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February 1980
A COMPARISON OF THE NUTRIENT CONTENT OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN
DOUGLAS-FIR AND PONDEROSA PINE TREES
James L. Clayton
Debora A. Kennedy!
ABSTRACT
Data on the content of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, sodium,
potassium, calcium, and magnesium in Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine
trees are presented for the Silver Creek Study Area, in the
southwestern Idaho batholith. Suppressed, intermediate, and dominant
trees of each species were cut and sampled from two habitat
types in the study area. Needles (stratified by age), bark,
heartwood, and sapwood (stratified by bole size), and branches
(stratified by branch size), were analyzed for the elements of
interest. No significant differences in chemical content
between habitat types were detected for either species.
Interspecific differences in chemical concentration were found
in one or more elements for each plant part. Trends in
elemental concentration over needle age, bole size, and branch
size were also suggested by the data.
KEYWORDS: plant chemistry, forest nutrition, Pseudotsuga menziesii,
Pinus ponderosa
? INTRODUCTION
We are currently conducting research in the Silver Creek Study Area, southwestern
Idaho batholith, to assess the effects of timber harvesting on the environment. The
Silver Creek Study Area, located approximately 70 miles (110 km) north of Boise, Idaho,
is typical of a large portion of the Idaho batholith. The area has steep slopes and
coarse-textured soils formed from granitic parent materials. As a result, moderate-to-
high erosion potentials exist following disturbances associated with logging and road
construction.
1Research soil scientist and chemist, respectively, located jat, Boise, (idaho. The
authors are indebted to Arthur R. Tiedemann and Nancy A. Mulligan of the Shrub
Sciences Laboratory, Provo, Utah, for assistance in the sulfur analyses.
One study involves computation of nutrient losses from the watersheds as a result of
logging. For this study, we require data on the nutrient content of ponderosa pine
(Pinus ponderosa Laws), and of Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.]
Franco var. glauca [Beissn.] Franco), the two major timber species harvested. In this
paper, we present data on the nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, sodium, potassium, calcium,
and magnesium content of these two species.
OBJECTIVES
This study was conducted to quantitatively describe and compare the aboveground
chemical content of nutrient elements in ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir trees, stratified
by plant part and habitat type. In addition, this study will provide a data base needed
for computing nutrient budgets for the experimental watersheds following various logging
treatments.
METHODS
Ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir are the two principal tree species in the Silver
Creek Study Area. They generally coexist in mixed stands and in a variety of habitat
types. We stratified our sampling to reflect the driest and moistest habitats as indica-
ted by the common habitat types in Silver Creek. (For a discussion of habitat types and
their nomenclature as used here, see Daubenmire and Daubenmire 1968, or Pfister and
others 1977.)
Site I is a Douglas-fir/elk sedge (PSME/CAGE) habitat type, ponderosa pine phase,
a relatively dry type. Site II is a subalpine fir/blue huckleberry (ABLA/VAGL) type,
a relatively moist type. This site contains ponderosa pine and so is probably warmer
than the typical subalpine fir/blue huckleberry site that does not support this species.
Steele and others (in press) estimated that the yield capability for the PSME/CAGE
type ranges from 40 to 95 ft3/acre/yr (2.8 to 6.7 m3/ha) with a mean of 70 ft?/acre/yr
(4.9 m3/ha). Similarly, they estimated the yield capability for the ABLA/VAGL type to
range from 60 to 90 ft3/acre/yr (4.2 to 6.3 m3/ha) with a mean value of 75 ft3/acre/yr
(5.3 m?/ha). These differences principally reflect the differing moisture and temper-
ature characteristics of the two habitat types.
Soils on the two sites are morphologically similar. Both soils are classified as
cryorthents: weakly developed soils with A and C horizons over bedrock at 20 to 30 inches
(50 to 76 cm). Gravelly loamy sand and sandy loam textures predominate.
