Full length article
Soil properties and maple–beech regeneration a decade after liming in a northern hardwood stand

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2008.02.026Get rights and content

Abstract

Soil properties, regeneration, sugar maple (SM, Acer saccharum Marsh.) crown dieback, and light interception were evaluated following dolomitic lime application (CaMg(CO3)2; 0, 2, 5, 10 and 20 t ha−1) in a base-poor and declining northern hardwood stand of Quebec (Canada). Ten years after liming, soil pH, cation exchange capacity and base saturation increased with the lime rate. Meanwhile, concentrations of exchangeable K, Na, and acidity (0–20 cm) decreased. Concentrations and content of total carbon, organic matter, and total N decreased in the top sampled soil layer, mainly for the highest lime rate. Mean crown dieback of SM ranked from 0 to 3.4% among lime treatments, while it ranked 18.4% for the unlimed controls. Light interception by the canopy responded with an opposite pattern to crown dieback, with higher interception in lime treatments and lower in control. Proportion and diameter of SM regeneration stems increased with lime rate while proportion of American beech (AB, Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) regeneration stems decreased in the understory. Height and stem diameter of the three taller regeneration stems (mainly AB) in each plot were inversely correlated with lime rate. Overall, the results suggest that the increase in soil fertility following liming had a beneficial effect on SM regeneration within 10 years, even if light availability was lower under treated SM than under control, and had an overall negative impact on AB regeneration.

Introduction

Sugar maple (SM; Acer saccharum Marsh.) has a broad distribution in North America, and thrives throughout the northeastern United States and southeastern regions of Canada. Many studies in the Northeast have demonstrated the importance of calcium (Ca) for SM vitality (Heisey, 1995, Ouimet and Camiré, 1995, Wilmot et al., 1995, Wilmot et al., 1996, Sharpe et al., 1999, Horsley et al., 2000, Horsley et al., 2002, Moore et al., 2000, Duchesne et al., 2002, Moore and Ouimet, 2006). Calcium, the fifth most abundant element in trees, is an important component for wood formation and maintenance of cell wall (e.g. Lawrence et al., 1995). This nutrient also plays a role in fine-root growth of SM (Adams and Hutchinson, 1992). Moreover, some studies suggest better photosynthetic rates for SM with increasing Ca availability (Ellsworth and Liu, 1994, Wilmot et al., 1996). In recent decades, however, acid deposition increased leaching losses from soil of base cations, particularly Ca, above the replenishment rate by chemical weathering and atmospheric depositions, causing a reduction in the availability of mineral nutrients in some non-calcareous soils (Bailey et al., 2005, Houle et al., 1997, Likens et al., 1998, Ouimet et al., 2001, Ouimet et al., 2006, Watmough and Dillon, 2003).

Although other hypotheses were developed to explain the failure of SM regeneration and the large increase of pole-size American beech (AB; Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) trees observed in northeastern North America in last decades, such as the indirect effect of beech bark disease (Hane et al., 2003), recent studies suggest that acid deposition and subsequent depletion of base cations and acidification of soils, combined with SM dieback in some areas, are another likely explanation to this phenomenon (Jenkins, 1997, Duchesne et al., 2005). Moreover, the absence of AB growth response to liming noted in the Long et al. (1997) study, contrary to SM, suggests that AB is not highly sensitive to the acid–base status of soils. This reasoning seriously questions the sustainability of SM in Ca-deficient and declining northern hardwood stands, and suggests that the importance of AB in many regions could increase at the expense of SM if no intervention is taken regarding Ca deficiency. It has been demonstrated that soil exchangeable Ca depletion and its influence on seedling dynamics could lead to substantial decreases in SM canopy dominance within a single forest generation (<125 years, Kobe et al., 2002).

To restore soil Ca status and SM tree health, Ca addition has been tested in Ca-poor northern hardwood soils (Wilmot et al., 1996, Long et al., 1997, Moore et al., 2000, Moore and Ouimet, 2006, Juice et al., 2006). Although beneficial effects of Ca treatment on SM trees were demonstrated in these studies, only a few of them have evaluated the effect of this treatment on SM regeneration (Long et al., 1999, Kobe et al., 2002, Juice et al., 2006, Bigelow and Canham, 2007). In Pennsylvania, Long et al. (1999) observed that SM seedling survival was higher (70%) in limed (22.4 t ha−1) compared with unlimed plots (32%), 5 years after treatment. In New Hampshire, Kobe et al. (2002) observed a 52% increase in relative diameter growth of SM seedlings in Ca-amended plots (100 kg Ca ha−1) compared to controls, after 2 years. In the same area, Juice et al. (2006) also reported a much higher survivorship of SM seedlings on Ca-treated (36.6%) than on a control watershed (10.2%), 5 years after treatment.

