P 

Description: The design for a sleeve-type, quick-mount soil core sampler for bulk density and soil water content determination and for collection of undisturbed soil samples is described and its performance discussed. This core sampler has been used to collect undisturbed soil core samples 47.5 mm in diameter and 300 mm long in tillage and seeding studies. Less than 2 min is required to retrieve, seal and store each soil core sample. The soil samples are contained in 50.8-mm-diameter aluminum liners which are easily sealed with plastic caps and stored for later laboratory analysis. This sampler resulted in very good measurement repeatability and provided subsamples suitable for water retention curve determinations. Key words: Soil sampler, coring device, bulk density, soil moisture, undisturbed cores

Description: The kinetics of the adsorption of orthophosphate (Pi), inositol hexaphosphate (IHP), inositol monophosphate (IMP) and glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) by short-range ordered precipitate of Al were studied at the initial pH 4.50 and in the temperature range of 278–308 K. This information is essential for understanding the rate and energy relationship of the adsorption of phosphates by short-range ordered Al precipitate. The amounts of Pi and IHP adsorbed by the Al precipitate were much higher than those of IMP and G6P adsorbed in the temperature range and reaction periods studied. The adsorption can be divided into two stages, a fast adsorption before 1 h and a slow adsorption between 1 and 24 h. The adsorption at both stages obeyed the first-order kinetics. Among all the phosphates studied, the adsorption of Pi proceeded most rapidly. The rate constants for the adsorption of IHP were much greater than those of G6P and IMP at the same temperature; this was attributed to the functionality of multiple phosphate groups of IHP. The Arrhenius activation energies for the adsorption of Pi, IHP, IMP and G6P, which were estimated from the slow reaction, were 48 ± 2, 89 ± 4, 100 ± 8 and 108 ± 10 KJ/mol P adsorbed, respectively. Key words: Organic phosphate, precipitate of aluminum, adsorption, rate constant, Arrhenius activation energy

Description: A method of measuring the structural stability of moist soils using a combination of turbidimetry and wet sieving has been developed and assessed. Aggregates of 1–2 mm in diameter are shaken end-over-end in test tubes and dispersed clay and stable aggregates greater than 0.25 mm diameter measured. Stabilities determined using this method were compared to stabilities determined using a modification of the Yoder wet-sieving method on 20 soils of different textures, organic-matter content, and recent cropping history. Wet aggregate stabilities determined by the two methods were correlated although the two measurements exhibited different sensitivities to clay content, organic-matter content and moisture content at the time of sampling. Dispersible clay was found to be a function of total clay content, organic-matter content and water content at the time of sampling. The new method offers the advantage of stability measurements of structural units of much different size using the same energy input and can be readily adapted to the routine analysis of a large number of samples without a large investment in equipment or space. Key words: Wet aggregate stability, dispersible clay, cropping history, soil structure

Description: This study was undertaken to quantify the effects on long-term application of solid cattle manure on physical and biological properties of a Neubois silty loam. Rates of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 Mg ha−1 manure were applied every 2 yr to the soil cropped to corn. Significant improvements, proportional to application rates, of water-stable aggregation, bulk density, and water content of the soil were measured. These physical properties were highly correlated with the soil microflora (0.83 ≤ r ≤ 0.98). A positive interaction exists between physical and biological properties of soils following long-term manure application. Key words: Solid cattle manure, aggregation, bulk density, biological activity

Description: Infiltration capacity is generally reduced with increased grazing intensity and reduced range condition, mainly through vegetation and litter removal, soil structure deterioration, and compaction. Only one study has documented the effect of grazing on Canadian rangelands, necessitating further investigation. In this study, impacts of long-term grazing on infiltration were assessed in mixed prairie and fescue grassland ecosystems of southern and central Alberta, Canada. Grazing regimes were of light to very heavy intensities, grazed early, late, and continuously during the growing season. Ungrazed controls were evaluated at each site. Infiltration was measured with double ring infiltrometers. Heavy intensity and/or early season grazing had greater impact on infiltration than light intensity and/or late season grazing. In mixed prairie, initial and steady state infiltration rates in the control were 1.5 and 1.7 times higher, respectively, than those in the early season grazed treatment. In parkland fescue, initial rates were lowest in June grazed treatments and steady state rates were highest in light autumn grazed and control treatments. Initial infiltration rates in foothills fescue control and light grazed treatments were 1.5–2.3 times those in heavy and very heavy grazed treatments. Steady state rates were 1.5–2 times higher in light grazed and control treatments than in moderate, heavy, and very heavy grazed treatments. Key words: Infiltration, infiltration rate, grazing, rangelands

