Aluminum in soil solutions from a subalpine spruce-fir forest at Whiteface Mountain, New York
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Abstract
Direct or indirect Al toxicity has been suggested as a principal factor in forest tree declines. We monitored ambient soil solutions in undisturbed and experimentally manipulated soils from a fir [Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.]-spruce forest on Whiteface Mountain, NY, in order to characterize soil solution Al concentrations over a range of acid anion loadings. Under both natural and experimental conditions total Al and labile Al concentrations rarely exceeded values (180–250 µmol L−1) associated with reduced root growth in red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.). Over a 2-yr period ambient soil solutions averaged 76 and 46 µmol L−1 total Al in the organic and mineral horizons, respectively. The highest monthly mean concentrations occurred in winter. Disturbance-induced NO3 accumulation and simulated acid rain applications produced higher peak Al values in experimental plots than were observed in undisturbed and untreated plots. Although soils of the fir-spruce zone exhibited the potential to yield solutions with phytotoxic Al concentrations, it appears that such concentrations are both spatially and temporally limited and infrequently present a direct stress to root growth in red spruce.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Aluminum in soil solutions from a subalpine spruce-fir forest at Whiteface Mountain, New York |
| Series title | Journal of Environmental Quality |
| DOI | 10.2134/jeq1992.00472425002100030007x |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Year Published | 1992 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | ACSESS |
| Contributing office(s) | New England Water Science Center |
| Description | 8 p. |
| First page | 345 |
| Last page | 352 |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| Other Geospatial | Mount Esther, White Face Mountain |