Publication Date:
1974-12-01
Description:
The annual amounts of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg in litter-fall, throughfall, and stemflow were measured in a 30-year-old jack pine (Pinusbanksiana Lamb.) stand on a coarse glacial outwash soil in northern Ontario. Litter from ground vegetation and from the pine overstory was estimated. The nutrient content of precipitation was measured and the quantity of nutrients in leaf wash determined.Tree litter was the most important source of N, P, Ca, and Mg for the forest floor (51–69% of the total depending on the element), whereas throughfall supplied most K (54% of the total). Ground vegetation litter contributed significant amounts of nutrients (7–23% of the total depending on the element) but stemflow added little (1–8% of the total). Potassium in throughfall was derived mainly from leaf wash whereas N, P, Ca, and Mg in throughfall were derived primarily from precipitation entering the ecosystem. This jack pine forest floor received an annual total of 30 kg/ha of N, 22 kg/ha of Ca, 19 kg/ha of K, 3 kg/ha of Mg, and 2 kg/ha of P from the processes studied. Most of the nutrients in these totals were returning to the forest floor from the vegetation.
Print ISSN:
0045-5067
Electronic ISSN:
1208-6037
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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