At each site, we selected three trees of both species, one in each of the following
crown dominance classes: suppressed, intermediate, and dominant. The actual size and age
for each tree are shown in table l.
Table 2.--Size and age of each tree sampled. Age was determined by ring count at stump
height
Habitat type
Species PSME/CAGE ABLA/VAGL
dibish age d.b.h. age
Inches Years Inches Years
Ponderosa pine
Suppressed 8 59 12 86
Intermediate 16 160 19 100
Dominant 26 197 Sill 23:2
Douglas-fir
Suppressed 11 67 14 89
Intermediate 19 76 25 145
Dominant 20 134 30 255
Each tree was cut and sampled in August 1977 in the following manner:
linn “At 8s ©3185-5785 cand 47//8)-of the total) lengtheof the: itree bole, we cut a 3-
inch-thick cross section and separated heartwood and sapwood.
2. From the suppressed and dominant trees, we took a bark sample at the same four
locations along the bole.
3. From the subordinate trees, we sampled several limbs of two size classes,
<1/4-inch diameter and 1/4- to l-inch diameter. From the intermediate trees, we sampled
several limbs 1 inch to 3 inches in diameter. From the dominant trees, we sampled
several limbs 3 to 6 inches in diameter.
4. From the intermediate trees, we sampled needles from that year (1977) and from
the two previous growing seasons (1976 and 1975). (In the rest of this paper, needles
will be referred to as l-year-old, 2-year-old, or 3-year-old needles.) All samples
were placed in plastic bags and brought back to the laboratory for sample preparation
and chemical analysis.
LABORATORY TECHNIQUES
In the laboratory, the samples were allowed to dry in the air for 2 weeks. At the
end of this period, the samples were dried in an oven for 24 hours at 167°F (75°C).
Subsamples were taken from each ovendried sample and ground in a Wiley? mill to pass a
40-mesh screen.
Samples of heartwood, taken from four locations along the tree bole, were batched
before grinding. The same subsampling and batching was done on sapwood and bark samples
prior to grinding.
*The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the
information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official
endorsement or approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of any product or service
to the exclusion of others which may be suitable.
3
Samples were digested in a perchloric acid-nitric acid mixture (Johnson and Ulrich
1959) and analyzed for calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and total phosphorus.
Calcium and magnesium were analyzed by atomic absorption; sodium and potassium by flame
emission; and total phosphorus by the molybdate blue-ascorbic acid method. A Kjeldahl
digestion was used for total nitrogen and detected by a titrimetric procedure. Dried
and ground tissue was analyzed for sulfur using a Leco induction furnace by the technique
of Tiedemann and Anderson (1971).
DATA ANALYSIS
Data presented are mean values of two analyses run on each digest. In addition,
each plant part (for example, l-year-old needles and branches <1/4 inch in diameter) was
digested in duplicate. Duplicate analyses of each digest were reanalyzed if the reported
values varied by more than 5 percent for all elements except nitrogen and sulfur.
Nitrogen analyses were reanalyzed if values varied by more than 8 percent; sulfur was
reanalyzed if vaiues differed by more than 10 percent.
We analyzed the data initially by graphical observation in the following manner:
(1) for needles, plots of concentration over needle age were made for both species and
and both habitat types; (2) for sapwood, heartwood, and bark, concentrations were
plotted over tree diameter for both species and for both habitat types; (3) for branches,
concentrations were plotted over branch diameter for both species and for both
habitat types.
Apparent differences between species and between habitat types were tested by
Student's T-test. In some cases, apparent differences in the slope of concentration over
age (needles), or in tree size (heartwood, sapwood, and bark), or in branch size were
tested by covariance analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Mean nutrient concentrations for both species by plant part are summarized in
tables 2 and 3. The values given in these tables are stratified by needle age and by
tree bole or branch size. Differences in nutrient concentrations of Douglas-fir and
ponderosa pine that were significant at the 0.01 or 0.10 percent level are presented
in table 4. The concentration of phosphorus in Douglas-fir branches is apparently
greater than that in ponderosa pine branches, but this assumption was not tested be-
cause phosphorus content of the larger pine branches was below our detection limit.
