ZLV Online

Abstrakt

This study focuses on foliar nutrients contents in current- and one-year-old needles that can be regarded as a proxy of health condition of the saplings on the site, and also can help us estimate a litterfall nutrient return difference between the silver fir (SF) and Norway spruce (NS). The new forest stand dominated by SF and NS was of natural regeneration origin from 120-year-old spruce-fir stand; all mature spruces were cut as salvage crop from the stand at the time of investigation. The saplings of SF and NS with a few other species varied in height ranging from 1 m to 4 m. Despite spruces of all age classes show needle yellowing in the area of interest, SF and NS saplings show no color changes. The samples of current-year and one-year-old needles were taken from the 2nd–3rd whorls of randomly selected NS saplings; each of these NS were paired with the nearest SF saplings of comparable growth. Totally 20 NS and 20 SF trees were sampled, measured their height and last three years increments. Foliar contents of N, P, K, Ca and Mg were analyzed in laboratory. The logarithmically transformed data were statistically processed using oneway ANOVA with block design and RDA. Nutrient concentrations and also nutrient ratios of NS and SF current-year needles were similar; NS was higher in N. One-year-old SF needles were higher in K and lower in Mg. Higher N/K in NS and higher N/Mg, K/Mg in SF were found. Despite below-optimal contents of Ca and Mg in both species, no symptoms were shown. SF needles did not differ from NS ones.