Biomass production and nitrogen balance of naturally afforested silver birch (<i>Betula pendula</i> Roth.) stand in Estonia

Abstract

Highlights• Leafless aboveground biomass of the 17-year-old natural silver birch stand growing in abandoned agricultural land reached 94 Mg ha -1 .• The largest fluxes in N budget were net nitrogen mineralization and gaseous N 2 -N emission.• Nitrogen leaching was low.• Soil N content increased with the stand age, soil C content remained stable.• N 2 O and N 2 fluxes in boreal deciduous forest were analysed. AbstractSilver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) is one of the main pioneer tree species occupying large areas of abandoned agricultural lands under natural succession in Estonia. We estimated aboveground biomass (AGB) dynamics during 17 growing seasons, and analysed soil nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) dynamics for 10 year period in a silver birch stand growing on former arable land. Main N fluxes were estimated and nitrogen budget for 10-year-old stand was compiled. The leafless AGB and stem mass of the stand at the age of 17-years were 94 and 76 Mg ha -1 respectively. The current annual increment (CAI) of stemwood fluctuated, peaking at 10 Mg ha -1 yr -1 at the age of 15 years; the mean annual increment (MAI) fluctuated at around 4-5 Mg ha -1 . The annual leaf mass of the stand stabilised at around 3 Mg ha -1 yr -1 . The stand density decreased from 11600 to 2700 trees ha -1 in the 8-and 17-year-old stand, respectively. The largest fluxes in N budget were net nitrogen mineralization and gaseous N 2 -N emission. The estimated fluxes of N 2 O and N 2 were 0.12 and 83 kg ha -1 yr -1 , respectively; N leaching was negligible. Nitrogen retranslocation from senescing leaves was approximately 45 kg ha -1 , N was mainly retranslocated into stembark. The N content in the upper 0-10 cm soil layer increased significantly (145 kg ha -1 ) from 2004 to 2014; soil C content remained stable. Both the woody biomass dynamics and the N cycling of the stand witness the potential for bioenergetics of such ecosystems.

Macro- and Micronutrient Contents in Soils of a Chronosequence of Naturally Regenerated Birch Stands on Abandoned Agricultural Lands in Central Poland

“…Since the energy from renewable resources has been widely promoted, the production of large quantities of easily accessible and useable highly energetic biomass from trees has gained attention, leading to the publication of numerous research papers on the ecological processes for modelling such ecosystems (e.g., [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]). Many of the published papers also consider the environmental aspects, including carbon sequestration and allocation of elements (e.g., [21][22][23][24][25][26]).…”

Comparison of Birch and Beech Wood in Terms of Economic and Technological Properties for Plywood Manufacturing

“…A few studies of birch plantations in Baltic countries (Liepiņš, 2011) and in naturally regenerated birch stands (Aosaar et al, 2016) covering an age range from 15 to 20 years, report birch MAI (Mean Annual Increment) around 10 m 3 ha-1 yr-1 (Lutter, 2017). However, the mean annual increment of beech and birch in 1 ha is 2.3 and 3 m 3 , respectively, in the existing forests in Turkey (State Planning Organization, 2001).…”

“…Author is lecturer at Artvin Çoruh University, Artvin Vocational School, Materials and Material Processing, Artvin, Turkey 2. Authors are research assistant and professor at the Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Forestry, Department of Forest Industry Engineering, Trabzon, Turkey 1. Autor je predavač Sveučilišta Artvin Çoruh, Strukovna škola Artvin, Materijali i obrada materijala, Artvin, Turska 2.…”

Nutrient fluxes via litterfall in silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) stands growing on post-arable soils

“…Birch trees intensively uptake N (56 kg ha − 1 yr − 1 ), P (4.1 kg ha − 1 yr − 1 ), K (28 kg ha − 1 yr − 1 ), and calcium (Ca, 44 kg ha − 1 yr − 1 ) (Ovington and Madgwick 1959), with the process reaching a maximum intensity in the early stages of growth (Miller 1984). Daugaviete et al (2003) and Aosaar et al (2016) reported positive effects of birch trees on soil N during the rst few years after afforestation. Additionally, Uri et al (2012) and Gawęda et al (2014) observed increasing contents of the major nutrients in soils under birch chronosequences.…”