Heavy Metal Concentrations in Soil Solution, Soil and Needles in a Norway Spruce Stand on an Acid Sulphate Forest Soil

The effects of soil processes, related to the oxidation of sulphide sediments, on heavy metal concentrations in the soil and soil solution were investigated in a Norway spruce stand on a fine-textured, acidic soil rich in sulphates located on the isostatic land-uplift western coast of Finland. The age of the soil is ca. 300–400 years, and the soil texture is silt and till. The chemical properties of the soil and soil solution clearly reflected the formation of acid sulphate (AS) soil. Compared to background reference values for podzolic coniferous forest soil, the pH of the soil solution in the mineral soil (20–40 cm depth) was very low, and the Al, Fe and S concentrations extremely high. The Zn and Ni concentrations in the soil solution were also strongly elevated, and similar to the concentrations reported close to anthropogenic heavy-metal emission sources. The concentrations of Cd and Cu were also frequently elevated. In contrast, the acidity and metal concentrations of the soil solution sampled in the organic layer were not elevated. Similarly, exchangeable Zn and Ni concentrations were also elevated in the mineral soil, but not in the organic layer. Because Norway spruce has a very superficial rooting system and the zone with exceptionally high metal concentrations did not extend up to the topmost soil layers, sulphide-oxidation derived soil acidification is not likely to pose a serious threat to forest ecosystems growing on this type of site. Despite the elevated concentrations of protons and many metals in the mineral soil and soil solution (20–40 cm), the nutrient status of the spruce stand was satisfactory and the general health of the stand has been reported to be relatively good.     

Field evaluation of phenology and success of hardy,micro-propagated old shrub roses in northern Finland

Abstract

Five old shrub rose taxa were studied in field experiments in northern Finland during the years 1993–1999. The plant material was micro-propagated from woody plants selected for their ornamental value and hardiness for northern areas of Finland. The observations in the experiments were based on phenological monitoring and survey of plant success. The results revealed significant differences in the success of the different rose genotypes, and the most valuable genotypes were identified. Micropropagation was successfully used as a propagation method and these in vitro propagated roses grew naturally under harsh field conditions. The Rosa ‘Tornedal’ origins, R. ‘Poppius’ and R. ‘Sipi’ were ranked the most suitable cultivars for northern landscaping. Overall, all of the studied roses succeeded fairly well.     

A leap forward in geographic scale for forest ectomycorrhizal fungi

The functionally critical role of mycorrhizal fungi in forest ecosystems, and the imminent threat of climate change that may act to alter mycorrhizal functional biodiversity, means there is an urgent need for a regional to continental-scale assessment of mycorrhizal distributions. Until recently, it had not been possible to cost-effectively assess mycorrhizas precisely and accurately. A large-scale survey of ICP Forests plots would be only the first stage in answering many of the questions outlined above, but it is essential if future studies are going to address these questions with hypothesis-driven research in a cohesive manner, rather than remain independent for lack of a unified approach. The chance to utilise the vast network of biomonitoring plots at this time is a remarkable opportunity because it minimises the logistics and costs associated with achieving such an enormous effort and provides a rare stable — past and future — ground for forest ecosystem scientific investigation. In the face of rapid global change, we finally have an opportunity to accurately integrate mycorrhizal distribution data with long-term environmental monitoring, providing a basic understanding of functionally crucial organisms, and at the same time creating an invaluable resource for future research.     

People and pines 1555<Emphasis Type="Bold">–</Emphasis>1910: integrating ecology,history and archaeology to assess long-term resource use in northern Fennoscandia

Context

Past human land use has received increasing attention as an important driver of ecosystem change also in seemingly natural landscapes. Quantification of historical land use is therefore critical for assessing the degree of human impact and requires integration of ecology, history and archaeology.

Objective

This study aims to assess and compare levels of resource use by different actors during 355 years across a large landscape of northern Sweden.

Method

Data on resource use derived from case studies were extrapolated using demographic data to estimate harvested resources at the landscape scale. Here, we examined the use of the key-specie Scots pine by native Sami peoples and farmers and through commercial logging, and reconstructed historical forest conditions in order to interpret harvest levels and sustainability.