Description: The morphology and composition were studied of a pair of soil profiles that had developed in a dike which was constructed 100 yr ago from marine sediments of silty clay loam texture. Both profiles had a weakly expressed A-B-C horizon sequence and strong structural development. They had Bm horizons and their exchange complex was dominated by magnesium ions. Organic carbon had accumulated in the surface mineral horizon at a maximum rate of 26.3 g m−2 yr−1. Adverse climatic conditions, typical for this and similar site locations, appeared to impose a limit on soil development. Key words: Soil formation, marine sediments, maritime climate

Description: The understanding of the kinetics of K uptake by plants is necessary for the development of predictive models aimed at optimum fertilizer use and crop yields. The objective of this work was to study the kinetics of K uptake by alfalfa, in a long-term growth chamber experiment (366 d), on 30 soils from Quebec. The soils varied in mineralogical composition and by the amounts of available K in soluble, rapidly and slowly exchangeable forms. In 28 of the 30 soils, a minimal, steady-state level of NH4OAc-K was reached after 208 d and six cuts of alfalfa. This minimal level and the K uptakes were qualitatively related to soil texture. Only soils with clay content greater than 35% were still able to supply enough K to maintain alfalfa yields. The kinetics of K uptake was described by two parabolic diffusion equations. In the first 208 d, the rate and amounts of K uptake were better predicted by extracting procedures using a monovalent cation for the exchange. The amount of HNO3-K in the soils was very significantly related to the rate (r = 0.90**) and amount of slowly exchangeable K uptake (r = 0.89**) in the last 158 d of growth. The availability of K was greater in soils rich in feldspar and vermiculite than in soils where illite is a major component. The results of this study indicate that the amounts of HNO3-K and/or the clay content should be integrated into alfalfa fertilizer requirement tables along with amounts of K in soluble and rapidly exchangeable forms for maintenance of alfalfa fields. Key words: Slowly exchangeable K, alfalfa, uptake kinetics, HNO3-K, diffusion, K uptake

Description: Residue management may affect soil temperature, and consequently soil biological processes, by influencing energy exchange fluxes at the soil surface. Simulation models in which these fluxes are estimated allow the investigation of hypotheses concerning the effect of residue management on soil thermal regimes. The simulation technique used here involves a finite difference approximation to the estimation of hourly water and heat fluxes through a one-dimensional, layered soil medium, with boundary conditions determined at the surface from surface energy exchange processes, and below the profile from source/sink dynamics. Crop and residue cover are considered as they influence radiative fluxes at the soil surface. Estimated soil temperatures were compared to recorded soil temperatures at 0.05- and 0.15-m depths in plots of barley grown under conventional (CT) and minimum (MT) tillage which left 90% and 30% of the soil surface exposed, respectively. Although diurnal trends in soil temperature were consistent with those recorded, the amplitude of diurnal variation was overstimated by the model under CT, and underestimated under MT. Standard differences between recorded and estimated hourly-averaged temperatures were about 2.5 °C at 0.05 m, and half as much at 0.15 m. The model failed to simulate the consistently lower soil temperatures recorded under MT during the early part of the growing season that may have been caused by longer term tillage effects, such as the persistence of ice lower in the soil profile. Examination of early season temperature effects will require longer term simulations in which the hydrologic and thermal implications of snow and ice are considered. Key words: Soil water flux, soil heat flux, surface energy exchange, soil temperature

