Soil Base Cations Research Articles

Long‐Term Soil Chemistry Changes in Aggrading Forest Ecosystems

AbstractAssessing potential long‐term forest productivity requires identification of the processes regulating chemical changes in forest soils. We resampled the litter layer and upper two mineral soil horizons, A and AB/BA, in two aggrading southern Appalachian watersheds 20 yr after an earlier sampling. Soils from a mixed‐hardwood watershed exhibited a small but significant decrease in soil pH. Extractable base cation content declined substantially in both mineral horizons. For example, Ca2+ levels in the A horizon fell from 236 kg ha−1 in 1970 to 80 kg ha−1 in 1990. Proportionally, the decline was greatest for Mg2+, which dropped from 111 to 20 kg ha−1. A white pine (Pinus strobus L.) plantation was planted in 1956, after clear‐felling hardwoods and recutting sprouts for 15 yr. Soil pH and base cation concentrations declined in the A horizon from 1970 to 1990. Soil pH declined from 5.9 to 5.0 and Ca2+ levels from 534 to 288 kg ha−1. Cation content did not change significantly in the AB/BA soil horizon. Nutrient budgets were constructed using these soil and litter data plus existing data on weathering rates, forest productivity, and hydrologic fluxes and associated chemistry. Decreases in soil base cations and soil pH are attributed to leaching and to the sequestration of nutrients in biomass.

Effects of base cation fertilization on soil and foliage nutrient concentrations, and litter-fall and throughfall nutrient fluxes in a sugar maple forest

Application of base cation fertilizers is widely used to ameliorate decline symptoms in hardwood forests in southern Quebec, but little is known about the effects of fertilization on nutrient cycling. Control and fertilized plots in a sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) dominated stand were monitored over a 4-year period to determine the effects of fertilization on exchangeable soil base cations in soil, foliar nutrient concentrations, and fluxes of N, K, Ca, and Mg in litter fall and throughfall. Fertilization had a large, immediate effect on exchangeable K, whereas effects on Ca and Mg were delayed and restricted to the organic forest floor, presumably because of the lower solubility of the limestone-based Ca and Mg components of the fertilizer. Fertilization raised pH in the organic forest floor the second and third years after application but had no effect in the B horizon. Foliar K, Ca, and Mg were elevated in the year of fertilization, but foliar concentrations of Ca and Mg did not differ from, or were lower than, controls in following years. Litter-fall K flux was increased by fertilization, but litter-fall Ca and Mg fluxes and all through-fall base cation fluxes were unaffected. In control plots, nutrient concentrations in soil remained relatively constant throughout the study, but foliar concentrations and, in particular, litter-fall fluxes varied widely from year to year. This natural variation caused control plots to shift from a state of deficiency in N, Ca, and Mg to a nutrient-sufficient state between the first and second years of study. Fertilization effects are superimposed on a naturally variable nutrient cycling system, and controls on this variability must be understood if fertilizer response is to be accurately predicted.

Effects of watershed liming on terrestrial ecosystem processes

Watershed liming has been proposed to mitigate lake acidification and depletion of soil base cations. This paper reviews and synthesizes literature describing the effects of liming on natural terrestrial ecosystems, with a specific emphasis on watershed liming studies. Specifically, we look at the purpose of liming, types of lime, physiological role of calcium, lime effects on soil and belowground processes, and plant response to liming with special attention to growth and tissue chemistry, roots, and plant–plant interactions. Liming increases soil pH and either increases or decreases soil nutrient availability. Liming affects litter decomposition, mineral soil processes, root growth, plant nutrient uptake, and plant productivity. Interspecific plant interactions can be affected after liming. Specific soil and biotic responses depend upon the type and amount of lime applied, the period of observation, soil characteristics, and species composition.Key words: watershed liming, CaCO3, calcite, dolomite, calcium, ecosystem response to liming, wetland liming, forest liming, nutrient availability, soil acidity.

