OBSERVATIONS ON FOLIAGE NUTRIENT CONTENT OF SEVERAL CONIFEROUS TREE SPECIES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Abstract

Concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur in needles of alpine fir, amabilis fir, western red cedar, Douglas fir, western hemlock, lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce and Sitka spruce trees growing in a number of areas of British Columbia was determined.Concentration of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S in current needles of three groups of alpine fir seedlings was 1.05-1.85, 0.18-0.26, 0.70-1.08, 0.29-.044, 0.07-0.11, and 0.12-0.16 per cent, respectively. The nutrient content in the same order was 0.99, 0.16, 1.20, 0.30, 0.08, and 0.12 per cent in a single group of amabilis fir samples.In the lone set of western red cedar samples the concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S were in the order of 0.73, 0.13, 0.52, 1.16, 0.10 and 0.07 per cent.The percentage of the six nutrients in current Douglas fir needles from seven locations was 0.88-1.37, 0.12-0.22, 0.38-0.70, 0.16-0.44, 0.07-0.18, and 0.14-0.25 for N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S, respectively.The nutrient content of current needles of western hemlock from three sites was N = 0.86-1.17, P = 0.11-0.19, K = 0.28-0.57, Ca = 0.18-0.27, Mg = 0.08-0.12 and S = 0.10-0.15 per cent.Nitrogen, P, K, Ca, Mg and S concentration in current needles from three lots of lodgepole pine seedlings was 1.18-1.77, 0.15-0.18, 0.45-0.62, 0.16-0.26, 0.11-0.14 and 0.12-0.21 per cent, respectively. The corresponding values in needles from older trees were in the order 0.97-1.12, 0.09-0.12, 0.35-0.39, 0.15-0.16, 0.08-0.12 and 0.09-0.11.Per cent N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S in current needles of three groups of Engelmann spruce seedlings was in the order 1.26-1.72, 0.21-0.29, 0.71-0.80, 0.44-0.58, 0.13-0.15 and 0.13-0.19. Concentration of these nutrients in older trees was 0.92-1.08, 0.20, 0.70-0.88, 0.28-0.33, 0.11-0.12 and 0.12-0.14 per cent, respectively.