Sodium concentrations in all plant parts for both species and for both habitat
types are remarkably similar, ranging from approximately 0.037 to 0.056 percent by
weight (tables 2 and 3).
Concentrations of potassium, calcium, and magnesium are consistently higher in
sapwood of Douglas-fir than in heartwood. Comparisons of these same elemental concen-
trations in sapwood and heartwood of ponderosa pine did not show the same trends (tables
2 and! 3)
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Table 4.--Comparison of nutrient levels for plant parts of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir
tested by Student's T-test. Data taken from tables 2 and 3
Plant part Element Concentration greater in Significance level
Needles Calcium Douglas-fir 0.01
Magnesium Douglas-fir AOL
Nitrogen Ponderosa pine aot
Sulfur Ponderosa pine 0H
Sapwood Potassium Douglas-fir nO
Magnesium Douglas-fir .O1
Heartwood Calcium Ponderosa pine aot
Magnesium Ponderosa pine xO
Branches Magnesium Ponderosa pine sali
Calcium Douglas-fir -O1
Bark Calcium Douglas-fir -O1
Sulfur Ponderosa pine sO
For both species, relationships exist between the nutrient content and the age of
needles. Calcium inereases* with needle. age. for, both species (fig. 1)... Insaddition, the
rate of increase in calcium content with increasing needle age is greater for Douglas-fir
than for ponderosa pine. This increase is apparent by inspection and was highly signi-
ficant when tested by covariance analysis. For the common model (habitat type not
considered), F = 22.94, f = 1, 20. Potassium and phosphorus decrease with the age of the
needles for both species (figs. 2 and 3). There appears to be no difference in the slope
or mean concentration between the two species.
Similar relationships can be drawn when nutrient content is compared with tree
diameter. In sapwood, magnesium and nitrogen tend to decrease as tree diameter increases
(figs. 4 and 5). For bark samples, the potassium and total phosphorus tend to decrease
as tree diameter increases (figs. 6 and 7). These relationships were not tested for
Significance because the sample size was small and this study was not designed to test
this hypothesis.
When nutrient content and size class of branches are compared, magnesium, potassium,
and nitrogen all decrease with increasing size class (figs. 8, 9, and 10). Magnesium,
potassium, and nitrogen appear to reach a base level at from 0.02 to 0.04 percent, 0.05
to 0.10 percent, and 0.3 to 0.5 percent, respectively, when branch diameter exceeds
Pancha traics Sa Semel Oi
There were no apparent differences in chemical composition of tree parts of the
same species when comparison was made between habitat types. The slightly greater yield
capability in the more moist ABLA/VAGL type suggests that the standing crop nutrient
content, expressed in kilograms per hectare, would be greater in this habitat type than
in the drier PSME/CAGE habitat type. Such a conclusion is likely to be valid only for
stands of mature trees that have attained maximum nutrient content.
Extraordinarily high concentrations of potassium were found in bark of the small
ponderosa pine from Site I. The results were consistent for two separate digestions
and duplicate analyses. Contamination is possible, but would have had to have happened
to the bulk sample prior to subsampling, grinding, and digestion.
PERCENT CALCIUM
PERCENT POTASSIUM
10
0.8
Figure 1.--Percent calcium in
needles plotted over needle
age, where 1 = current year
(1977) needle growth. Data
are presented for both
species and both habitat
Sty Sa pba wad NN a, types; I = PSME/CAGE and II
LEEK RK KE KKKS = ABLA/VAGL. Each point
j=— 1 >| }~<-— 2 —> jo— 3 —e| represents the mean value of
two separate digestions and
NEEDLE AGE (YRS) duplicate chemical analyses.
1.0
0.8
0. 6
inva
wae
0.4
Figure 2.--Percent potassium
in needles plotted over
needle age, where 1 = current
year (1977) needle growth.
