Nitrogen leaching following clear-cutting and soil scarification at a Scots pine site – A modelling study of a fertilization experiment

• Boreal forest stands fertilized with nitrogen (N) might be susceptible to elevated N leaching following clear-cutting, with consequences for water quality and soil acidification. Here, we studied a forest fertilization experiment with N, 165 Hagfors, in Sweden during the first six years (2006–2011) following clear-cutting. The N fertilization treatments were 0 kg ha−1 (0 N) and 450 kg ha−1 of N (450 N), supplied during 1981–1992 to a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand: the stand was harvested in March 2006. Following clear-cutting, disc trenching was performed and furrows (F), ridges (R) and areas in-between two furrows (IB) were created. We calculated the N leaching fluxes and ecosystem N budget during 2006–2011 as affected by previous N fertilization, disc trenching and interactions thereof, at Hagfors by the use of a process-based biogeophysical ecosystem model (CoupModel). The model was calibrated against measurements of soil water and temperature dynamics and previously reported measurements of N in soil solution, soil organic matter and vegetation biomass. Criteria for acceptance of model estimates were based on the range enclosed by the 95% confidence intervals of the mean of the field data used in calibration sampled at low frequency (1–2 occasions) and a combination of the mean error and the coefficient of the determination for variables sampled at a higher frequency (28–1921 occasions). The accepted model estimates of the mean annual leaching rates of N were 3.1 (range 1.4–22.7) and 2.4 (range 0.8–7.0) kg ha−1 of N year−1 in the treatments 0 N and 450 N, respectively, without disc trenching. Disc trenching increased N leaching during the regeneration phase, more so in the 450 N treatment (mean 6.1, range 1.9–16.7 kg ha−1 of N year−1) than in the 0 N treatment (mean 4.6, range 1.9–12.9 kg ha−1 of N year−1). Overall, differences in the posterior model parameter estimates between N treatments and disc trenched treatments F, R and IB were related to the soil physical component: the differences resulted in enhanced drainage in the disc trenched treatments. We conclude that vegetation biomass N accumulation controlled soil water N leaching, and disc trenching increased N leaching from the previously N fertilized plots at Hagfors by its effects on water drainage flow and vegetation N uptake. This finding warrants more research since N fertilization followed by soil scarification in boreal forests is a practice which may increase in the future.

Ämnesord

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Skogsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Forest Science (hsv//eng)

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Markvetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Soil Science (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Disc trenching

Ecosystem modelling

Forest regeneration

Nitrogen cycling

Nitrogen leaching

Budget control

Calibration

Compressive strength

Ecology

Ecosystems

Leaching

Nitrogen

Nitrogen fertilizers

Reforestation

Soil moisture

Soils

Trenching

Vegetation

Water quality

Fertilization experiment

Forest fertilization

Soil organic matters

Temperature dynamics

Forestry

Pinus sylvestris

Nitrogen leaching

Forest regeneration

Nitrogen cycling

Disc trenching

Ecosystem modelling

carbon-use efficiency

boreal forest

temperate forests

ground

vegetation

N fertilization

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