EFFECTS OF WATERSHED LIMING ON PICEA RUBENS SEEDLING BIOMASS AND NUTRIENT ELEMENT CONCENTRATION

Effects of watershed liming on the biomass and tissue chemistry of planted Picea rubens Sarg. (red spruce) seedlings were investigated for two growing seasons after two subcatchments in a forested Adirondack, New York (U.S.A.) watershed were limed aerially with 6.89 t ha^-1 of calcitic limestone (CaCO₃). Picea rubens has been the focus of numerous atmospheric deposition research studies, but less well investigated for responses to amelioration. Picea rubens seedlings were planted in limed and reference subcatchments and harvested the first and second growing season after liming to measure total, foliar, and stem (i.e., branch) biomass, and concentrations of Ca, Mg, K, Al, Na, and P in the annual growth increment of foliage and branches. In the second year after liming, both foliage and stem biomass of seedlings from reference plots were at least 50% greater than seedling biomass from limed plots. Seedlings in limed areas had significantly greater foliar concentrations of Mg and P in the first year after liming, but not in the second year. Foliar Ca was not significantly different in limed than reference seedlings. Foliar Al concentrations were greater in reference than limed seedlings, but still below documented toxicity levels. Stem concentrations of Mg, K, and P in seedlings from limed areas decreased significantly between the first and second growing season after liming, while reference seedling stem concentrations either increased or declined only slightly. Correlations among foliar nutrients and foliar biomass from limed plots were negative and suggest an inverse dilution effect. Foliar Al concentrations were negatively correlated with Ca, Mg, K, and P in seedlings from reference plots, but positively correlated in limed plots. The adverse response of P. rubens seedlings to lime may reflect changes in nutrient availability associated with changes in soil pH.