Data are presented for both
0 & ! species and both habitat
NS NT Ne types; I = PSME/CAGE and II
x Rvs E KLKLESE KCVES = ABLA/VAGL. Each point
o—{—e| [o—2—»| jx — 3 —o> represents the mean value of
two separate digestions and
NEEDLE AGE (YRS) duplicate chemical analyses.
0.2
rT ;
ULL INY LLU
HW
2 MTT TTT
v
2
eS)
0. 20
PERCENT PHOSPHORUS
—
ae
= =
: —
———
= ——
= ————}
Bap
—
= —
Ete ==
=r
Figure 3.--Percent total phos-
phate in needles plotted over
needle age, where 1 = current
year (1977) needle growth.
Data are presented for both
species and both habitat
types; I = PSME/CAGE and II OO NI A NINA a NEN
= ABLA/VAGL. Each point BLES LKFE SY KLKKS
represents the mean value of j=3— |] —e-| <i) —e| }— 3 —=|
two separate digestions and
duplicate chemical analyses. NEEDLE AGE (YRS)
0. 032 Ponderosa Pine ||
Ponderosa Pine |
Douglas- Fir | Douglas- Fir 11
Figure 4.--Percent magnesium in
sapwood plotted over tree dia-
meter at breast height for both
species and both habitat types;
I = PSME/CAGE and II = ABLA/
VAGL. Each point represents
the mean value of two separate
digestions and duplicate
chemical analyses. TREE DIAMETER (IN)
PERCENT MAGNESIUM IN SAPWOOD
0 4 Se Zal O20 ee 24 CO mee
PERCENT NITROGEN IN SAPWOOD
PERCENT POTASSIUM IN BARK
0.7 Ponderosa Pine |
Douglas- Fir |
Ponderosa Pine ||
0 4 Oi ir 6, 2s 20 eared 28) 32
TREE DIAMETER (IN)
0.5
0.4 Ponderosa Pine |
0.3
0.2
Douglas- Fir ||
Douglas- Fir |
>
0.1
Ponderosa Pine II
0 4 Bi 12s Oi e205 24 28 ee
TREE DIAMETER (IN)
10
Figure 5.--Percent total nitrogen
in sapwood plotted over tree
diameter at breast height for
both species and both habitat
types; I = PSME/CAGE and II =
ABLA/VAGL. Each point represents
the mean value of two separate
digestions and duplicate chemical
analyses.
Figure 6.--Percent potassium in bark
plotted over diameter at breast
height for trees of both species
and both habitat types; I =
PSME/CAGE and II = ABLA/VAGL.
Each point represents the mean
value of two separate digestions
and duplicate chemical analyses.
Ponderosa Pine |
Douglas- Fir |
Douglas- Fir ||
Ponderosa Pine ||
Figure 7.--Percent total phosphorus
in bark plotted over diameter at
breast height for trees of both
species and both habitat types;
I = PSME/CAGE and II = ABLA/
VAGL. Each point represents
PERCENT PHOSPHORUS IN BARK
the mean value of two separate 0 4 Be 2 Oy 20 oe 2428 a e352
digestions and duplicate chemical
analyses. TREE DIAMETER (IN)
0. 13
Gs Ponderosa Pine |
[41 Douglas- Fir |
2 01 Will Ponderosa Pine ||
= BB Douglas- Fir ||
oO
=a
= 0.09
co
=
=
= 007
tg
=a
< =
& 0.05 = =o
aS = =
me = a =
: : tu = =
Figure 8.--Percent magnesium ss = = =
in branches plotted by 0. 03 = = =
branch size class. Each = = = =
point represents the mean = = = =
value of two separate 0.01 = = = =
digestions and duplicate = = = =
chemical analyses. Site I = re =
is a PSME/CAGE habitat type <j" 2 = yo 1-3"! >3"!
