Stanisław Małek
Sustainability of Picea abies of Istebna provenance in Dupniański Stream catchment as dependent on stand age class
Dendrobiology 2009, vol. 61 supplement: 95-104
Abstract: Ecochemical indexes such as soil buffer reaction (pH), acid neutralising capacity (ANCaq), alkalinity (ALK), soil acidity (Ma%), basic cation saturation (BS), and molar ratios Ca:Al and BC:Al were used to study the sustainability of Norway spruce of Istebna provenance in stands differing in age class. The data were obtained from the research conducted in the Dupniański Stream catchment in the Silesian Beskid Mts. (Poland). The acid neutralising capacity, alkalinity, and soil acidity were found to depend on the age of spruce stands. The increased acidification of deposits was due to the presence of sulphate and nitrate ions which were washed out from the surface of plants. Passing through the canopy caused a decrease in the acid neutralising capacity, alkalinity, and base cation saturation, and an increase in the soil acidity, with the values being dependent on stand age. The soil acid reaction shifted to the range of the aluminium and iron bufferness, but the Ca:Al and BC:Al ratios were still above the level when aluminium stress is probable. The washout of the basic cations beyond the spruce root system, and the low levels of exchangeable Mg2+ and Ca2+, basic cation saturation of soil water, and effective base saturation of soil may affect the vitality and health of spruce stands in the future. To maintain the sustainability of Norway spruce stands of Istebna provenance in the
Dupniański Stream catchment it is necessary to increase the retention of basic elements, especially Mg2+ and Ca2+, by means of stand conversion or fertilisation.
Additional key words: Norway spruce, ecochemical indexes, Silesian Beskid Mts.