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Effect of varied soil nitrogen supply on growth and nutrient uptake of young Norway spruce plants grown in a shaded environment
Author(s) -
George Eckhard,
Kircher Sabine,
Schwarz Petra,
Tesar Angela,
Seith Bettina
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of plant nutrition and soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1522-2624
pISSN - 1436-8730
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1522-2624(199906)162:3<301::aid-jpln301>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - nutrient , shoot , sowing , horticulture , plant growth , nitrogen , chemistry , agronomy , biology , organic chemistry
To understand the effect of increased soil N supply on tree growth and nutrient uptake, three‐year‐old Norway spruce seedlings were grown in pots on low‐nutrient mineral forest soil supplemented with N in mineral or organic form. Outdoor shaded growth conditions were used, to test the hypothesis that shaded plants are particularly susceptible to high soil N supply. Plants were harvested eleven months after planting. Shoot growth was not affected by the N supply, but N concentrations in needles and roots were increased in plants supplied with mineral N (150 or 300 mg N [kg soil] —1 ). Root growth was drastically reduced and root/shoot ratios were decreased in plants with higher N uptake. A high supply of mineral N to soil also decreased the concentrations of other essential elements (P, K) in the needles and thus had effects on plant growth which may impair the stress resistance of trees. Organic N in the form of keratin (150 mg N [kg soil] —1 ) did not influence plant growth significantly. The adverse effects of high mineral N supply were particularly pronounced under shaded conditions in comparison to results from other experiments using higher light intensity and temperature conditions.