Effect of site preparation on the nutrient content of non-crop vegetation in a jack pine clear-cut

Abstract

The nutrient (N, P, K, Mg, and Ca) content of the aboveground living non-crop vegetation of a jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) clear-cut in eastern Ontario was investigated for two years after site preparation, which consisted of prescribed burning under different fire intensities and disk trencher scarification. Total plant nutrient content generally followed biomass accumulation with higher levels of plant N, P, Ca, and K in clear-cuts and scarified sites than in burned-over sites. In the first growing season, concentrations of N, P, and K were higher in the vegetation of burned-over plots than in scarified and clear-cut plots. Mg concentrations were greater in burned-over and scarified plots than in the clear-cut plots. Ca concentrations did not differ among the treatments. Concentration of P and K and the total amount of N, P and K in aboveground non-crop vegetation were correlated well with fire intensity at the end of the first growing season whereas only K concentration and quantities were correlated to fire intensity within two years after treatment. Key words: prescribed burning; disk trenching scarification; fire; Pinus banksiana; nutrients