Abstract
Containerized Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb) Hook) were reared from seed at four fertilizer levels (0, 15, 45, 75 mg N seedling-1 season-1) and two topdressing schedules (conventional or exponential) for a 22-week greenhouse rotation to assess growth, nutrition and nutrient loading capacity of seedlings. Extra P supplemented high fertilization (or nutrient loading) treatments to test for induced deficiency of this element. The schedule and rate of fertilization significantly affected growth and nutrient dynamics of the seedlings. Steady-state nutrition and superior growth performance were achieved by seedlings fertilized exponentially at the operational dose (15 mg N), yielding 23, 72 and 52% more in respective biomass, N uptake and P uptake than seedlings fertilized conventionally at the equivalent dose. The improved growth and fertilizer efficiency were attributed to close synchronization of exponential nutrient supply with exponential growth and nutrient demand of plants. High dose exponential fertilization (45 and 75 mg N) induced steady state-nutrition late in the season, increasing seedling N and P uptake by 72–83% and 50–96% compared to low dose exponential fertilization, demonstrating effective nutrient loading of plants without changing biomass. The extra P stimulated P uptake without altering growth or N uptake, thus P was probably not limiting during the greenhouse culture despite high N additions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen S E (Ed.) 1974 Chemical Analysis of Ecological Materials. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Burdett A N 1990 Physiological process in plantation establishment and the development of specifications for forest planting stock. Can. J. For. Res. 20, 415–427.
Burdett A N, Herring I J and Thompson C F 1984 Early growth of planted spruce. Can. J. For. Res. 14, 644–651.
Eastin E F 1978 Use of an AutoAnalyzer for total nitrogen determination in plants. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 9, 107–113.
Fan S H, Yu X and Zhong A 1995 Studies on nutrition management of Chinese fir seedling cultivation. J. Fujian Coll. For. 15, 293–300. (In Chinese with English Abstract).
Fang Q 1992 Silviculture techniques for preventing soil fertility decline in continuously cropped Chinese fir plantations. In Research on Site Degradation of Timber Plantation. Eds. Division of Forest Ecology, Chinese Society of Forestry. pp 251–256. Chinese Press of Science and Technology, Beijing. (In Chinese).
Flaig H and Mohr H 1992 Assimilation of nitrate and ammonium by the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) seedling under conditions of high nitrogen supply. Physiol. Plant. 84, 568–576.
He Z Y and Yu X T 1992 Study on problems of soil degradation in continuously cropped Chinese fir plantation. In Research on Site Degradation of Timber Plantation. Eds. Division of Forest Ecology, Chinese Society of Forestry. pp 243–250. Chinese Press of Science and Technology, Beijing. (In Chinese).
Hong J S. 1994 Selection of superior provenances of Chinese fir for plantations. For. Res. 7, 1–25. (In Chinese with English Abstract).
Huang S 1993 Silvicultural Techniques in China. P175. Chinese Press of Science and Technology, Beijing, China. (In Chinese).
Hüttle R F 1990 Nutrient supply and fertilizer experiments in view of N saturation. Plant Soil 128, 45–58.
Imo M and Timmer V R 1992 Nitrogen uptake of mesquite seedlings at conventional and exponential fertilization schedules. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 56, 927–934.
Ingestad T 1982 Relative addition rate and external concentration: Driving variables used in plant nutrition research. Plant Cell Environ. 5, 443–453.
Ingestad T and Agren G I 1995 Plant nutrition and growth: Basic principles. Plant and Soil 168–169, 15–20.
Ingestad T and Lund A 1979 Nitrogen stress in birch seedlings: Growth technique and growth. Physiol. Plant. 45, 137–148.
Ingestad T and Lund A 1986 Theory and techniques for steady-state mineral nutrition and growth of plants. Scand. J. For. Res. 1, 439–453.
Jia H 1996 Studies on nutritional characteristics of Chinese fir and Slash pine nursery stocks. For. Res. 9, 81–87. (In Chinese with English Abstract).
Lowther J R 1980 Use of a single sulphuric-hydrogen peroxide digest for the analysis of Pinus radiata needles. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 11, 175–188.
Maftoun M and Pritchett W L 1970 Effects of added nitrogen on the availability of P to slash pine on two Lower Coastal Plain soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 34, 685–690.
