Influence of liming and vitality fertilization on trace element concentrations in Scots pine forest soil and plants

Changes in concentrations of Mn, Zn, Cu and Pb in selected forest plants and soil were examined after four growing seasons in a limed and vitality fertilized Scots pine ecosystem at Amli, southern Norway. Eighteen adjacent experimental plots represented six different treatments: one control, one with lime (3000 kg ha(-1)), and the remaining four with addition of dolomite (3000 or 6000 kg ha(-1)) with or without additional fertilization (various amounts of KCl, superphosphate, kieserite, NH4NO3, or borax). Samples of Vaccinium myrtillus L., Vaccinium vitis-idaea L., Vaccinium uliginosum L., Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull., needles from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), and soil samples were analyzed for the elements in question. NH4NO3 extractable Mn, Zn and Pb decreased significantly in the humus O1 and/or O2 layers, mostly as a consequence of increased soil pH after liming and fertilization. No statistically significant treatment effects were found in extractable Cu or HNO3-soluble element concentrations in the soil samples collected at the treated sites. Manganese was the element showing the most apparent treatment effect in the plants, with a decrease to 20-71% of the initial amount in many of the plant compartments. Even though there is a short-term decrease in the concentration of this element in the plants, this element is rarely in deficient concentrations in acid forest soil. For Cu, Zn and Pb the effects of liming and vitality fertilization on plants were more sporadic than and not as pronounced as in the case of Mn. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.