Results

We show that (1) the pre-industrial use of Scots pine resources in Pite Lappmark was sustainable from a landscape perspective, and (2) that the early commercial logging, in contrast, was not sustainable. Large and old Scots pine trees were logged at a very high rate, reaching up to 300 % of the annual ingrowth.

Conclusion

We suggest that historical landscape studies should incorporate analysis at different spatial scales, as such an approach can mirror the overall use of resources. Only then can land use data be applied across larger spatial scales, function as reference values and be compared to those of other regions, time-periods and types of human impact.

     

Spatio-temporal Trends in Soil Solution Bc/Al and N in Relation to Critical Limits in European Forest Soils

Chemical composition of soil solution provides information on the availability of nutrients and potentially toxic substances to plant roots and mycorrhizas. It is therefore used to monitor impacts of air pollutants on soils. In this study we examined two soil solution parameters, base cations/aluminium ratio (Bc/Al_tot ratio) and inorganic nitrogen concentration (N), in samples collected at 300 intensive monitoring plots of the International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests) from the early 1990s to 2006 in order to detect possible critical limit exceedances (CLimE). CLimE for Bc/Al_tot ratio indicating negative effects for tree growth were only rarely detected. Quite the contrary was observed in CLimE for inorganic N concentrations where the safety limits were frequently exceeded in parts of Europe. Especially noteworthy is the number of the plots where leaching of N from forest soils occurred over the studied period. With ongoing high atmospheric N input into forest soils, we expect critical limits to be exceeded in the future as well.     

Element Concentrations in Scots Pine Needles on Radial Transects Across a Subarctic Area

Concentrations of aluminium (Al), arsenic (As), calcium (Ca), cadmium (Cd), chlorine (Cl), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), phosphorus (P), lead (Pb), sulphur (S), silicon (Si) and zinc (Zn) were measured by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) in Scots pine needles collected from transects across Finnish Lapland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Ni, Cu, Fe, P and S concentrations were significantly higher in the needles collected in the vicinity of the smelters in Monchegorsk, whereas Mn and Zn decreased towards Monchegorsk. No distinct increase of S or decrease of Mn and Zn concentrations in the needles were observed when approaching Nikel. Foliar S concentrations were higher in C needles than in C+1 needles, even in plots close to the smelters. The effect of the emissions from the smelters was clearly seen in the needle chemistry up to 50 km away from smelters and was still perceivable over 100 km away.     

Natural regeneration after gap cutting in Scots pine stands in northern Finland

The objective of the study was to examine the success of regeneration in gaps of variable size in pine-dominated stands in terms of seedling density. It was based on an experiment in central Lapland containing circular clear-cut gaps of 20, 40 and 80 m in diameter on typical sub-xeric and xeric pine sites with site preparation (patch scarification). The observation period covered the first five years after cutting. The average number of seedlings that had emerged after gap cutting was about 22 000?ha^?1 for pine and 7 000?ha^?1 for birch. The proportion of regeneration sample plots without any pine seedlings was less than 10%. The seedling density diminished constantly with greater distance from the edge stand but indicating sufficient density up to the largest gap size in the study (diameter 80 m, area ca. 0.5?ha). Site preparation promoted regeneration remarkably, and we conclude that successful regeneration would be achieved in most cases with soil scarification exposing just 10–20% of the soil surface.     

Quality assurance (QA) in international forest monitoring programmes: activity, problems and perspectives from East Asia and Europe

? The quality of monitoring is defined by its ability to provide data that (i) allow estimates of the status of the target resource with defined precision level, (ii) permit change detection with defined power, and (iii) are comparable through space and time. To achieve these requirements a Quality Assurance (QA) perspective is essential.

? To what extent QA was considered and data quality achieved in international forest monitoring programmes in East Asia and Europe? What is missing?

? Past and present QA activity in forest monitoring in East Asia and Europe revealed that most attention was given to evaluate and promote comparability of measurements, with special emphasis on analytical chemistry. Much less attention was given to field sampling and to the overall monitoring design. QA approaches were unbalanced among the various investigations, and several problems with data comparability remained over years.

? Despite considerable work on data quality control, parts of the monitoring process are still poorly covered by QA and revealed weaknesses in design and implementation. More comprehensive, formal and stringent QA procedures are necessary in international monitoring initiatives. Steps currently being undertaken for a more comprehensive QA approach are presented.