Malik V and Timmer V R 1995 Interaction of nutrient loaded black spruce seedlings with neighboring vegetation in greenhouse environments. Can. J. For. Res. 25, 1017–1023.
Malik V and Timmer V R 1996 Growth, nutrient dynamics, and interspecific competition of nutrient-loaded black spruce seedlings on a boreal mixedwood site. Can. J. For. Res. 26, 1651–1659.
Malik V and Timmer V R 1998 Biomass partitioning and nitrogen retranslocation in black spruce seedlings on competitive mixed-wood sites: a bioassay study. Can. J. For. Res. 28, 206–215.
McAlister J A and Timmer V R 1998 Nutrient enrichment of white spruce seedlings during nursery culture and initial plantation establishment. Tree Physiol. 18, 195–202.
Microsoft Corporation 1994 Microsoft Excel User's Guide. Microsoft Corporation, U.S.
Miller B D and Timmer V R 1994 Steady-state nutrition of Pinus resinosa seedlings: response to nutrient loading, irrigation and hardening regimes. Tree Physiol. 14, 1327–1338.
Munson A D and Bernier P Y 1993 Comparing natural and planted spruce seedlings. II. Nutrient uptake and efficiency of use. Can. J. For. Res. 23, 2435–2442.
Pritchett W L 1973 The effect of nitrogen and P fertilizers on the growth and composition of loblolly pine and slash pine seedlings in pots. Proc. Soil Crop Sci. Soc. Fla. 32, 161–165.
Raese J T 1985 Response of ‘delicious’ apple trees in a greenhouse to rates and forms of nitrogen and phosphorus in low phosphorus soil. HortScience 20, 234–236.
SAS Institute Inc. 1989 SAS/STAT user's guide. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, N.C.
Sheng W T 1992 Soil degradation and its control techniques for Chinese fir timber plantation. In Research on site degradation of timber plantation. Eds. Division of Forest Ecology, Chinese Society of Forestry. pp 49–71. Chinese Press of Science and Technology, Beijing.
Teng Y and Timmer V R 1994 Nitrogen and phosphorus interactions in an intensively managed nursery soil-plan system. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 58, 232–238.
Timmer V R 1997 Exponential nutrient loading: a new fertilization technique to improve seedling performance on competitive sites. New Forests 13, 279–299.
Timmer V R and Aidelbaum A S 1996 Manual for exponential nutrient loading of seedlings to improve outplanting performance on competitive forest sites. Natural Resources Cananada, Canadian Forest Service, NODA/NFP Tech. Rep. TR-25.
Timmer V R and Armstrong G 1987 Growth and nutrition of Pinus resinosa seedlings at exponentially increasing nutrient additions. Can. J. For. Res. 17, 644–647.
Timmer V R and Armstrong G 1989 Growth and nutrition of containerized Pinus resinosa seedlings at varying moisture regimes. New Forests 3, 171–180.
Timmer V R and Munson A D 1991 Site-specific growth and nutrient uptake of planted Picea mariana in the Ontario Clay Belt. IV. Nitrogen loading response. Can. J. For. Res. 21, 1058–1065.
Timmer V R, Armstrong G and Miller B D 1991 Steady-state nutrient preconditioning and early outplanting performance of containerized black spruce seedlings. Can. J. For. Res. 21, 585–594.
van den Driesshe R 1985 Late-season fertilization, mineral nutrient reserves, and retranslocation in planted Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings. For. Sci. 31, 485–496.
van den Driesshe R and Ponsford D 1995 Nitrogen induced potassium deficiency in white spruce (Picea glauca) and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) seedlings. Can. J. For. Res. 25, 1445–1454.
Yu X T 1982 Chinese Fir. Fujian Press of Science and Technology, Fuzhou, China. (In Chinese).
Zeng L Z, Chen L J and Huang Q L 1994 Soil factors limiting the growth of Chinese fir plantation. J. Fujian Coll. For. 14(1), 11–15. (In Chinese with English Abstract).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xu, X., Timmer, V.R. Biomass and nutrient dynamics of Chinese fir seedlings under conventional and exponential fertilization regimes. Plant and Soil 203, 313–322 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004307325328
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004307325328