Description: A new precipitation titration method, employing cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA+), is proposed for analysis of carboxyl groups of humic substances in solution. The method was tested with polyphenol-polycarboxylic acids standard solutions: recovery factors ranged from 0.94 to 1.09. Results obtained by performing precipitation of humic acids samples at pH = 9.8 and at 7.0 are compared with those obtained by the Ca-acetate method. The difference between the number of COOH per unit weight of humic preparation calculated by precipitation with CTA+ at pH = 7.0 and by the Ca-acetate exchange reaction ranged between 1 and 45%. In most samples overestimation of COOH groups by the Ca-acetate method appears to be higher than the mean relative error of the CTA+ precipitation method (5%). Key words: Carboxylic group determination, humic substances, cetyltrimethylammonium

Description: Seed bed temperature is often the limiting environmental factor affecting corn (Zea mays L.) emergence, particularly in short-season production areas or when conservation tillage practices are employed. In this study, observations of the percentage emergence and seed bed growing degree days (base 10 °C) are used to assess functions which model the emergence response to temperature. Key words: Percentage emergence, growing degree days, log transformation, logistic function

Description: Controlled fertilizer nitrogen (N) inputs and releases to drainage waters were recorded for 9 yr in orchard-type lysimeters. Irrigations were varied year by year from about 37 to 100% of the maximum for the area. One apple tree per lysimeter was the test crop. Large amounts of drainage resulting from the highest levels of irrigation carried the largest amounts of nitrate [Formula: see text] to groundwater but when irrigation was less than 75% of maximum much smaller annual amounts appeared in drainage, mostly because drainage was small. Year 1 of drainage, although light, carried substantial amounts of [Formula: see text] out of the lysimeters probably reflecting mineralized native organic N plus applied N. The largest single influence on the retention of N was the presence of a cover crop. In 9 yr, 40 – 45% of applied N reappeared in drainage waters under grass while 88 – 115% of applied N reappeared under bare soil. The quantities of applied N (N1 = 162 kg N ha−1; N2 = 324 kg N ha−1) had less influence than the cover crop. The importance of measuring and sampling every drainage event because of wide ranges of [Formula: see text] concentrations is emphasized. Averaging could be misleading. The potential impact of [Formula: see text] releases to the aquatic environment of the watershed is discussed briefly. Key words: Nitrogen losses, lysimeters, irrigation, watershed, nitrate

Description: Previous results indicated that the activity of Al3+ in soil solution, Al saturation of the CEC, and 0.01 M CaCl2-extractable Al were related to plant growth. Exchangeable Al values determined by 1 M KCl and 1 M NH4Cl, extractable Al values determined by 1 M NH4OAc, pH 4.8, 0.01 M CaCl2, 0.5 M CuCl2, 0.33 M LaCl3, and 0.005 M NTA, were compared with each other and to the activity of Al3+ in soil solution as well as Al in soil fractions. Aluminum in fractions was measured to determine the forms solubilized by the extradants. The fractions extracted were exchangeable [M Mg(NO3)2], organic bound, Mn oxide, amorphous Fe and Al oxide, and crystalline Fe and Al oxide. The order of Al extracted was CuCl2 〉 NH4OAc, [Formula: see text]. One M KCl and NH4Cl, and CuCl2, LaCl3, NTA, and NH4OAc, pH 4.8, gave similar relative Al values, especially for topsoils, and were not correlated with CaCl2-Al values. The exchangeable fraction Al [M Mg(NO3)2] was well correlated with the activity of Al3+ in the soil solution and Al saturation of the CEC. Organic fraction Al was negatively correlated with the activity of Al3+ in the soil solution indicating that organic matter can bind Al lowering its concentration in the soil solution. Aluminum in the crystalline Fe/Al oxide fraction correlated well with that extracted by CuCl2, LaCl3, NTA, and NH4OAc, pH 4.8, leading to the possible conclusion that these extradants solubilize Al from plant-unavailable fractions. Key words: Soil aluminum, aluminum extractants, aluminum fractions, exchangeable aluminum