Fine-root growth and chemical composition in declining Central Ontario sugar maple stands

This study examines the condition of fine-root systems of healthy and declining sugar maples (Acersaccharum Marsh.) at two sites in Central Ontario, one moderately declining and the other severely declining. Roots are frequently sensitive indicators of soil nutrition, thus ingrowth cores (soil transplants) were used to assess the effect of bulk surface (F-layered Ah horizon) soils collected from beneath healthy or declining trees on fine-root chemistry and growth. Soil at each site was collected from healthy and declining trees and reciprocally transplanted (buried) in mesh bags, and roots were allowed to grow into the soil cores for 8 weeks. In addition to transplants of untreated soils, additional transplants of "healthy" and "decline" soils treated by either (i) steam sterilization to remove pathogens or (ii) fertilization with superphosphate were made. Root dry weight of healthy and declining trees was reduced 25–70% in untreated decline soils compared with healthy soils (p ≤ 0.007). This was consistent with lower Ca, Mg, Mn, and Fe in the soil solution of declining trees at the severely declining site and a lower Mn concentration and Ca/Al and Mg/Al ratios in the soil solution at the moderately declining site. Compared with roots of healthy trees, roots of declining trees had significantly lower Ca concentrations for both stands, and in addition, significantly lower concentrations of P, Mg, S, K, Mn, Al, Fe, and Zn in the more severely declining stand. The experimental soil transplants established that lower nutrient concentrations in soils from declining trees are reflected in the chemistry of roots growing in them. On the whole, the fertilizer treatment significantly increased root growth and the steam sterilization treatment had no effect on root growth. While this study shows that reduced nutrient availability in the rooting substrate is an important factor in decline, it is not known how recently this nutrient depletion has occurred, nor what is the cause. Although other mechanisms may be involved, reduced nutrient availability in the rooting substrate is consistent with the speculation that deposition of acidic salt solutions of sulphate and nitrate to these forest soils has caused accelerated soil base cation leaching losses that are reflected in nutritional deficiencies and growth decline.

SO2 and NH3 deposition as possible causes for the extinction of Arnica montana L.

Soil and vegetation descriptions were made of stands of Arnica montana, a heathland species declining in The Netherlands. Stands where A. montana had recently disappeared were also examined. Soils where A. montana still occurred were richer in Mg, Ca, K, and Na, and had a higher soil pH, higher cation/N ratios and a lower Al/Ca ratio than soils where A. montana had disappeared during the last decade. Soil base cation contents were reflected in above-ground biomass base cation contents. A relation between soil N content (expressed in total soluble N, ammonium, and nitrate) and NH3 deposition was not found. Contents of exchangeable Ca, K, Na, and soil N varied strongly within a season. Stands with A. montana still present also had a relatively high number of other dicots, indicating that other Violion caninae herbs simultaneously decline with A. montana. The extinction of A. montana is correlated with a low soil pH and strongly correlated with low levels of available base cations and a high Al/Ca ration. Since soil acidification due to deposition of SO2 and NHyincreases leaching of base cations and Al3+ mobilization in the soil, the decline of A. montana may be explained by the acidification of nutrient-poor soils.

SPODOSOL CATION RELEASE AND BUFFERING OF ACIDIC INPUTS

The release and leaching of base cations and aluminum by acid additions to O and B soil horizons was examined using both batch and column experimental methods. Solution and soil contact time was a significant factor in the amount of cation release and leaching from the B horizon. Increased acidity resulted in greater levels of base cations and aluminum being released or leached from all soils. The type of acid anion, NO3− or SO42− strongly influenced the amount of soil base cation released; Ca2+ was much lower in the H2SO4 extracted solutions (maximum 20.0 versus 110 μeq. g−1 from the O horizon and 0.40 versus 2.0 μeq. g-1 from the B horizon for H2SO4 and HNO3 solutions, respectively). Gypsum formation was suggested as a possible explanation for the decreased Ca2+ levels; however, SO42− adsorption was also believed to contribute to the reduction in base cation release. Proton buffering was due to three soil processes which included: cation exchange reactions, protonation of organic constituents, and SO42− adsorption. Differences in contact time and solution composition were deemed to be important factors in cation release from these soils.

