Fertilisation with P, N and S requires additional Zn for healthy plantation tree growth on low fertility savanna soils

Stan J. Rance; David M. Cameron; Emlyn R. Williams; Carl R. Gosper

doi:10.1071/SR23128

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Next Contents Vol 62(1)

Fertilisation with P, N and S requires additional Zn for healthy plantation tree growth on low fertility savanna soils

Stan J. Rance ^A ^B , David M. Cameron ^B , Emlyn R. Williams ^C and Carl R. Gosper

^A ^D ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A CSIRO Environment, Private Bag 5, Wembley, WA 6913, Australia.

^B School of Environment, Science and Engineering at Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.

^C Statistical Consulting Unit, ANU, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia.

^D Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, Bentley, WA 6983, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: carl.gosper@dbca.wa.gov.au

Handling Editor: Leônidas Melo

Soil Research 62, SR23128 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR23128

Submitted: 30 June 2023 Accepted: 12 December 2023 Published: 8 January 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Soil nutrient limitations characterise savanna soils globally and are one of several constraints to establishing productive tree plantations and enhancing economic opportunities in tropical regions. Fertilisation offers an approach to overcome soil nutrient limitations to maximise tree growth and health, but requires research on nutrient contents, composition, rates and methods of delivery in the context of soil characteristics.

Aims

To determine the optimal contents, rates and methods of application of fertiliser to maximise the growth and health of the plantation timber species Pinus caribaea on low fertility savanna soils.

Methods

Factorial field experiments tested growth responses to applications of phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) on three soils near Darwin, Australia. Further experiments tested effects of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and potassium (K) application and small-scale variation in soil characteristics on tree performance.

Key results

Positive growth responses to P, N and S were recorded, yet unhealthy trees developed, particularly in better-performing treatments. Second phase experiments addressing potential causes of ill health confirmed Zn limitations. Intense spatial soil sampling demonstrated substantial variation in cation exchange capacity and composition over short distances.

Conclusions

Nutrient additions to enhance plantation tree growth will need to encompass minor and trace elements in addition to N, P and S, specifically Zn, and consider the mechanism of application.

Implications

Small-scale variability in cation exchange capacity and composition indicates that optimal fertilisation rates will vary spatially, and that soil sampling for site characterisation would be more accurate with replicated dispersed samples.

Keywords: cation exchange capacity, nutrient limitation, Pinus caribaea, plant nutrition, soil limitation, soil variation, tree health, tropical soil.

References

Aldrick JM, Robinson CS (1972) Report on the land units of the Katherine-Douglas area, N.T. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Alves C, Vicente A, Nunes T, et al. (2011) Summer 2009 wildfires in Portugal: emission of trace gases and aerosol composition. Atmospheric Environment 45, 641-649.
| Google Scholar |

Black CA (1965) ‘Methods of soil analysis.’ (American Society of Agronomy: Madison)

Cameron DM (1985) Forest crops. In ‘Agro-research for the semi-arid tropics: north-west Australia’. (Ed. RC Muchow) pp. 165–178. (University of Queensland Press: St Lucia)

Cameron DM, Rance SJ, Williams ER (1981) Fertilizer responses of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis on a tropical red earth. Australian Forest Research 11, 35-45.
| Google Scholar |

Cameron DM, Rance SJ, Williams ER (1982) Effects of fertilizers on growth, form and concentration of nutrient in the needles of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis in the Northern Territory. Australian Forest Research 12, 105-119.
| Google Scholar |

Chapman HD, Pratt PF (1961) ‘Methods of analysis for soils, plants and waters.’ (University of California: Berkeley)

Cochran WG, Cox GM (1957) ‘Experimental designs.’ (John Wiley & Sons: New York)

Cook GD (1994) The fate of nutrients during fires in a tropical savanna. Australian Journal of Ecology 19, 359-365.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Craciun G (1978) Pinus caribaea provenance testing in the Northern Territory of Australia. Commonwealth Forestry Review 57, 290-292.
| Google Scholar |

Cunningham RK (1963) The effect of clearing a tropical forest soil. Journal of Soil Science 14, 334-345.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Devi Kanniah K, Beringer J, Hutley LB (2010) The comparative role of key environmental factors in determining savanna productivity and carbon fluxes: a review, with special reference to northern Australia. Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment 34, 459-490.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Fay PA, Prober SM, Harpole WS, et al. (2015) Grassland productivity limited by multiple nutrients. Nature Plants 1, 15080.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Fox RE, Clarke NB (1972) The incidence of termites in eucalypts in the Darwin area. Australian Forest Research 5, 29-36.
| Google Scholar |

Foy CD, Chaney RL, White MC (1978) The physiology of metal toxicity in plants. Annual Review of Plant Physiology 29, 511-566.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Ginter DL, McLeod KW, Sherrod C, Jr (1979) Water stress in longleaf pine induced by litter removal. Forest Ecology and Management 2, 13-20.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kanowski PJ (1997) Afforestation and plantation forestry. Working Paper No. 6. (Australian National University, Resource Management in Asia-Pacific (RMAP) Program: Canberra) Available at http://hdl.handle.net/1885/40084

Latimer WM, Hildebrand JH (1956) ‘Reference book of inorganic chemistry.’ 3rd edn. (Macmillan: New York)

Leuning R, Cromer RN, Rance S (1991) Spatial distributions of foliar nitrogen and phosphorus in crowns of Eucalyptus grandis. Oecologia 88, 504-510.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Loneragan JF, Grove TS, Robson AD, Snowball K (1979) Phosphorus toxicity as a factor in zinc-phosphorus interactions in plants. Soil Science Society of America Journal 43, 966-972.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

