Biomass and nutrient distribution in aspen, pine, and spruce stands on the same soil type in Minnesota

Abstract

Vegetation and soils were sampled in adjacent 40-year-old stands of red pine (Pinusresinosa Ait.), jack pine (Pinusbanksiana Lamb.), white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench.) Voss), and aspen (Populustremuloides Michx., P. grandidentata Michx.) on a very fine sandy loam soil in north-central Minnesota. Total tree biomass was greatest for red pine followed by aspen, spruce, and jack pine. Nutrient weights (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) in the trees were greatest in aspen followed generally by spruce, red pine, and jack pine. Particularly large proportions of biomass and nutrients were found in aspen bark and spruce foliage and branches. Understory biomass contributed less than 1.2% of the total organic matter in the vegetation–soil complex but contributed up to 5.0% of the nutrients. Exchangeable Ca in the surface soil was much lower under aspen and spruce than under the pines. No significant soil differences between species were detected below 36 cm. Harvesting the entire aboveground portion of the tree would remove up to three times more nutrients from the site than would harvesting only the bole.