Description: Intensive potato cropping has been reported as a major cause of degradation of sandy soils. Wood residues from tree clipping applied to soils can substitute for crop residues to maintain adequate organic matter levels and crop productivity. However, this ligneous material presents a C:N ratio varying from 50 to 175 and, when applied in large quantities, may induce N immobilization at the expense of the crop. The objectives of this study were to quantify the importance of this N immobilization following addition of residues and its effect on yield and quality of potato crops. Fresh or humified residues (50 t ha−1) were applied to the soil and incorporated. The third treatment received no residue. Each treatment was subdivided into subtreatments which received either 0, 150, 200 or 250 kg N ha−1. P, K, Mg and S were applied at the same rate on all treatments. Following the application of wood residues in 1987, 46 kg N ha−1 were immobilized in amended plots. N recovery from fertilizer was 51%. To obtain comparable yields of similar quality to those measured on unamended plots, an additional 1.9 kg N t−1 residues added or 100 kg N ha−1 were required. In 1988, N immobilization was considerably reduced; yield and quality of potato tubers in plots that received wood residues the previous year were comparable to those of the unamended plots with appropriate fertilization. Water retention was significantly improved in plots that received wood residues. Partial decomposition of the residues for 1 yr prior to application on the soil did not significantly improve plant growth compared to fresh residues. Key words: Wood residues, tree clippings, potato yield, dry matter content, nitrogen immobilization, soil water content

Description: The rates of change of several soil chemical properties in response to repeated annual applications of cattle feedlot manure, in a long-term experiment, were determined from 1974 to 1984. Manure was applied at 0, 30, 60 and 90 Mg ha−1 and 0, 60, 120 and 180 Mg ha−1 (wet weight) to nonirrigated and irrigated Dark Brown Chernozemic soils, respectively, using three tillage methods of incorporation. Soil acidity (pH), estimate of soluble salts (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), and accumulation of Na, Ca + Mg, SO4 and Cl in the soil were determined annually. Regression analyses were used to determine the rates of accumulation of these parameters with time. The rates of change with time were mostly linear and varied with the level of manure applied and irrigation regime. The soil became more acidic with time. Soluble Na and Cl increased at rates similar to or less than those applied, and soluble Ca + Mg increased at rates greater than those applied. Changes in the soluble SO4 were poorly correlated with time. Regression analyses from 1974 to 1977 and 1978 to 1984, under irrigated conditions, indicated that the rates of change were generally less in the latter period. Thus, the losses of applied constituents were higher in the second period than in the first period under irrigation. However, various soluble constituents from the annually applied manure accumulated in the soil even at the recommended rate. These findings indicate that sustained agricultural production of this land with annual application of manure is in question, and the potential for problems due to leaching of various soluble salts and nutrients to groundwater is increased. Key words: EC, soluble salts, leaching, salinization, pH

Description: Acid hydrolysis was used to examine organic matter (OM), C, N and S in adjacent uncultivated and cultivated (40 yr) sections of a humisol. Paired soil samples were collected along two transects, both of which included deep organic soil and an exposed mineral ridge. About one-third of the OM was hydrolyzed. Cultivation had no effect on hydrolysis of the deep organic soil, whereas the amount hydrolyzed was significantly reduced by 4.1% in the ridge samples. Total C hydrolyzed ranged from 22.8 to 26.9% with no effect caused by cultivation or transect position relative to the ridge. In contrast, 71.1–80.4% of total N and 39.1 to 49.3% of total S were hydrolyzed. Cultivation significantly reduced the proportion of total N hydrolyzed in the deep organic soil and the proportion of total S hydrolyzed in both the deep organic soil and the ridge sections. On a total soil weight basis, cultivation reduced the amount of OM, C, N and S hydrolyzed in the ridge samples by 43, 38, 44 and 39%, respectively, but had much less effect on the deep organic soil samples. For the most part the distribution of N forms was similar for the four transect sections. Most of the S hydrolyzed was in the hydriodic acid-reducible sulphur (HI-S) form. The hydrolyzates from the cultivated soil samples had higher C-S:HI-S ratios. The amount of S hydrolyzed in the OM was not affected by cultivation, whereas residue-S was increased by 35.1 to 64.7%. The problems encountered with S hydrolysis analysis were discussed. Key words: Cultivation, humisol, hydrolysis, organic matter, carbon, nitrogen, sulphur