Liming and fertilization of acid forest soil: Short-term effects on runoff from small catchments

Increased atmospheric deposition of strong acids and deposition of potentially acidifying compounds (e.g. ammonium) has caused a decline in pH and exchangeable base cations in forest soils in Sweden. In recent years, attention has been paid to liming of forest soil as a method to counteract the effects of acid deposition. Experiments with liming, fertilization and woodash treatment of acid forest soils started in 1984. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of low doses of lime (500 to 1500 kg ha−1) in combination with N fertilizers on tree growth, nutritional status of trees as well as soil, and runoff chemistry. This paper describes the short term effects of liming and fertilization on runoff from ten small catchments in two regions in south Sweden. The effects of liming were small in both areas. In the catchments fertilized with N (NH4NO3), a substantial leakage of various N species appeared in runoff after treatment. The increased N output was dominated by nitrate. The excess leakage of N during 2 yr after fertilization was 25 and 13% as an average of the applied N in the two study areas. The mobile nitrate increased the base cations output via runoff with 10 to 100% during 1 yr after N treatment. The runoff of Al increased with 60 to 100% the first year in the fertilized catchments. Mobilization of cations was also influenced by ammonium, especially K that was exchanged by ammonium on the surface of the soil particles. The effects of woodash-treatment were small, however, sulfate in the ash leaked out following application and about 100% of the added sulfate was found in runoff during the first year.

Nutrient cycling in adirondack conifer plantations: Is acidic deposition an influencing factor?

An evaluation of the influences of acidic deposition and forest development on nutrient cycling and conifer productivity at the Charles Lathrop Pack Demonstration Forest, near Warrensburg, New York, was made. This site has a known land use history and is the source of 60 years of soils and silviculture research. Soils were characterized by a nutritional imbalance and support conifer plantations that exhibited declining growth. Historical and contemporary evaluations of nutrient cycling in 47- to 57-yr-old red pine plantations provided no evidence that acidic deposition has had an adverse influence on nutrient cycling. Ap horizon pH decreased from 1949 to 1962 but remained the same from 1962 to 1985. In the B horizon, pH was stable from 1962 to 1985. Exchangeable potassium levels in the Ap horizon fluctuated but did not significantly change from 1949 to 1985: in the B horizon it increased during the period 1962 to 1985. Levels of potassium in the foliage of red pine in unfertilized plots increased from 1949 to 1985, paralleling increases in B horizon potassium levels during that period. There was no increase in cation leaching from the mineral soil that could be attributed to anthropogenic inputs of NO3− and SO42− due to retention of N and S in this ecosystem. Soil solution K+ chemistry was similar between the 1960's and the 1980's. Mineral soil pH and base cation status were differentially influenced by tree species since 1930. In general, temporal and contemporary trends of mineral soil pH and base cation status of the soil and foliage indicated that forest development has been the dominant factor influencing nutrient cycling in these conifer plantations. While results of these studies do not conclusively preclude involvement of acidic deposition effects as part of a forest decline syndrome, they indicate the importance of recognizing and measuring natural variability in forest soil processes due to differential species effects and forest aggradation. Because these effects may have a greater impact on stand productivity than the effects of acidic deposition, they can confound interpretation of acidic deposition research if not clearly understood.

The relationship of catchment topography and soil hydraulic characteristics to lake alkalinity in the northeastern United States