Given the importance of regeneration for future forest composition and structure, we evaluated the mid-term (11 years) effect of liming on regeneration in a Ca-poor northern hardwood stand. We hypothesized that liming changed soil properties and that these changes caused a beneficial effect on SM regeneration abundance and growth, but no effect on AB regeneration.

Section snippets

Site description

The Lake Clair Watershed (46′57″, 71′40″, 285 m a.s.l.) is located approximately 50 km northwest of Quebec City, QC. The forest stand is uneven-aged and dominated by SM in association with AB and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.), with basal areas of 17.3, 7.3, and 4.0 m2 ha−1, respectively (2006 survey). Dominant and codominant SM trees are between 85 and 130 years old with an average height and diameter at breast height (DBH) of 20.2 m and 27.6 cm, respectively. Dendrochronological

Soil

Ten years after the lime treatments, soil properties changed with the lime application rate, at least down to the deepest soil layer sampled (20–40 cm; Table 1). In the first 12 cm of soil, pH increased and exchangeable acidity decreased in a linear fashion with the lime rate, while concentrations of exchangeable Ca and Mg, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and base saturation (BS) increased in a quadratic fashion, mainly because of the 20 t ha−1 lime rate (p  0.014). Soil pH and BS increased from (mean

Liming effect on soil

After 10 years, liming drastically changed the properties of this soil, particularly for the 20 t ha−1 lime rate, with effects decreasing downward in the soil profile. Liming increased soil pH, exchangeable Ca and Mg, CEC and BS in the first 20 cm, and its effect was also apparent down to 40 cm. Many of the liming effects on the soil in this experiment were already observable after 5 years (Houle et al., 2002). Magnesium appears to have moved downward in the soil profile more rapidly than Ca (Table

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec (project no. 112310063). We wish to thank Claude Camiré from Université Laval who supervised the experimental implementation, Benoît Toussaint, Jacques Martineau, Jean Gagné and Mario Saint-Germain for field assistance, Louis Blais for statistical advice, the chemistry laboratory of the Direction de la recherche forestière for chemical analyses, and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive

References (67)

  • C.M. Adams et al.

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

    Can. J. For. Res.

    (1992)
  • K. Arii et al.

    The influence of overstory trees and abiotic factors on the sapling community in an old-growth Fagus–Acer forest

    Ecoscience

    (2002)
  • S.W. Bailey et al.

    Thirty years of change in forest soils of the Allegheny Plateau, Pennsylvania

    Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.

    (2005)
  • M. Beaudet et al.

    Possible mechanisms of sugar maple regeneration failure and replacement by beech in the Boisé-des-Muir old-growth forest, Québec

    Écoscience

    (1999)
  • V.L. Blette et al.

    Effects of watershed liming on the soil chemistry of Woods Lake, New York

    Biogeochemistry

    (1996)
  • Canada Soil Survey Committee, 1998. The Canadian System of Soil Classification, Publ. 1646, 3rd ed. Ottawa,...
  • C.D. Canham

    Growth and canopy architecture of shadetolerant trees: response to canopy gaps

    Ecology

    (1988)
  • J.P. Caspersen et al.

    Seedling recruitment in a northern temperate forest: the relative importance of supply and establishment limitation

    Can. J. For. Res.

    (2005)
  • W.G. Cochran

    Sampling Technics

    (1977)
  • B. Côté et al.

    Possible interference of fertilization in the natural recovery of a declining sugar maple stand in Quebec

    Plant Soil

    (1995)
  • F.A. Dijkstra et al.

    The effect of organic acids on base cation leaching from the forest floor

    Eur. J. Soil Sci.

    (2001)
  • L. Duchesne et al.

    Basal area growth of sugar maple in relation to acid deposition, stand health, and soil nutrients

    J. Environ. Qual.

    (2002)
  • L. Duchesne et al.

