Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2001
Authors
Heleen A. de Wit Jan Mulder Per Holm Nygaard Dan Aamlid Magne Huse Egil Kortnes Gro Wollebæk Roald BreanAbstract
Aluminium (Al) is a key element in critical load calculations for forest. Here, we argue for re-evaluating the importance of Al. Effects of two levels of enhanced Al concentrations and lowered Ca:Al ratios in the soil solution in a field manipulation experiment in a mature spruce stand (1996-1999) on tree vitality parameters were tested. In addition, Al solubility controls were tested. Various loads of Al were added to forest plots by means of an irrigation system. Potentially toxic Al concentrations and critical ratios of Ca to inorganic Al were established.The ratio of Ca to total Al was not a suitable indicator for unfavourable conditions for plant growth. No significant effects on crown condition, tree growth and fine root production were observed after three years of treatment. In 1999, foliar Mg content in the highest Al addition treatment had declined significantly. This agreed with the known response to Al stress of seedlings in nutrient solution experiments. No support was found for using the chemical criterion Ca:Al ratio in soil solution, foliar and root tissue as an indicator for forest damage due to acidification. Al solubility was considerably lower than implied by the assumption of equilibrium with gibbsite, particularly in the root zone.The gibbsite equilibrium is commonly used in critical load models. Substitution of the gibbsite equilibrium with an Al-organic matter complexation model to describe Al solubility in soil water may have large consequences for calculation of critical loads. The results indicate that critical load maps for forests should be reconsidered.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Foliage nutrient concentrations of overstorey and understorey Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), and height growth and needle weights of understorey saplings, were studied in a seven-year period after harvest. The following treatments were applied on each of three sites five years prior to needle sampling: control with no cutting, partial cutting with 50-60 % removal of basal area, and patch cut (25 x 25 m - 0.063 ha clear-cut). Saplings on control plots had higher concentrations of K and Cu in current-year needles (C) than overstorey trees. Increased harvest intensity led to a reduction of K in C- needles and Mg in (C+1)-needles of saplings, and of B in both saplings (C, C+1) and overstorey trees (C+1). Sapling needle weights generally increased with harvest intensity, whereas no effect of foliage N status on needle weights could be detected. The growth response of saplings was explained by the interaction between foliage N status, quantified as average N concentration in C- and (C+1)-needles, and harvest intensity. The results illustrate that sufficient N supply is a key factor for the ability of advance regeneration to utilize the improved light condition associated with overstorey removal.
Authors
Aksel GranhusAbstract
The risk of logging damage to residual trees (height >3.0 m) and advance regeneration saplings (height 0.5–3.0 m) was evaluated after mechanized (single-grip harvesters + forwarders) and motor-manual (chain saw + skidding) selection harvesting in studies I and II. Harvesting took place during the winter season. Mechanized harvesting caused the highest injury rates, and the difference was highest at high cutting intensity in densely stocked stands. Another important difference between the two operating methods was the spatial distribution of the injury risk relative to striproads. The most important injuries on the larger (>3.0 m) trees were stem- and root wounds, and loss of branches. Wounds tended to be larger, and crown injuries more serious, after mechanized harvesting, but differences were not statistically significant. The most frequent injuries on saplings were crown injuries (loss of branches, stem breakage) and stem lean. In motor-manually harvested stands saplings without pre-harvest deformities in the form of top- or leader defects were more prone to damage than saplings with such defects. A similar difference was not found in stands subjected to mechanized harvesting. This result was attributed to the different work patterns during felling and processing with the two operating methods, in combination with the spatial distribution of saplings of different quality relative to larger trees and stand openings. In study III sapling mortality, and recovery from logging damage in a five-year period after selection harvesting, was investigated. Mortality on the different plots (n=11) was highly variable. For saplings without previous logging damage mortality was related to pre-harvest vigour, and increased with increasing cutting intensity in the immediate surrounding of the sapling. Unspecified site factors also contributed to explain the probability of mortality. Saplings that had been pushed over during harvesting often survived and recovered, while injuries to the crown led to poor survival. Crown injuries were most common on plots subjected to mechanized harvesting, while stem lean was correspondingly important on motor-manually harvested plots. Whether this pattern was attributed to differences in temperature at the time of harvesting (winter), or operating method, is uncertain. In study IV advance regeneration responses in terms of height growth, needle dry weights, and foliar nutrient concentrations were compared after three different release treatments: untouched control, selection harvesting with 50-60 % removal of basal area (BA50-60), and patch cut (25x25 m - 0.063 ha clear-cut). The foliar analyses were carried out five years after treatment, and included dominant and co-dominant (overstorey) trees on control and BA50-60 plots. Height growth and needle dry weights of saplings generally increased with increasing overstorey removal. The growth response was explained by an interaction of foliar nitrogen concentration in current (C) and one-year-old (C+1) needles, and degree of overstorey removal. The foliar analyses did, however, not confirm improved N status after cutting. Increasing overstorey removal led to a reduction of K (C), Mg (C+1) and B (C, C+1) in saplings. A parallel decline of B (C+1) occurred in the overstorey trees (BA50-60). Saplings on control plots had higher concentrations of K and Cu in C-needles, relative to overstorey trees. The influence of neighbour tree basal area on sapling height growth and presence of natural defects (top- and leader damage) was examined in study V. The three stands selected for the study had not been subjected to cutting for several decades, and basal areas ranged from 25–33 m2 ha-1. The relationship between growth and four basal area variables was evaluated: basal area (m2 ha-1) of taller (>3.0 m) neighbour trees within 2.82, 3.99 and 5.64 m radius from the sapling (25, 50 and 100 m2 circular plots), and basal area (m2) of trees within 5.64 m radius weighted according to distance from the sapling. A reduction of growth attributed to increasing basal area of neighbour trees was only observed for the tallest saplings (2.1-3.0 m). Between 33 and 42 % of the saplings had leader- or top defects, and damage frequencies increased with declining distance to the nearest taller neighbour tree.
Abstract
This manual contains description of field instrumemntation and the proceedures for field sampling of water and hadling of data at the Cai Jia Tang monitoring site in the Hunan province of China
Authors
Dagang Tang Espen Lydersen H.M. Seip Valter Angell Odd Eilertsen Thorbjørn Larssen X Liu G. Kong Jan Mulder Arne Semb Svein Solberg K. Torseth Rolf D. Vogt Jinshong Xiao Dawei ZhaoAbstract
A 5-year Chinese-Norwegian research project was launched in the autumn of 1999. Forested sites for intensive studies are or will be established in the Chongqing municipality and in Guizhou, Hunan and Guangdong provinces in southern China. Previous studies have shown that harmful effects of acid deposition are likely to be most severe in this region. The research and monitoring sites shall give information about acidification mechanisms and effects on vegetation in order to improve policy oriented acidification models and critical load estimates as well as function as interdisciplinary training centers for acid rain research. Furthermore, the project shall improve the basis for developing an efficient regional acid rain monitoring system. At one site in Guizhou and one in Chongqing, research on soil and soilwater chemistry has been ongoing for several years. The forest at these sites appears to show symptoms of reduced vitality. The sensitivity of Chinese forests to acidification is uncertain and will be focused. Decision-makers should get an improved basis for optimal mitigation measures through the project.
Abstract
This manual contains description of field instrumemntation and the proceedures for field sampling of water and hadling of data at the Lei Gong Shan monitoring site in the Guizhou province of China
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
This manual contains description of field instrumemntation and the proceedures for field sampling of water and hadling of data at the Tie Shan Ping monitoring site in the ChongQing municipality of China