Nitrate leaching in cottonwood and loblolly pine biomass plantations along a nitrogen fertilization gradient

Abstract Nitrogen (N) fertilization has become a basic component of short-rotation woody biomass plantation management. This study was conducted to examine N leaching losses from 7-year-old cottonwood ( Populus deltoids Marsh.) and loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda L.) plantations treated with repeated N fertilization for seven years. We also wanted to establish an optimal N fertilization rate, which would yield acceptable tree growth with minimal groundwater contamination. The plantations were located in northwest Florida on a well-drained, Redbay sandy loam (a fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic Rhodic Paleudlt). N fertilizer was applied through a drip irrigation system with rates of 0, 56, 112 and 224 kg N ha −1 per year. We collected soil water samples monthly from June 2001 through May 2002 using tension lysimeters installed at 30 and 120 cm soil depths for analyzing NO 3 –N, and NH 4 –N. The concentration data were incorporated with drainage data from LEACHN model simulation for estimating the amount of N leaching losses. Annual mean nitrate-N concentrations at 120 cm depth under cottonwood were 0.5, 7.4, 14.1, and 37.7 mg NO 3 –N L −1 and under loblolly pine were 1.0, 10.2, 30.3, and 50.7 mg NO 3 –N L −1 for 0, 56, 112, and 224 kg N ha −1 per year treatments, respectively. Estimated N leaching losses were not different between species, however, increasing N fertilization rate above 56 kg N ha −1 per year increased N leaching without benefits to tree growth in both species.

[1]  J. Landsberg.  Experimental approaches to the study of the effects of nutrients and water on carbon assimilation by trees. , 1986, Tree physiology.

[2]  Arthur H. Johnson,et al.  Whole-tree clear-cutting effects on exchangeable cations and soil acidity , 1991 .

[3]  B. Emmett,et al.  Nitrogen additions (NaNO3 and NH4NO3) at Aber forest, Wales: I. Response of throughfall and soil water chemistry , 1995 .

[4]  Pradeep Kumar Nair,et al.  Safety-net role of tree roots: evidence from a pecan (Carya illinoensis K. Koch)-cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) alley cropping system in the southern United States , 2004 .

[5]  Lars Bergström,et al.  Simulated nitrogen dynamics and losses in a layered agricultural soil , 1987 .

[6]  Francisco Cabrera,et al.  Water balance and nitrate leaching in an irrigated maize crop in SW Spain , 1996 .

[7]  H. Margolis,et al.  INTENSIVE SILVICULTURAL TREATMENT : IMPACTS ON SOIL FERTILITY AND PLANTED CONIFER RESPONSE , 1993 .

[8]  T. Tschaplinski,et al.  Nitrogen fertilization strategies in a short-rotation sycamore plantation , 1994 .

[9]  J. Burger,et al.  Sweetgum Response to Nitrogen Fertilization on Sites of Different Quality and Land Use History , 2002 .

[10]  D. D. Fritton,et al.  EVALUATION OF NITROGEN VERSION OF LEACHM FOR PREDICTING NITRATE LEACHING , 1995 .

[11]  S. Jose,et al.  Soil respiration, fine root production, and microbial biomass in cottonwood and loblolly pine plantations along a nitrogen fertilization gradient , 2003 .

[12]  H. Lee Allen,et al.  Water quality impacts of forest fertilization with nitrogen and phosphorus , 1999 .

[13]  K. Outcalt.  Proceedings of the eleventh biennial southern silvicultural research conference , 2002 .

[14]  Thomas R. Fox,et al.  Sustained productivity in intensively managed forest plantations , 2000 .

[15]  T. Williams.  Nitrate leaching from intensive fiber production on abandoned agricultural land , 1999 .

[16]  M. Acutis,et al.  Stochastic use of the LEACHN model to forecast nitrate leaching in different maize cropping systems , 2000 .

[17]  T. Ericsson,et al.  Assessing the nutrition of juvenile hybrid poplar using a steady state technique and a mechanistic model , 2003 .

[18]  A. Alva,et al.  Transformation and Transport of Nitrogen Forms in a Sandy Entisol Following a Heavy Loading of Ammonium Nitrate Solution: Field Measurements and Model Simulations , 2000 .

[19]  J. Sogbedji,et al.  N fate and transport under variable cropping history and fertilizer rate on loamy sand and clay loam soils: I. Calibration of the LEACHMN model , 2001, Plant and Soil.

[20]  V. K. Serem,et al.  Modeling and testing of the effect of tillage, cropping and water management practices on nitrate leaching in clay loam soil. , 2000 .

[21]  Dale W. Johnson,et al.  Nitrogen Fertilization of Young Yellow Poplar and Loblolly Pine Plantations at Differing Frequencies , 1988 .

[22]  R. Harrison,et al.  Use of municipal sludge to restore and improve site productivity in forestry: The pack forest sludge research program , 1994 .

[23]  S. K. Sondhi,et al.  SW—Soil and Water: Validation of a Fertilizer Nitrogen Model during Crop Production , 2001 .

[24]  T. Ingestad.  Mineral Nutrient Requirements of Pinus silvestris and Picea abies Seedlings , 1979 .

[25]  R. J. Raison,et al.  Effects of water availability and fertilization on nitrogen cycling in a stand of Pinus radiata , 1990 .

[26]  N. Bolan,et al.  Estimating leaching losses from sub-surface drained soils , 1994 .