McGrath JF, Robson AD (1984) The influence of zinc supply to seedlings of Pinus radiata D. Don on the internal transport of recently absorbed zinc. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 11, 165-178.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Mendham DS, O’Connell AM, Grove TS, Rance SJ (2003) Residue management effects on soil carbon and nutrient contents and growth of second rotation eucalypts. Forest Ecology and Management 181, 357-372.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Mendham DS, Ogden GN, Short T, O’Connell TM, Grove TS, Rance SJ (2014) Repeated harvest residue removal reduces E. globulus productivity in the 3rd rotation in south-western Australia. Forest Ecology and Management 329, 279-286.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Mengel K, Kirkby EA (1982) Zinc. In ‘Principles of plant nutrition’. (Eds K Mengel, EA Kirkby, H Kosegarten, T Appel) pp. 585–597. (Springer: Dordrecht)

Murphy J, Riley JP (1962) A modified single solution method for the determination of phosphate in natural waters. Analytica Chimica Acta 27, 31-36.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

O’Connell AM, Grove TS, Mendham DS, Rance SJ (2003) Changes in soil N status and N supply rates in agricultural land afforested with eucalypts in south-western Australia. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 35, 1527-1536.
| Google Scholar |

O’Connell AM, Grove TS, Mendham DS, Rance SJ (2004) Impact of harvest residue management on soil nitrogen dynamics in Eucalyptus globulus plantations in South Western Australia. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 36, 39-48.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Office of Northern Australia (2015) Our north, our future: white paper on developing Northern Australia. Australian Government, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science: Canberra.

Orians GH, Milewski AV (2007) Ecology of Australia: the effects of nutrient-poor soils and intense fires. Biological Reviews 82, 393-423.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Paton R, Miller LR (1980) Control of Mastotermes darwiniensis Froggat (Isoptera: Mastotermitidae) with Mirex baits. Australian Forest Research 10, 249-258.
| Google Scholar |

Pellegrini AFA (2016) Nutrient limitation in tropical savannas across multiple scales and mechanisms. Ecology 97, 313-324.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Pereira P, Úbeda X, Martin D, Mataix-Solera J, Guerrero C (2011) Effects of a low severity prescribed fire on water-soluble elements in ash from a cork oak (Quercus suber) forest located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Environmental Research 111, 237-247.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Phillips JD, Marion DA (2004) Pedological memory in forest soil development. Forest Ecology and Management 188, 363-380.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Radujković D, Verbruggen E, Seabloom EW, et al. (2021) Soil properties as key predictors of global grassland production: have we overlooked micronutrients? Ecology Letters 24, 2713-2725.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Raison RJ, Khanna PK, Woods PV (1985) Mechanisms of element transfer to the atmosphere during vegetation fires. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 15, 132-140.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Rance SJ, Cameron DM, Williams ER (1982) Correction of crown disorders of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis by application of zinc. Plant and Soil 65, 293-296.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Rance SJ, Cameron DM, Williams ER (1983) Nutritional requirements and interactions of Khaya senegalensis on tropical red and yellow earths. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 14, 167-183.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Rance SJ, Mendham DS, Cameron DM, Grove TS (2011) An evaluation of the conical approximation as a generic model for estimating stem volume, biomass and nutrient content in young Eucalyptus plantations. New Forests 43, 109-128.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Rance SJ, Cameron DM, Gosper CR, Williams ER (2020) Multiple soil element and pH interactions constrain plant performance on tropical soils with a long history of fire. Soil Research 58, 335-345.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Rance SJ, Cameron DM, Gosper CR, Williams ER (2022) Plantation tree growth responses to P, N, K and minor and trace elements on low fertility savanna soils. Soil Research 61, 255-266.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Richards BN (1961) Fertilizer requirements of Pinus taeda L. in the coastal lowlands of subtropical Queensland. Bulletin No. 16. Queensland Department of Forestry.

Saur E, Nambiar EKS, Fife DN (2000) Foliar nutrient retranslocation in Eucalyptus globulus. Tree Physiology 20, 1105-1112.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Spragg WT, Paton R (1980) Tracing, trophallaxis and population measurement of colonies of subterranean termites (Isoptera) using a radioactive tracer. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 73, 708-714.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Stocker GC (1969) Fertility differences between the surface soils of monsoon and eucalypt forests in the Northern Territory. Australian Forest Research 4, 31-38.
| Google Scholar |

Stocker GC (1972) The environmental background to forestry in the Northern Territory of Australia. Leaflet No. 113. Forestry and Timber Bureau of Australia.

Stocker GC (1981) Regeneration of a north Queensland rain forest following felling and burning. Biotropica 13, 86-92.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Tucker BM (1974) Laboratory procedures for cation exchange measurements on soils. Technical Paper No. 23. CSIRO Division of Soils.

Verma BC, Swaminathan K, Sud KC (1977) An improved turbidimetric procedure for the determination of sulphate in plants and soils. Talanta 24, 49-50.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Walkley A, Black IA (1934) An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science 37, 29-38.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

West PW (1984) Inter-tree competition and small-scale pattern in monoculture of Eucalyptus obliqua L’Herit. Australian Journal of Ecology 9, 405-411.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Winter WH, Jones RK (1977) Nutrient responses on a yellow earth soil in northern Cape York Peninsula. Tropical Grasslands 11, 247-255.
| Google Scholar |