Description: Rates of change in wet-aggregate stability under different cropping systems have been reported. These data were used to infer rates of change in the amount of stabilizing materials present. Increases in wet-aggregate stability did not correlate with increases in total organic carbon content, suggesting that some components of the organic carbon pool are more actively involved in stabilizing aggregates than others. Assuming a linear relation between these active components and wet-aggregate stability, the amount of stabilizing materials present should increase exponentially with time when forages are introduced onto soil previously used for row crop production. Key words: Soil structure, wet-aggregate stability, organic matter, corn, forages

Description: The distribution of Zn in soil fractions was determined for 27 representative prairie soils from Saskatchewan. Total Zn in the 27 soils under study ranged from 19.0 to 106.6 μg g−1 with an average of 62.0 μg g−1. A sequential fractionation showed that 0.2–2.4% of total Zn was exchangeable, 0.4–8.1% was Pb-displaceable, 0.4–4.3% was acid soluble, 1.6–9.7% was associated with Mn oxides, 0.6–4.4% was associated with organic matter and 0.9–5.1% was associated with Fe + Al oxides. Most of the total Zn was present in residual form (66.9–91.0%). Amounts of Zn in exchangeable and Pb-displaceable fractions varied inversely with soil pH and extractable P. DTPA-extractable Zn was correlated with Zn in most of the fractions, except Fe oxide-Zn, residual-Zn and total Zn. This result indicates that DTPA extractable-Zn contains Zn from Mn oxides and organic matter associations in addition to the exchangeable and adsorbed forms. The amount of total Zn was correlated with clay content and cation exchange capacity thus reflecting differences in parent materials. Key words: Soil Zn, Zn fractions, Prairie soils, pH, clay content

Description: The usefulness of the average slope measurements available from soil surveys in the development of regional erosional inventories depends on the relationship between the average slope measurements of the mapped area and the mean rates of soil redistribution within the areas. Using 137Cs redistribution techniques we examined the relationship between mean rates of soil redistribution and average slope characteristics at 21 areas in the Brown, Dark Brown, and Black Chernozem soil zones of southern Saskatchewan. Net soil losses averaged 5.8 t ha−1 yr−1 for areas with mean gradients between 0 and 1.5°, 7.8 t ha−1 yr−1 for areas with mean gradients between 1.0 and 3°, and 11.3 t ha−1 yr−1 for areas with mean gradients between 3.5 and 8.5°. For all three slope classes, the highest rates of soil loss were found in the Dark Brown soil zone and the lowest rates in the Black soil zone. Net soil loss alone was, however, an inadequate indicator of the rate of loss within the areas because a considerable proportion of eroded soil was deposited within the confines of the study areas. Our results indicate that a distinct rate of soil loss was associated with the average slope characteriestics of the study area, but that both net soil loss from the field and mean soil loss within the field need to be considered together if a complete erosional assessment is to be made of an area. Key words: Soil erosion, soil deposition, 137Cs redistribution, slope gradient, Saskatchewan

Description: Fifty-two surface soils and 11 subsoils collected from agricultural soils of the Peace River region of northwestern Alberta were analyzed for total and extractable contents of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. The purpose of this survey was to build up a data base on trace element contents of agricultural and environmental concerns for soils of this region. Extractable amounts were determined by DTPA-ammonium bicarbonate, 0.05 M EDTA, 0.1 M HCl and saturation extractions. Total Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn and Pb concentrations were similar to average values for "world" soils; Ni was less than and Zn greater than "world" average. Total Cr was higher and total Pb lower than average values reported for Canadian soils. Total Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were similar in surface and subsurface soils. Extractable Cd, Mn, Ni and Zn tended to be greater in surface soils compared to subsoils; Cu and Pb were higher in the clay-enriched subsoils. Among the surface soils, soils with higher amounts of organic matter contained greater amounts of total and extractable metals with few exceptions. Clay content was also closely correlated with the distribution and content of Cu, Pb and Cr. Few, if any, of the soils would be expected to be deficient in Cu, Mn or Zn for the production of crops. Key words: Cadmium, copper, chromium, manganese, nickel, lead, zinc

