Aspen Bibliography

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Plant Soil

Volume

311

First Page

51

Last Page

59

Publication Date

2008

Abstract

When fertilizer is broadcast in boreal forest stands, the applied nutrients must pass through a thick layer of either feather moss or leaf litter which covers the forest floor. In a growth chamber experiment we tested the transfer of N through living feather moss or aspen litter when fertilized with urea ((NH2)2CO) or NH4NO3 at a rate of 100 kg ha−1 and under different watering regimes. When these organic substrates were frequently watered to excess they allowed the highest transfer of nutrients through, although 72% of the applied fertilizer was captured in the substrates. In a field experiment we also fertilized moss and aspen litter with urea ((NH2)2CO) or NH4NO3 at a more operationally relevant rate of 330 kg ha−1. We captured the NO3− or NH4+ by ion exchange resin at the substrate–mineral soil interface. In contrast to the growth chamber experiment, this fertilizer rate killed the moss and there was no detectable increase in nutrient levels in the aspen litter or feather moss layers. Instead, the urea was more likely transferred into the mineral soil; mineral soil of the urea treatment had 1.6 times as much extractable N compared to the NH4NO3 treatment. This difference between the growth chamber and field studies was attributed to observed fertilizer- damage to the living moss and possibly damage to the litter microflora due to the higher rate of fertilization in the field. In addition, the early and substantial rainfall after fertilization in the field experiment produced conditions for rapid leaching of N through the organic layers into the mineral soil. In the field, only 8% of the urea-N that was applied was captured by the ion exchange resin, while 34% was captured in for the NH4NO3 fertilization. Thus, the conditions for rapid leaching in the field moved much of the N in the form of urea through the organic layers and into the mineral soil before it was hydrolyzed.

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