We undertook the task of determining whether base flow alkalinity of surface waters in the northeastern United States is related to indices of soil contact time and flow path partitioning that are derived from topographic and soils information. The influence of topography and soils on catchment hydrology has been incorporated previously in the variable source area model TOPMODEL as the relative frequency distribution of ln (a/Kb tan B), where ln is the Naperian logarithm, “a” is the area drained per unit contour, K is the saturated hydraulic conductivity, b is the soil depth, and tan B is the slope. Using digital elevation and soil survey data, we calculated the ln (a/Kb tan B) distribution for 145 catchments. Indices of flow path partitioning and soil contact time were derived from the ln (a/Kb tan B) distributions and compared to measurements of alkalinity in lakes to which the catchments drain. We found that alkalinity was, in general, positively correlated with the index of soil contact time, whereas the correlation between alkalinity and the flow path partitioning index was weak at best. A portion of the correlation between the soil contact time index and alkalinity was attributable to covariation with soil base saturation and cation exchange capacity, while another portion was found to be independent of these factors. Although our results indicate that catchments with long soil contact time indices are most likely to produce high alkalinity base flow, a sensitivity analysis of TOPMODEL suggests that surface waters of these same watersheds may be susceptible to alkalinity depressions during storm events, due to the role of flow paths.

Nitrification, soil acidification and streamwater chemistry following deglaciation, glacier bay national park and preserve

A major tool used in the assessment of anthropic atmospheric effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems is biogeochemical nutrient cycling and budgets. However, to be most effective such study should be done in an ecosystem context. Also some assessment of natural variation in factors affecting nutrient cycling must be in place before trends, often subtle and long-term, attributable to man can be statistically quantified. The input and output balance of chemical species in watershed ecosystems is considerably influenced by ecosystem succession. It is hypothesized that during primary ecosystem succession chemical element output is initially relatively high due to rapid acidification and lack of plant uptake. Outputs decline during the period of high ecosystem productivity and biomass accumulation, and they again rise during late successional stages to approximate inputs from precipitation weathering, and aerosol capture. Glacier Bay provides a unique opportunity to quantify many mechanisms responsible for variation in nutrient cycles without the need for site manipulation. This is especially true for quantifying the rate and magnitude of natural acidification in ecosystems. The park has a spectrum of watersheds differing in stage of primary and secondary succession following deglaciation. These sites are not now subjected to or altered by anthropic atmospheric inputs. The objectives of this research were (1) determine the rate of soil chemical change which occurs following deglaciation, (2) relate soil acidification to presence of organic matter, soil NO inf3 (sup-) , and total N, (3) estimate the downward movement of ionic species within the soil profiles with increasing acidification from advancing plant succession, and (4) determine if such processes and ionic movements might be reflected in watershed stream ionic outputs. We studied five watersheds ranging from 40-350 years since deglaciation. Soil samples were collected and lysimeters installed in seven vegetation successional stages following deglaciation. An anion of ecological importance and a common air contaminant is NO inf3 (sup-) , and its discharge in streamflow from early successional ecosystems was found to be high. The terrestrial biota in such systems was dominated by Alnus sinuata, a major nitrogen fixer. Stream discharge of NO inf3 (sup-) suggested that early successional ecosystem N fixation exceeded biotic uptake. This was confirmed by examining NO inf3 (sup-) in soil extractions and lysimeters. This process was particularly evident beneath >20-year old Alnus (forty years since deglaciation). concurrent with increased NO inf3 (sup-) concentrations below the rooting zone was increased H(+) which increased 100x during 25 years of primary succession. This natural acidification from a mobile NO inf3 (sup-) ion resulted in an pronounced increase in soil base cation leaching and mobilization of aluminium in the soil profile. The magnitude and short time required for such acidification greatly exceeded anything projected or modeled for systems impacted by anthropic inputs. Stream SO inf4 (sup2-) concentrations also were high relative to precipitation inputs suggesting mineralization of sulfur within the ecosystem and/or poor soil adsorption of SO inf4 (sup2-) . This is an important finding in such ecosystems where cation nutrient ion levels are often very low. Should atmospheric inputs of SO inf4 (sup2-) increase additional loss of cations appears imminent. These data suggest that most early successional ecosystems at Glacier Bay would be sensitive to anthropic inputs of both NO inf3 (sup-) and SO inf4 (sup2-) . This is unusual in other ecosystems where many conserve ionic NO inf3 (sup-) inputs, and older systems have considerable SO inf4 (sup2-) adsorption capacity. The effect of any increased atmospheric inputs of these ions would be accelerated cation leaching and ecosystem acidification.