A report on Department of Forestry research project number 103 entitled 'Forest Plantations'--P. [2].Digitized 2007 AES.Includes bibliographical references (page 11)

Burns, Paul Y.

Dingle, Richard W.

University of Missouri: MOspace

, • , RESEARCH BUllETIN 541 FEBRUARY, 1954 UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLLEGE OF AGRlCULTURE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION J. H. Longwell, Diua(JT Relationship of Shortleaf Pine Growth to Soil Properties RICHA RD w. D INGLE AN D P AUL Y . B URNS Publicnion 2.u tbocized ] anuuy 2', 19~ COLUMBIA, MISSOURl • A rcpon on depanment of Forestry research project number 103 entided " Forest Pi::J.ntUi005." • Relationship of Shortleaf Pine Growth to Soil Properties RICHARD W. DINGLE AND PAUL Y. BURNS INTRODUCTI ON Appraisal of land's productive capacity for timber is difficult, especially when trec:s of the desired species afe not present. Accumulating evidence indicates that measurements of physical soil factors may be used to predict potentialities of a sire for cree growth, in regions where soil differences are the major cause of variation in site qualiey. An intensive study of the growth of shartkaf pine plantations in rela-rion to differences in soil properties was made in a small area of Missouri in 1952. This research proved important as it added weight to results of similar investigations elsewhere. The principal result was the discovery chat site quality for shordeaf pine was strongly related to thickness of the surface horizon and the percentage of clay this layer contained. Site quality, as mea-sured by height growth, was much better on soils with deep A horizons rich in clay than on those with shallow .A horizons containing little clay. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA Plantations were available for study in the Ashland W ildlife Research Area in Boone County, near the center of the state. They were located on old fields, on or near ridge tOPS, which generally have cappings of loess. The loess in places lay directly on limestone bedrock; elsewhere weathered drift of the K ansas ice sheet lay between the loess and bedrock. The soils in this region were classified by Kellogg (1938) in the gray-brown podzolic soil group. Most of the plantations were located on Wel-don soil, a series described by Scrivner and Frieze (19n) as a pale brown soil with a yellow-brown, plastic, silty-clay subsoil ; it is low in agricultural productivity. O ne plantation was located on Lindley loam, a liJ!:ht-colored soil with a sticky, yellow-brown gritty clay-loam subsoil. This soil is derived from glacial tili and has low fertility. Another plantation was located on a site where the soil body had been scraped away a few years before planta-tion establishment, leaving heavy parent material of weathered glacial drift exposed . Because of agricultural cultivation and erosion, soil profiles in the study area were not typical of profiles under natural forest, especiall y in t he sur-face layers (Fig. 1) . Erosion had removed the upper layers in varying amountS, and culrivation had disturbed the soil, so that the typical forest-soil A horizon was not present. 4 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Figure 1. Profile of W eldon soil on one of the plots. The zone from IS to 18 inches is the guy layer which m:a.rked the bottom of the.A hoti:l:on. Black iron and m=ganese concretions typical of this soil a~e visible. COllECfION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA Data wer(: collected from seven plantations ranging in age from 12 to 16 years. Because of variation in survival within a plantation and between plantations, stand density was not uniform. In general, however, the stands were moder:l.te1y well stocked. D iameter growth being gready affected by density of stocking, the best available index of site qua1ity for these young stands was average annual height growth during the life of the crees. Pre-liminary study showed chat ~rowth varied from about 1 to 2 feet per year, indicating marked variation In site 9ua1ity over the study area, presumably due in parr to soil differences. Twenty-eight plots, each about 20 feet square, were established and the average annual growth of rcees in height was computed. A pit was dug at the plot center. The soil profile was described to a depth of2 feet. Com-posite soil samples for mechanical analysis and other laboratory tests were collected separately from the soil horizons down to 24 inches below the sur-face. Constant-volume samples of the