skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Whole-tree dormant season nitrogen pools for different species receiving combinations of fertilization and irrigation after one short rotation

Journal Article · · Forest Ecology and Management
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States)
  2. University of Idaho, Moscow, ID (United States)
  3. Clemson University, SC (United States)
  4. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States); University of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)

Our understanding of the accretion and distribution of tree tissue nitrogen (N) pools across a variety of species and genotypes suitable for short-rotation woody crop (SRWC) production in response to water and N availability remains limited. We measured dormant-season, rotation-length, whole-tree N pools for five tree genotypes from four species (two eastern cottonwood, Populus deltoides Bartr., genotypes; American sycamore, Platanus occidentalis L.; American sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua L.; and loblolly pine, Pinus taeda L.) receiving irrigation (I), fertilization (F), their combination (IF), or no resources manipulation (C). Our results demonstrate that foliar nitrogen concentration [N] responded to fertilization but was constrained within genotype-specific ranges and varied temporally. Tree genotypes differed in their composite and component tissue N content (NC), and these differences mostly reflected tissue mass (i.e., larger components and trees resulted in higher NC). Resource amendments (I, F, IF) resulted in up to 3.8-fold increases in NC compared with C, which were most pronounced for sycamore and sweetgum with F and IF treatments, respectively. By the end of the rotation, forest stands accumulated 73 to 452 kg N ha–1 in tree tissues with 40 – 78 % distributed aboveground and 22 – 60 % distributed belowground. A critical difference between genotypes was that all hardwoods exhibited larger belowground N distributions than the evergreen conifer. Our results stress the importance of belowground N pools and highlight differences among genotypes. Furthermore, our study underscores valuable information about N pools across genotypes suitable for SRWC production, which can be leveraged to inform fertilization plans and devise sustainable nutrient management as production expands across marginal lands.

Research Organization:
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture and Food Research Initiative
Grant/Contract Number:
EM0005228; 2013-67009-21405; 2013-67009-25148; 2019-67019-29906
OSTI ID:
2228453
Journal Information:
Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 529; ISSN 0378-1127
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (51)

Woody bioenergy crop selection can have large effects on water yield: A southeastern United States case study journal October 2018
Spatial and temporal patterns of root distribution in developing stands of four woody crop species grown with drip irrigation and fertilization journal September 2007
Soil and microbial respiration in a loblolly pine plantation in response to seven years of irrigation and fertilization journal November 2009
Aboveground biomass and nitrogen in four short-rotation woody crop species growing with different water and nutrient availabilities journal June 2008
Characterization of Foliar Macro- and Micronutrient Concentrations and Ratios in Loblolly Pine Plantations in the Southeastern United States journal May 2010
The Evolutionary Ecology of Sprouting in Woody Plants journal May 2003
Phenotypic variation in growth and biomass distribution for two advanced-generation pedigrees of hybrid poplar journal August 2005
Global patterns of plant leaf N and P in relation to temperature and latitude journal June 2004
Optimal nitrogen application rates for three intensively-managed hardwood tree species in the southeastern USA journal September 2013
Leaf- and shoot-level plasticity in response to different nutrient and water availabilities journal December 2007
Global resorption efficiencies and concentrations of carbon and nutrients in leaves of terrestrial plants journal May 2012
Functional groups show distinct differences in nitrogen cycling during early stand development: implications for forest management journal August 2011
Xylem transport of root‐derived CO2 caused a substantial underestimation of belowground respiration during a growing season journal April 2021
Nutrient covariance between forest foliage and fine roots journal December 2006
Nutrient use and uptake in Pinus taeda journal July 2008
Carbon allocation and nitrogen acquisition in a developing Populus deltoides plantation journal December 2004
Evaluation of the nutrient content in biomass of Eucalyptus species from short rotation plantations in Uruguay journal March 2020
Stand development and other intrinsic factors largely control fine-root dynamics with only subtle modifications from resource availability journal April 2018
Temporal nitrogen dynamics in intensively managed loblolly pine early stand development journal March 2021
Nutrient balance and P, K, Ca, Mg, S and B accumulation in a Norway spruce stand following ammonium sulphate application, fertigation, irrigation, drought and N-free-fertilisation journal January 1995
Available Nitrogen and Responses to Nitrogen Fertilizer in Brazilian Eucalypt Plantations on Soils of Contrasting Texture journal April 2015
Fertilization reduced stomatal conductance but not photosynthesis of Pinus taeda which compensated for lower water availability in regards to growth journal December 2016
Nitrogen Availability and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Loblolly Pine Stands journal February 1986
The Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Concentration and Weight of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium in Douglas‐Fir Trees journal January 1963
Nitrogen supply and demand in short-rotation sweetgum plantations journal February 2004
Small Sample Inference for Fixed Effects from Restricted Maximum Likelihood journal September 1997
Influences of evergreen gymnosperm and deciduous angiosperm tree species on the functioning of temperate and boreal forests: Spermatophytes and forest functioning journal June 2014
Herbicide, fertilization, and planting density effects on intensively managed loblolly pine early stand development journal September 2020
Growth responses of narrow or broad site adapted tree species to a range of resource availability treatments after a full harvest rotation journal February 2016
Growth and nutrition response of young sweetgum plantations to repeated nitrogen fertilization on two site types journal October 2004
Biomass and nutrients in tree root systems–sustainable harvesting of an intensively managed Pinus pinaster (Ait.) planted forest journal January 2014
Relationships between forest tree species, stand production and stand nutrient amount journal May 2000
Forest production responses to irrigation and fertilization are not explained by shifts in allocation journal April 2005
Resprouting trees drive understory vegetation dynamics following logging in a temperate forest journal June 2020
Stand-level allometry in Pinus taeda as affected by irrigation and fertilization journal October 1999
Nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics for 13-year-old loblolly pine stands receiving complete competition control and annual N fertilizer journal May 2006
Tree Nutrition and Forest Fertilization of Pine Plantations in the Southern United States journal February 2007
Nitrogen storage and remobilization by trees: ecophysiological relevance in a changing world journal June 2010
Nutrient cycling and fertility management in temperate short rotation forest systems journal April 1998
Production efficiency of loblolly pine and sweetgum in response to four years of intensive management journal April 2001
Impact of management on nutrients, carbon, and energy in aboveground biomass components of mid-rotation loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations journal May 2014
Root-derived CO2 efflux via xylem stream rivals soil CO2 efflux: Rapid report journal October 2009
Biomass and nitrogen dynamics in an irrigated hybrid poplar plantation journal April 1987
Sprouting in temperate trees: A morphological and ecological review journal April 2001
Practical Use of the Information-Theoretic Approach book January 1998
Above- and below-ground biomass accumulation, production, and distribution of sweetgum and loblolly pine grown with irrigation and fertilization journal June 2008
Environmental effects of short-rotation woody crops for bioenergy: What is and isn't known journal August 2018
Tamm Review: Insights gained from light use and leaf growth efficiency indices journal November 2016
Response of Three Hardwood Species to Irrigation and Fertilization on an Upland Site journal August 1997
Resource allocation and storage relative to resprouting ability in wind disturbed coastal forest trees journal March 2014
Fertilization effects on biomass production, nutrient leaching and budgets in four stand development stages of short rotation forest poplar journal August 2017