Description: Different numerical methods used to distinguish between organic soil types are evaluated. The research was initiated by the suggestion that acid leaching from mining wastes could be prevented by capping the tailings with a self-renewing methane-producing muskeg bog, in order to prevent the penetration of oxygen to the wastes. Thirty organic soils from bogs in the mining districts of Elliot Lake, Sudbury, and Timmins, Ontario, and Noranda, Quebec, were sampled and 28 soil characteristics were measured. These characteristics, whose values are normally or lognormally distributed, were analyzed by several different statistical methods. Some characteristics indicate the existence of two populations, and others are bivariantly correlated. Canonical discriminant analysis was more successful than cluster analysis in separating the bogs into well-defined geographical groups. However, principal component analysis proved best at grouping the organic soils according to their organic and inorganic components, and we suggest that this is a suitable method for the general discrimination of organic soil types. Methane was present in all the 17 bogs tested for it, and in two very wet bogs more than 2 mmol of methane per liter were extracted. Key words: Muskeg bog, organic soils, soil characterization, principal component analysis

Description: Urease activity in 14 sites, representing a wide range of forest and soil types, was determined by a non-buffer method. Urease activity in L-H horizons ranged from 23–203 μg N hydrolyzed (g soil)−1 h−1 at 40 °C. In all soils, urease activity decreased dramatically with depth. At 0 °C, hydrolysis was estimated at 26.8 and 1.9 μg N g−1 h−1 for L-H and Bf horizons, respectively, for one site. Theoretical estimation of hydrolysis at 0 °C for the site with the lowest activity suggested that an operational application of urea (200 kg N ha−1) applied to snow could be hydrolyzed within 6 days in the rooting zone of all the soils studied. Key words: Urease activity, energy of activation, forest fertilization, Brunisols, Luvisols, Podzols

Description: Two methods for determining total C and 14C in plant and soil were compared. One method involved wet oxidation of samples in concentrated acid and measuring evolved 12/14CO2 captured in NaOH. The other method oxidized samples in an induction furnace, measured total CO2-C by thermal conductivity, then 14CO2-C collected in a NaOH solution. Over a range of carbon contents and including both plant and soil samples, the wet and dry oxidation methods were highly correlated (r2 = 0.99) and the slope of the regression wet on dry methods (±SE) was 1.00 ± 0.01 and 1.05 ± 0.01 for total-C and 14C, respectively. However, the dry oxidation method may not be as accurate as the wet method for soil samples especially at low levels of C, less than 5 mg C g−1 sample. Key words: Total carbon, carbon-14, high-temperature induction furnace, acid digestion

Description: Moderate to highly saline-sodic soil cores extracted from a Brown Solodized Solonetzic soil were leached in the laboratory using good-quality irrigation water to determine relative salt removal with time. Leaching curves comparing the relative concentration of salts against the relative depth of leaching water applied were similar over a wide range of salinities and hydraulic conductivities. The time required to transmit an equivalent depth of water through the soil core and achieve a salinity reduction of about 75% ranged from less than 2 d to an estimated 15 mo. The primary limitation to reclamation in these soils was the low hydraulic conductivity rather than the initial salt content or depth of leaching water required. Key words: Reclamation, leaching, hydraulic conductivity, saline-sodic soil

Description: Soil pH and Mn extracted by 1.0 M NH4OAc (pH 7.0), 0.02 M CaCl2, 0.25 M MgCl2, 0.03 M H3PO4, DTPA and HF/HC1 (total Mn) from two soil depths (0–15 cm, 15–30 cm) were compared to leaf Mn concentrations of Delicious apple trees (Malus domestica Borkh) from 34 Okanagan Valley orchards. Leaf Mn concentrations ranged from deficient (below 25 μg g−1) to toxic (above 60 μg g−1). For all orchards (pH 3.5–8.4), leaf Mn concentration varied directly with soil Mn extracted from 15–30 cm depth by all extractants except HF/HCl (total Mn) and 0.03 M H3PO4, and inversely with pH at both depths. For soils with pH 〉 6.5, DTPA and 0.25 M MgCl2 extractable soil Mn (15–30 cm depth) was most closely related to leaf Mn concentration, whereas for soils with pH 

