Abstract
Fertilization at plantation establishment and later age is often required to maximize stand growth of slash pine (Pinus elliottii) in subtropical Australia. A field experiment was conducted to examine stand growth response of slash pine in the first 11.5 years of plantation following (1) initial fertilization at plantation establishment with phosphorus (P) at 11, 22, 45 and 90 kg P ha−1 which were either banded or broadcast in the presence or absence of basal fertilizers containing 50 kg nitrogen (N) ha−1, 50 kg potassium (K) ha−1 and 5 kg copper (Cu) ha−1 and (2) additional application of 40 kg P ha−1 at age 10 years.
The initial P fertilization significantly increased the stand growth in the first 9.6 years. The P banded application was more effective in improving the stand growth than the P broadcast application. Application of the N, K and Cu basal fertilizers did not affect the stand growth. Overall, 53–73% of the variation in basal area and volume growth in the first 9.6 years was explained by the initial P fertilization, indicating that P deficiency was the major factor limiting the stand growth under the experimental conditions. Optimum plantation age, at which the maximum periodical annual increment (PAI) of basal area was obtained, increased from age 10.9 to 12 years when the initial P rate increased from 11 to 90 kg P ha−1. Application of additional 40 kg P ha−1 at age 10 years resulted in a further improvement in the stand growth at age 11.5 years. With 66% of the variation in basal area PAI between ages 9.6 and 11.5 years, 50% was explained by the initial P fertilization and 16% by the additional P applied at age 10 years. Similarly, 51% and 12% of the variation in volume PAI were attributed to the initial P fertilization and the additional P application, respectively. This highlights the need of refertilization with P on some established stands of slash pine at later ages.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Ballard R (1984) Fertilization of plantations.In: Bowen GD and Nambiar EKS (eds) Nutrition of Plantation Forests, pp 327–360. Academic Press, London
Bevege DI and Richards BN (1972) Principles and practice of foliar analysis as a basis for crop-logging in pine plantations. II. Determination of critical phosphorus levels. Plant and Soil 37: 159–169
Brockley RP (1992) Effects of fertilization on the nutrition and growth of a slow-growing Englemann spruce plantation in south central British Colombia. Can J For Res 22: 1617–1622
Chappell HN, Cole DW, Gessel SP and Walker RB (1991) Forest fertilization research and practice in the Pacific Northwest. Fert Res 27: 129–140
Fisher RF and Garbett WS (1980) Response of semimature slash and loblolly pine plantations to fertilization with nitrogen and phosphorus. Soil Sci Soc Am J 44: 850–854
Lambert MJ and Turner J (1988) Interpretation of nutrient concentrations inPinus radiata foliage at Belanglo State Forest. Plant and Soil 108: 237–244
Mead DJ and Gadgil RL (1978) Fertilizer use in established radiata pine stands in New Zealand. NZ J For Sci 8: 105–134
Nambiar EKS and Bowen GD (1986) Uptake, distribution and retranslocation of nitrogen byPinus radiata from15N-labelled fertilizer applied to podzolized sandy soil. For Ecol Manage 15: 269–284
Pritchett WL and Comerford NB (1982) Long-term response to phosphorus fertilization on selected southeastern Coastal Plain soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 46: 640–644
Pritchett WL and Llewellyn WR (1966) Response of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Englem. varelliottii) to phosphorus in sandy soils. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 30: 509–512
Rayment GE and Higginson FR (1992) Australian Laboratory Handbook of Soil and Water Chemical Methods. Inkata Press, Sydney. 330p
Siegel J (1992) STATISTIX Version 4.0 User's Manual. 319 p, Analytical Software, St. Paul, MN
Simpson JA and Grant MJ (1991) Exotic pine fertilizer practice and its development in Queensland. Queensland Forest Services Technical Paper No. 49. VR Ward, Government Printer, Brisbane, Australia. 17p
Simpson JA and Osborne DO (1993) Relative fertilizer requirements and foliar nutrient levels of young slash pine, Honduras Caribbean pine and the hybrid in Queensland. Commonw For Rev 72: 105–113
Turner J and Lambert MJ (1987) Nutritional management ofPinus radiata at Gumang State Forest, New South Wales. Fert Res 13: 127–137
Turvey ND (1984) Copper deficiency inPinus radiata planted in a podzol in Victoria, Australia. Plant and Soil 77: 73–86
Vanclay JK (1980) Small tree stem volume equations for tree plantation species. Queensland Department of Forestry Technical Paper No. 32. SR Hampson, Government Printer, Brisbane, Australia. 5p
Xu ZH, Myers RJK, Saffigna PG and Chapman AL (1993a) Nitrogen cycling in leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) alley cropping in semi-arid tropics. II. Response of maize growth to addition of nitrogen fertilizer and plant residues. Plant and Soil 148: 73–82
Xu ZH, Myers RJK, Saffigna PG and Chapman AL (1993b) Nitrogen fertilizer in leucaena alley cropping. II. Residual value of nitrogen fertilizer and leucaena residues. Fert Res 34: 1–8
Xu ZH, Saffigna PG, Myers RJK and Chapman AL (1992) Nitrogen fertilizer in leucaena alley cropping. I. Maize response to nitrogen fertilizer and fate of fertilizer -15N. Fert Res 33: 219–227
Xu ZH, Simpson JA and Osborne DO (1995a) Mineral nutrition of slash pine in subtropical Australia II. Foliar nutrient response to fertilization. Fert Res (In press)
Xu ZH, Simpson JA and Osborne DO (1995b) Mineral nutrition of slash pine in subtropical Australia. III. Relationships between foliar P concentration and stand growth. Fert Res (In press)
Zech W and Drechsel P (1992) Multiple mineral deficiencies in forest plantations in Liberia. For Ecol Manage 48: 121–143
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xu, Z.H., Simpson, J.A. & Osborne, D.O. Mineral nutrition of slash pine in subtropical australia. I. stand growth response to fertilization. Fertilizer Research 41, 93–100 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00750750
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00750750