Southern Research Station

Title: The Effect of Large Applications of Nutrients From Organic Waste on Biomass Allocation and Allometric Relations in Loblolly Pine

Author: Roberts, Scott D.; Friend, Alexander L.; Gerard, Patrick D.

Date: 2004

Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–71. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp. 398-402

Description: We applied broiler litter to an 8-year-old precommercially thinned loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stand at 0, 5.6, and 23 Mg ha^-1 , supplying 0, 200, and 800 kg N ha^-1. A destructive harvest was implemented two growing seasons following litter application to evaluate treatment impacts on patterns of aboveground biomass allocation and to develop allometric functions enabling prediction of aboveground biomass components. We examined relative allocation to foliage, crown wood, and stemwood; and the proportion of current-year and second-year foliage in the upper vs. the lower crown. No treatment effects were observed in general allocation patterns between foliage, crown wood, and stemwood mass, although treatments did significantly increase the ratio of current-year to second-year foliage in the upper crown. Biomass allocation patterns within trees did vary with tree size. The ratio of foliage to woody biomass remained similar across the range of tree sizes examined; but within the woody component, the amount of crown wood relative to stemwood increased with tree size. The ratio of current-year to second-year foliage remained similar in the lower crown, but the proportion of second-year foliage in the upper crown increased with d.b.h. Statistically significant treatment differences were found in the allometric relationships for estimating stemwood, crown wood, and foliar biomass. In all cases, litter application treatments increased the slope of the relationship between the aboveground biomass component and tree size. Our results suggest that failure to account for treatment-related effects on tree allometry could result in estimation errors of 5-15 percent for individual aboveground biomass components.

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Citation

Roberts, Scott D.; Friend, Alexander L.; Gerard, Patrick D.  2004.  The Effect of Large Applications of Nutrients From Organic Waste on Biomass Allocation and Allometric Relations in Loblolly Pine.   Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–71. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp. 398-402