Description: A study was conducted to determine the effects of long-term vegetable production on some organic matter (OM) chemical properties in an organic soil located near Cloverdale, British Columbia. Producers in this area are concerned about yield reduction and some feel this is due to changes in the soil quality. Paired soil samples were collected from two transects: one in a 40-yr-old vegetable field, and the other in an adjacent fence row. The transects were positioned in order to collect samples from a relatively deep organic deposit and from a shallow deposit where a ridge of mineral subsoil had been exposed. Initial analysis showed that cultivation had changed some chemical properties only in the plow layer. The exception was pH which was higher throughout the sample depth of the cultivated transect. Organic matter loss from the cultivated field was estimated 28% by weight, based on ash accumulation. In the cultivated deep organic section (west of the ridge) OM and C contents were reduced by 7.1 and 5.6% respectively, whereas on the cultivated ridge OM, C, N and S contents and the amount of C, N and S mineralized were reduced by 43.3, 41.6, 43.4, 25.9, 42.8, 60.8 and 52.5%, respectively. On an ash-free basis there were no changes in the deep organic section. In the ridge, the OM sulphur content had increased and the amount of N and S mineralized were decreased compared with the uncultivated transect. In the cultivated surface layer, increased S content in the OM was caused by incorporation of a S-rich subsurface layer during tillage operations. Increases in P content in the cultivated transect were attributed to P fertilization. Within the cultivated transect, C, N and S contents in the exposed mineral ridge were 48, 48, and 44%, respectively, lower than in the deep organic surface layer on the west side of the ridge. The C:N ratios were unchanged at about 16. The chemical stability of the OM was attributed to its well-decomposed nature. At this particular site, the degradation due to excessive cultivation was manifested mainly in OM loss, rather than in changes in OM quality. The main concern of producers is to reduce or prevent further loss of soil OM. Key words: Humisol, organic soil, cultivation, mineralizable C, N and S, incubation

Description: Experiments were conducted to obtain a better understanding of the role of pH on the availability of fluridone (1-methyl-3-phenyl-5-[3-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl]-4(1 H)-pyridinone) in soil solution when used as a selective herbicide and the partitioning into aqueous and sediment phases when employed for aquatic plant control. Phytotoxicity of fluridone to seedling sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) plants increased with increasing pH of the sand-nutrient solution medium. Since stability and plant uptake of fluridone by bioassay plants were not affected by solution pH, the increasing phytotoxicity at basic pH was attributed to less adsorption and hence higher availability of the herbicide in solution. Soil adsorption studies with 14C-fluridone confirmed this trend, as the soil solution concentration at equilibrium increased from 0.091 to 0.258 μg mL−1 and from 0.216 to 0.354 μg mL−1, respectively, as pH of a sandy loam and silty clay loam increased from 3 to 9. In contrast, adsorption on the sandy loam and silty clay loam for the same pH range decreased from 4.108 to 2.435 μg g−1 and from 2.850 to 1.484 μg g−1, respectively. Smaller but significant changes in adsorption were also observed for an organic soil over this range. Key words: Herbicide, fluridone, pH, uptake, soil adsorption

Description: The bulk electrical conductivity of a porous medium can be determined by measuring the reflection of an electromagnetic pulse in transmission lines which are installed in this medium (the method is known as Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR)). The reflection is not only influenced by the medium, but also by the measuring system. A new method is described which corrects for influences of the measuring system by comparing a reflection measurement with a reference measurement performed in air. Calibration measurements were made in water and in water-saturated sand and loam soils. Columns with different, well-determined solute concentrations were prepared. Linear regression analyses were performed between the electrical conductivity determined with TDR and the electrical conductivity of the solutions. All slopes were close to one and the correlation coefficients were high: 0.993, 0.993 and 0.968 for water, sand and loam, respectively. For the two soils significant intercepts were found. These might be related to the surface charge of the soil particles. Key words: Dielectric constant, soil water, electrical conductivity, solutes

Description: Fluorescence spectroscopy was used to study the interaction of humic acid with Cu+2, paraquat and simetryn. Paraquat and Cu+2 quenched the fluorescence of humic acid (HA) by as much as 74 and 89%, respectively. Simetryn did not quench the fluorescence of HA, even at pH 4 under which conditions simetryn would have carried a positive charge due to protonation. Key words: Fluorescence spectroscopy, simetryn, paraquat, copper, humic acid