The concentrations of the foliar and surface soil nutrients and the variation with species and stand age were studied inPinus spp. plantations in Zhanggutai area, northeast China. The results showed that the total N, total P and C: N ratio of the soil inP. sylvestris var.mongolica stands were significantly higher in comparison with those inP. tabulaeformis andP. densiflora stands. ForP. sylvestris var.mongolica, the foliar P concentration appeared to decrease with age, and the foliar N and K concentrations did not show a consistent change with age. As for the different tree species of the similar age, the foliar N and P concentrations were significantly different (p<0.05), being withP. sylvestris var.mongolica>P. densiflora>P. tabulaeformis. The foliar N: P ratio ofP. densiflora significantly was higher thanP. sylvestris var.mongolica andP. tabulaeformis, while the foliar K was no obvious difference between the three tree species. There were significant correlation (p<0.05) between soil total N and P, soil organic matter and total P, foliar N and P, but it did not show significant correlations between soil and foliar nutrient concentrations, which might attribute to the excessive litter raking, overgrazing and low soil moisture in this area. Based on the foliar N: P ratio, we introduced a combination threshold index of N: P ratio with their absolute foliar nutrient concentrations to determine the possible limiting nutrient. According to the critical N: P ratio and their absolute foliar N, P concentrations, theP. sylvestris var.mongolica stands showed a decreased N limitation degree with age, theP. densiflora stands showed unlimited by N and P in the whole, and theP. tabulaeformis stands showed co-limited by N and P. No significant difference in soil nutrient concentrations of the surface soils was found between 45, 29, 20-yr-oldPinus sylvestris var.mongolica plantation stands. Keywords coniferous trees - foliar nutrient concentration - limiting nutrients - N - P ratio - Zhanggutai sandy land CLC number S718.55
The experiment was conducted at the Ganqika Sandy Land Ecological Station in Ke抏rqinzuoyihouqi County, Inner Mongolia, in a growing season from April 28 to October 28, 2001. Peat and weathered coal were added to the aeolian sandy soil in different ratios. Two-year-old Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings and plastic pots were used in the experiment. The experimental results indicated that: 1) the peat and weathered coal could significantly improve the physical and chemical prop-erties of aeolian sandy soil, and thus promoted the growth of seedlings; 2) the effect of peat on seedling growth, including height, base diameter, root length and biomass, presented an order of 8%>10%>5%>2%>0 in terms of peat contents, and the effect of weathered coal on seedling growth presented an order of 5%>8%>10%>2%>0 in terms of weathered coal contents for height and basal diameter, 5%>8%>2% >10%>0 for root length, and 5%>2%>8% >10%>0 for biomass; 3) the effects of peat were generally greater than that of weathered coal. Meanwhile, 8% peat was the best treatment to promote the growth of P. sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings.