and site II is a ABLA/VAGL
habitat type. SIZE CLASS (IN)
ial
PERCENT POTASSIUM IN BRANCHES
PERCENT TOTAL NITROGEN IN BRANCHES
0. 25
0. 20
0. 10
0. 05
U3)
It
0.9
0.7
0.5
0.3
0.1
A
A
alr
s+ TTI TTT TTT I Oooo oo
OOOO OD Oo oT
Gam Ponderosa Pine |
(7 Douglas- Fir |
itt Ponderosa Pine II
we Douglas- Fir ||
Figure 9.--Percent potassium
in branches plotted by
branch size class. Each
point represents the mean
value of two separate di-
gestions and duplicate
chemical analyses. Site I
is a PSME/CAGE habitat type
and site II is a ABLA/VAGL
SIZE CLASS (IN) habitat type.
OOO OOOO Oooo
SOO TOTO TT TU
Vv EE ETE
w TE
@@s Ponderosa Pine |
1 Douglas- Fir |
lilt! Ponderosa Pine II
@@ Douglas- Fir II
Figure 10.--Percent total
nitrogen in branches plot-
ted by branch size class.
Each point represents the
mean value of two separate
digestions and duplicate
chemical analyses. Site I
is a PSME/CAGE habitat type
and site II is a ABLA/VAGL
SIZE CLASS (IN) habitat type.
OO mee i
—
—
1
Ww
Vv
Ww
12
Results of this study will provide a data base necessary for computing nutrient
losses caused by removing the boles from logged units in the Silver Creek Research
Area. Future plans include studies on rates of litter and slash decomposition in
Silver Creek. Data from this paper will also be used to estimate nutrient gains to the
soil from litter and slash decomposition when decomposition rate studies are completed.
PUBLICATIONS CITED
Daubenmire, R., and J. D. Daubenmire.
1968. Forest vegetation of eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Wash. State Agric.
Exp. stn Bude 605 104 cp.
PEister, JR Din 0 Be ob. Kovalichtke S. F.. Arno), and’ Ry (Go Presby.
1977. Forest habitat types of Montana. USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-34, 174 p.
Intermt. For. and Range Exp. Stn., Ogden, Utah.
Johnson, Clarence M., and Albert Ulrich.
1959. Analytical methods for use in plant analysis. Univ. Calif. Agric. Exp. Stn.
Builds, 7663" 78: p:
Steele; Robext, Robert. De Plaster, Russell A. Ryker, and Jay A. Kittams,
(In Press) Forest habitat types of central Idaho. USDA For. Serv. Res. Pap. Intermt.
For. and Range Exp. Stn., Ogden, Utah.
Tiedemann, Arthur R., and Tom D. Anderson.
1971. Rapid analysis of total sulfur in soils and plant material. Plant and Soil
35:197-200.
NS
3X U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE:
The Intermountain Station, headquartered in Ogden,
Utah, is one of eight regional experiment stations charged
with providing scientific knowledge to help resource
managers meet human needs and protect forest and range
ecosystems.
The Intermountain Station includes the States of
Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and western Wyoming.
About 273 million acres, or 85 percent, of the land area in the
Station territory are classified as forest and rangeland. These
lands include grasslands, deserts, shrublands, alpine areas,
and well-stocked forests. They supply fiber for forest in-
dustries; minerals for energy and industrial development; and
water for domestic and industrial consumption. They also
provide recreation opportunities for millions of visitors each
year.
Field programs and research work units of the Station
are maintained in:
Boise, Idaho
Bozeman, Montana (in cooperation with Montana
State University)
Logan, Utah (in cooperation with Utah State
University)
Missoula, Montana (in cooperation with the
University of Montana)
Moscow, Idaho (in cooperation with the Univer-
sity of Idaho)
Provo, Utah (in cooperation with Brigham Young
University)
ie o Reno, Nevada (in cooperation with the University
~=< of Nevada)
3
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Vp)
1979-0-677-121/97