    Assessment of sugar maple health based on basal area growth pattern

    Can. J. For. Res.

    (2003)
  • D.S. Ellsworth et al.

    Photosynthesis and canopy nutrition of four sugar maple forests on acid soils in northern Vermont

    Can. J. For. Res.

    (1994)
  • E.N. Hane

    Indirect effects of beech bark disease on sugar maple seedling survival

    Can. J. For. Res.

    (2003)
  • E.N. Hane et al.

    Phytotoxicity of American beech leaf leachate to sugar maple seedlings in a greenhouse experiment

    Can. J. For. Res.

    (2003)
  • R.M. Heisey

    Growth trends and nutritional status of sugar maple stands on the Appalachian plateau of Pennsylvania, USA

    Water Air Soil Pollut.

    (1995)
  • S.B. Horsley et al.

    Factors associated with the decline disease of sugar maple on the Allegheny Plateau

    Can. J. For. Res.

    (2000)
  • S.B. Horsley et al.

    Health of eastern North American sugar maple forests and factors affecting decline

    N. J. Appl. For.

    (2002)
  • D. Houle et al.

    Response of the Lake Clair Watershed (Duchesnay, Québec) to changes in precipitation chemistry (1988–1994)

    Can. J. For. Res.

    (1997)
  • D. Houle et al.

    Interactions of atmospheric deposition with a mixed hardwood and a coniferous forest canopy at the Lake Clair Watershed (Duchesnay, Québec)

    Can. J. For. Res.

    (1999)
  • D. Houle et al.

    Soil and tree-ring chemistry response to liming in a sugar maple stand

    J. Env. Qual.

    (2002)
  • J.W. Hughes et al.

    Seed dispersal and colonization in a disturbed northern hardwood forest

    Bull. Torrey Bot. Club.

    (1988)
  • Cited by (37)

    • Northern hardwoods seedlings respond to a complex of environmental factors when deer herbivory is limited

      2023, Forest Ecology and Management
      Citation Excerpt :

      Fencing is generally the most effective control for enhancing seedling survival and growth in the presence of abundant deer (Russell et al., 2001; Redick and Jacobs, 2020). However, it is not clear that deer are the sole or even main cause of many regeneration failures (Moore et al., 2008; Rutherford and Schmitz, 2010; Matonis et al., 2011; Henry et al., 2021; Knapp et al., 2021), and accurate assessments of deer damage could prevent unnecessary investment in fencing. Several methods have been proposed and tested to determine the impacts of deer browsing on regenerating northern hardwoods, including estimates of fresh browsing damage (Frelich and Lorimer, 1985; Morellet et al., 2001; Chevrier et al., 2012), height measurements (Rawinski, 2016), ratios of preferred seedlings (Sweetapple and Nugent, 2004), estimates of twig age (Waller et al., 2017), and browse rates of planted “sentinel” seedlings (Blossey et al., 2019).

    • Liming improves sap characteristics of sugar maple over the long term

      2020, Forest Ecology and Management
      Citation Excerpt :

      However, sap producing stands on acid, base-poor soils are exposed to problems that could eventually compromise SM sustainability. Poor vitality of mature SM trees (Wilmot et al., 1995; Huggett et al., 2007; Ouimet et al., 2008; Long et al., 2011; Moore et al., 2012; Ouimet et al., 2017), SM regeneration failure (Jenkins 1997; Park and Yanai 2009; Moore et al., 2012) and a shift in abundance of SM toward American beech (Duchesne et al., 2005; Duchesne and Ouimet 2008; Moore et al., 2008; Duchesne et al., 2010; Park and Yanai 2009; Ouimet et al., 2017) have already been documented in several areas of northeastern North America. These problems could reduce sap production if no action is taken to reverse this trend.

    • Soil and sugar maple response 15years after dolomitic lime application

      2012, Forest Ecology and Management
      Citation Excerpt :

      The soils still showed major differences with the lime rate 15 years after treatment. The magnitude of change in the forest floor after 15 years is similar to those observed 10 and 5 years earlier (Moore et al., 2008; Houle et al., 2002). Although the soils of this experiment were previously sampled in 1999 and in 2004, the sampling technique, depth of sampling, and time of year was different at each sampling time, and thus, the direct comparison among the samplings shall be made with caution.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text