Impatc of Wood- and Peat-Ash Application on the Post-Fertilization Element Concentrations of Birch in a Cut-Away Peatland

Authors:
Noora Huotari and Eila Tillman-Sutela

Book:
Proceedings of the 14th International Peat Congress

Venue:
Stockholm

Keywords:
afforestation, betula-pubescens-ehrh, heavy-metals, roots, shoots

Documentfile:
Huotari, Tillman-Sutela 2012: Impatc of Wood- and Peat-Ash Application on the Post-Fertilization Element Concentrations of Birch

Summary:

Theme VII. Ecology and management on forested peatlands

SUMMARY

The impact of wood- and peat-ash application on the post-fertilization element contents in birch leaves and roots were studied in a cut-away peatland. Six treatments of wood-ash, peat-ash, biotite or Forest PK-fertilizer were used in different mixtures and quantities corresponding to 50 kg ha^-1 of phosphorus. Ten years after the fertilization, the foliar phosphorus concentrations of birch were on an adequate level, whereas the sufficiency of potassium and boron for the planned 30 years’ rotation is uncertain. We found also that even if the cadmium concentrations remained low both in roots and leaves of birch, the dissolution rate of different heavy metals in ash, and their uptake and accumulation in different parts of plants varied considerably.