Fractions and Chemical Content of Forest Litterfall in Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) Stand in Level II Forest Monitoring Plot
2012
Bārdule, Arta | Lazdiņš, Andis | Bārdulis, Andis | Lazdiņa, Dagnija | Stola, Jeļena
Forest monitoring is dated back to early 1980s, when a severe decline in tree crown condition and forest health occurred across large part of Europe. Foresters and scientists all over the Europe started to monitor indicators of forest health, including litterfall, in order to objectively describe changes in forest health. Since 1985, forest condition in Europe has been monitored within the scope of two-level system of ICP-Forests (International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests). General information on forest health is annually recorded on Level I monitoring sites, but more intensive investigations, including quantitative and qualitative characteristics of litterfall, are carried out in Level II sites. In Latvia, one Level II monitoring plot was established in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand in Valgunde parish of the Jelgava municipality in 2004. Canopy litterfall is a significant pathway for return of nutrients to soil in a forest ecosystem and may provide important information as a phenological indicator of climate change effects on forests. The main objective of this study was to determine preliminary characteristics of nutrient return with litterfall. The quality and quantity of litterfall fractions in a Level II forest monitoring plot were investigated in 2009. The chemical elements involved into the study were nitrogen (N), calcium (Ca), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), sulphur (S), and carbon (C).
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