Concentrations of foliar and surface soil in nutrients Pinus spp. plantations in relation to species and stand age in Zhanggutai sandy land, northeast China

The concentrations of the foliar and surface soil nutrients and the variation with species and stand age were studied inPinus spp. plantations in Zhanggutai area, northeast China. The results showed that the total N, total P and C: N ratio of the soil inP. sylvestris var.mongolica stands were significantly higher in comparison with those inP. tabulaeformis andP. densiflora stands. ForP. sylvestris var.mongolica, the foliar P concentration appeared to decrease with age, and the foliar N and K concentrations did not show a consistent change with age. As for the different tree species of the similar age, the foliar N and P concentrations were significantly different (p<0.05), being withP. sylvestris var.mongolica>P. densiflora>P. tabulaeformis. The foliar N: P ratio ofP. densiflora significantly was higher thanP. sylvestris var.mongolica andP. tabulaeformis, while the foliar K was no obvious difference between the three tree species. There were significant correlation (p<0.05) between soil total N and P, soil organic matter and total P, foliar N and P, but it did not show significant correlations between soil and foliar nutrient concentrations, which might attribute to the excessive litter raking, overgrazing and low soil moisture in this area. Based on the foliar N: P ratio, we introduced a combination threshold index of N: P ratio with their absolute foliar nutrient concentrations to determine the possible limiting nutrient. According to the critical N: P ratio and their absolute foliar N, P concentrations, theP. sylvestris var.mongolica stands showed a decreased N limitation degree with age, theP. densiflora stands showed unlimited by N and P in the whole, and theP. tabulaeformis stands showed co-limited by N and P. No significant difference in soil nutrient concentrations of the surface soils was found between 45, 29, 20-yr-oldPinus sylvestris var.mongolica plantation stands. Keywords coniferous trees - foliar nutrient concentration - limiting nutrients - N - P ratio - Zhanggutai sandy land CLC number S718.55 Document code A Article ID 1007-662X(2004)01-0011-08 Foundation item: This research was supported by Key Knowledge Innovation Project (KZCX3-SW-418) of Chinese Academy of Sciences.Biography: CHEN Guang-sheng (1978-), male, master candidate in Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, P. R. ChinaResponsible editor: Song Funan

Soil animals and nitrogen mineralization under sand-fixation plantations in Zhanggutai region,China

The effects of soil animals on soil nitrogen (N) mineralization and its availability were studied by investigating soil animal groups and their amounts of macro-faunas sorted by hand, and middle and microfaunas distinguished with Tullgren and Baermann methods under three Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv. plantations in Zhanggutai sandy land, China. In addition, soil N mineralization rate was also measured with PVC closed-top tube in situ incubation method. The soil animals collected during growing season belonged to 13 orders, 5 groups, 4 phyla, whose average density was 86 249.17 individuals·m^(-2). There were significant differences in soil animal species, densities, diversities and evenness among three plantations. Permanent grazing resulted in decrease of soil animal species and diversity. The average ammonification, nitrification and mineralization rates were 0.48 g·m^(-2)·a^(-1), 3.68 g·m^(-2)·a^(-1) and 4.16 g·m^(-2)·a^(-1), respectively. The ammonification rate in near-mature forest was higher than that in middle-age forests, while the order of nitrification and net mineralization rates was: middle-age forest without grazing < middle-age forest with grazing < near-mature forest with grazing (P<0.05). Soil N mineralization rate increased with soil animal amounts, but no significant relationship with diversity. The contribution of soil animals to N mineralization was different for different ecosystems due to influences of complex factors including grazing, soil characteristics, the quality and amount of litter on N mineralization.