Effect of nutrient removal on radial growth of Pinus sylvestris and Quercus petraea in Southern Germany

Abstract

The rising demand of energy wood for heating purposes in Germany leads to concerns regarding the overexploitation of forests. A major aspect is the impact of whole-tree harvesting on long-term productivity of forest soils. This study aimed to analyze the effects of nutrient removal on productivity using the historically prevalent practice of litter raking. Since there is a lack of controlled whole-tree harvesting experiments in Germany, we used litter raking as a surrogate management practice entailing the removal of nutrients from forest stands. We used three sites with documented litter raking to analyze the effects of nutrient removal on productivity using dendroecological methods: two recent litter removal experiments in two Scots pine stands (Siegenburg and Burglengenfeld) and one oak stand (Eichhall) with documented historic litter raking. Basal area increment (BAI) and tree-ring characteristics were compared between periods with litter raking and the preceding periods for both treatment and control plots. For the two Scots pine sites with a relatively short litter raking period, no effects of litter raking on BAI could be ascribed to nutrient removal. On the oak site with a longer history of litter utilization, the loss in BAI due to litter raking amounts to 22 % during the period with active raking and to still 17 % in the recovery period. These results contribute to the still very limited understanding about the impact of whole-tree harvesting on forest productivity in Germany by laying down an upper limit of possible effects due to nutrient removal, as nutrient loss by litter raking tends to be higher than nutrient loss by whole-tree harvesting.