Pacific Southwest

Title: Management of ponderosa pine nutrition through fertilization

Author: Garrison-Johnston, Mariann T.; Shaw, Terry M.; Mika, Peter G.; Johnson, Leonard R.

Date: 2005

Source: In: Ritchie, Martin W.; Maguire, Douglas A.; Youngblood, Andrew, tech. coordinators. Proceedings of the Symposium on Ponderosa Pine: Issues, Trends, and Management, 2004 October 18-21, Klamath Falls, OR. Gen. Tech. Rep PSW-GTR-198. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: 123-143

Station ID: GTR-PSW-198

Description: The results of a series of replicated fertilization trials established throughout the Inland Northwest were reviewed for information specific to ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. and C. Lawson) nutrition. Ponderosa pine nitrogen (N) status was often better than the N-status of other Inland Northwest species, and therefore growth response to N fertilization was often lower than that of other species. Fertilization of ponderosa pine with N alone sometimes appeared to cause increased tree susceptibility to mortality by insect, disease and perhaps abiotic stresses. Growth and mortality response to N fertilization appeared to be related to foliage potassium (K)/N ratio in some cases. The application of K and micronutrients in combination with N may have protected the trees from N-related mortality while stimulating a growth response. Sulfur fertilization was not found to evoke a growth response in ponderosa pine, and may have increased mortality rates slightly. On certain rock types and vegetation series, ponderosa pine showed high growth response to macronutrient plus micronutrient fertilization as well as herbicide treatment. Ponderosa pine generally did not show a strong growth response to N fertilization, except on 'good' rock types on moist sites. Multinutrient (macro- plus micronutrient) fertilization combined with an herbicide treatment often provided a better response than N alone on moderate to dry sites and/or 'bad' rock types. Other species in mixed-conifer stands, particularly grand fir (Abies grandis (Dougl. ex D. Don) Lindl.), often showed a better growth response to fertilization than ponderosa pine. The nutritional ecology of ponderosa pine is unique among Inland forest tree species and should be considered when evaluating nutrient management options.

Keywords: 

View and Print this Publication (590 KB)

Publication Notes: 

• We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
• This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
• You may send email to pubrequest@fs.f ed.us to request a hard copy of this publication. (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)

 Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

Garrison-Johnston, Mariann T.; Shaw, Terry M.; Mika, Peter G.; Johnson, Leonard R.  2005.  Management of ponderosa pine nutrition through fertilization.   In: Ritchie, Martin W.; Maguire, Douglas A.; Youngblood, Andrew, tech. coordinators. Proceedings of the Symposium on Ponderosa Pine: Issues, Trends, and Management, 2004 October 18-21, Klamath Falls, OR. Gen. Tech. Rep PSW-GTR-198. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: 123-143.