Range-wide experiment to investigate nutrient and soil moisture interactions in loblolly pine plantations
Date
2015-06-03Author
Will, Rodney E.
Fox, Thomas
Akers, Madison
Domec, Jean-Christophe
Gonzalez-Benecke, Carlos
Jokela, Eric J.
Kane, Michael
Laviner, Marshall A.
Lokuta, Geoffrey
Markewitz, Daniel
McGuire, Mary Anne
Meek, Cassandra
Noormets, Asko
Samuelson, Lisa
Seiler, John
Strahm, Brian
Teskey, Robert
Vogel, Jason
Ward, Eric
West, Jason
Wilson, Duncan
Martin, Timothy A.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The future climate of the southeastern USA is predicted to be warmer, drier and more variable in rainfall, which may increase drought frequency and intensity. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is the most important commercial tree species in the world and is planted on ~11 million ha within its native range in the southeastern USA. A regional study was installed to evaluate effects of decreased rainfall and nutrient additions on loblolly pine plantation productivity and physiology. Four locations were established to capture the range-wide variability of soil and climate. Treatments were initiated in 2012 and consisted of a factorial combination of throughfall reduction (approximate 30% reduction) and fertilization (complete suite of nutrients). Tree and stand growth were measured at each site. Results after two growing seasons indicate a positive but variable response of fertilization on stand volume increment at all four sites and a negative effect of throughfall reduction at two sites. Data will be used to produce robust process model parameterizations useful for simulating loblolly pine growth and function under future, novel climate and management scenarios. The resulting improved models will provide support for developing management strategies to increase pine plantation productivity and carbon sequestration under a changing climate.
DOI
10.3390/f6062014Citation
Will, R. E., Fox, T., Akers, M., Domec, J.-C., Gonzalez-Benecke, C., Jokela, E. J., ... Martin, T. A. (2015). A range-wide experiment to investigate nutrient and soil moisture interactions in loblolly pine plantations. Forests, 6(6), 2014-2028. https://doi.org/10.3390/f6062014