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Biomass and Nutrient Accumulation in a Cottonwood Plantation—the First Growing Season¹

ABSTRACT

During their first growing season, eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) planted at a 3 by 3 m spacing on a slackwater clay soil (Vertic Haplaquept) in western Mississippi produced 3,680 kg/ha of dry matter. Of this, 900 kg/ha was in leaves, 700 in branches, 820 in stems, and 1,260 in roots. Seventy-six percent of the aboveground biomass was accumulated during August and September. At the end of September, just prior to leaf fall, the trees contained 43.5 kg/ha of N, 4.7 kg P, 34.7 kg K, 36.5 kg Ca, and 6.4 kg Mg. From 62 to 79% of these elements was accumulated in August and September.

Foliar N and P concentrations peaked in early summer, then steadily decreased until leaf fall in November. Branch and stem N and P decreased from a maximum in early summer to a low in September, then increased during October and November. Seasonal patterns of Ca and Mg were similar to those of N and P, except that foliar concentrations steadily increased throughout the summer to a maximum at time of leaf fall. Trends in foliar K were similar to those of N and P; however, K concentrations in branches and stems declined through the summer to a low at time of leaf fall.

Of the total quantity of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg in the foliage in September, 26% of the N, 33% of the P, 28% of the K, 62% of the Ca, and 51% of the Mg fell with abscised leaves in November. Sixty-one percent of the foliar N and 53% of the foliar P were translocated to other tissue prior to leaf fall. Potassium, calcium, and magnesium were not involved in internal nutrient cycles since they were not translocated and retained in support tissue. A large portion of the foliar K was apparently leached or lost through root exudation or other means.

¹ The portion of this paper dealing with dry matter and nitrogen accumulation was presented before Div. S-7 of the Soil Sci. Soc. of Am. 10–15 Nov. 1974 at Chicago, Ill.

² The authors are Principal Soil Scientists at the Southern Hardwoods Laboratory, which is maintained at Stoneville, Miss., by the Southern For. Exp. Stn., For. Serv.—USDA, in cooperation with Mississippi Agric. For. Exp. Stn. and the Southern Hardwood For. Res. Group.

Received for publication October 18, 1976. Accepted for publication December 28, 1976.

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