Variation in mineral flux to the forest floors of a pine and a hardwood stand in the Georgia Piedmont

Book · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1975

OSTI ID:6541927

Torrenueva, A L

The total flux to the forest floor and variance of potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and pH were determined in a 34-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda l.) plantation and in a mature, second-growth hardwood stand in the Georgia Piedmont, from September 1972 to April 1973. The pathways considered were: Gross precipitation, dust and aerosols, throughfall, stemflow, and litterfall. Sampling was done on 18 storms in 8 months. Input from dust and aerosols appeared insignificant. Gross precipitation contributed 0.75, 3.20, 0.20, and 1.40 kg/ ha to the total flux of K, Na, Mg, and Ca, respectively. In throughfall, the total cation flux was 4.13, 3.74, 0.39 and 2.02 kg/ha under pine; whereas, the same fluxes were 6.67, 3.72, 0.67, and 3.30 kg/ha under hardwood. In stemflow, the total cation flux was 1.02, 1.41, 1.68, and 3.08 kg/ha under pine; whereas, the same fluxes were 7.15, 4.84, 4.79, and 6.16 kg/ha under hardwood. In litterfall, the total flux under pine was 4.71, 1.87, and 6.23 kg/ha for K, Mg and Ca, respectively; whereas, the same fluxes were 19.32, 10.24, and 49.23 kg/ha under hardwood. Litterfall accounted for 48, 47, and 55 percent of the stand total K, Mg and Ca fluxes, respectively, under pine; whereas, the same percentages were 58, 65, and 84 under hardwood. The pH of gross precipitation, throughfall under pine and hardwood, and stemflow under pine and hardwood was 4.6, 4.6, 4.8, 4.1, and 6.2, respectively. The coefficient of variation of cations in throughfall and litterfall was 1/2 that in stemflow. Standard deviation was directly related to mean flux and total flux varied directly with storm size. The sample size needed to study mineral input flux in a hardwood forest is about twice that in a pine forest. The expected error of measurements on one precipitation gage is equivalent to that on 10 throughfall gages.

• OSTI ID: 6541927
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CATIONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
CONIFERS
DUSTS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
FEDERAL REGION IV
FOREST LITTER
FORESTS
GEORGIA
IONS
MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS
MATERIALS
NORTH AMERICA
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
PINES
PLANT STEMS
PLANTS
POTASSIUM COMPOUNDS
PRECIPITATION SCAVENGING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
TREES
USA