upper 3 inches were taken for mea-surement of permanent wilting percentage and field capacity. T he vertical distribution of fine roots (smaller than 3 millimeters in diameter) on the pit face was recorded. RESEARCH B ULLETIN 541 , Mechanical analyses were made in the laboratory by the hydrometer method. Plasticity number, the difference between lower and upper plastic limits, was determined by a method adapted from Casagrande (1932). Soil color was determined by use of Munsen chans and instructions supplied by Pendleton and Nickerson (1951). Organic matter content was deter. mined by a wet combustion method described by Peech (J al. (1947). Hr' drogen-ion concentration was measured with the Beckman pH meter. Per· manent wilting percentage was obtained by growing sunflower seedlings in containers of soil in field condition. The difference between moisture content at field capacity and at wilting was used as an expression of the amount of moisture available to the trees at field capacity. Hydroscopic moisture was computed as the loss in weight from air-dry to oven-dry con-dition, expressed as a percenta~e of oven·dry weight. Data mdicated that a multiple linear regre;sion was the means of statis. tical analysis best suited to show relationship of the several soil factors to height growth. Accordingly, the data were subjected to this treatmene. Statistical significance (5-percent level).of regressions and correlation co-efficients thus obtained were computed by methods described by Snedecor (1946) . Lutz and Chandler (1946) divided soil characteristics into twO classes: (1) relatively permanent, and (2) temporary (subject to appreciable change during relatively short periods of time). Measurements of permanent facrors are more likely to be reliable for predicting site quality than are measur~ ments of temporary characteristics. Temyorary properties sometimes ue ch_ange~ by plantS during a short period .o years. Con.s«Juently, permanent and temporary soil properties were treated separatel y in the anal ysis. RELATIONSHIP OF PERMANENT SOIL PROPERTIES TO SITE QUALITY ~?ur characteristics of the A horizon-thickness, percentage of clay, plaStICIty number, and hygroscopic moisture-together were associated with 74 percent of the variation in mean annual height growth. The firSt two properties, thickness and percentage of clay, are more readily determinable than the others. A combination of these two factors resulted in a statistically significant regression, explaining 72 percent of the variation in site quality. The regression e'luation follows: Mean annual height growth= 1.05+.0192 (thickness of A horizon) + .0157 (percentage of clay in A horizon). The standard error of estimate for this equa.tion is 0.14 foot; therefore, ~ the Stu~y area it is possible by means of the regression e'luacion to pre-dict, twO times out o(three, the average yearly height growth within 0.14 foot. A tabular presentation of predicted mean aruma! height growth, based on the <:guation, is presented in the accompanying Table 1. 6 MISSOURI AGRICULTUR,AL EXPERIMENT STATION Figute 2. I lltcrior view of plantation on the scnped area, A horil:on miss. ing. TIiC$c uees, planted in the spring or 1942, ha.ve averaged only 1 foot per year in beight growth. • , RESEARCH B ULLI!TIN 54 1 7 RELATIONSHIP OF MEAN ANNUAL HE1GHT GROWTH TO THlCIQOESS OF THE A HORIZON AND PERCENTAGE OP CLAY IN THE A HORIZON Pen:lHltq. of Clar in Thlclmua of A Horl:&on III lncbes A bor!J:()n , , • , , HI n n: [II U 211 Mean. Ann ... l &ta:bt Growth In. Fef!t 0 1.05 1.0~ 1.13 1.17 1.20 1.24 1.28 1.32 1.35 1.40 1.43 , 1.17 1.21 1.25 1.28 1.32 1.38 1.40 1.44 1.48 1. 51 " 1.25 1.29 1.33 l.35 1.40 1.44 1.48 1.52 t.58 l.MI 15 1.33 1.37 1.41 1.44 1.48 1.52 1.56 1.60 1.64 1.87 " 1.40 1.44 1.48 1.51 1.55 1.59 1.63 1.67 1.71 1.74 " 1.48 1.52 1.58 1.59 l.IU 1.87 1.71 1.75 1.78 1.82 " 1.56 1.60 1.64 1.67 1.71 1.75 1.79 1.83 1.87 1.90 " 1.65 1.68 1.72 1.75 1.7g 1.83 1.87 l.gl 1.85 Loa Among thc 28 plots, thickness of.A horizon varied from 0 to 20 inches; pcrttntagc of day in (hc A horizon avcraged 21, Wlging from 0 to 34. Fig. 2 shows a plot whe« thtu: was no A horizon. The:: predicted average growth ( 1.05 feet) is dose (0 actual growth (1.15 feet). Another plot is pictured in Fig. 3. The A horizon here was 4 inches thick and had 22 percent day. Pre-dicted growth was 1,48 feet per year, aetwl 1.5 1. Regressions of height growth on pbscicity number and hygroscopic moisture individually were st:l.tiscically significant; however, :lddicion of Figun: 3. Pb..otation on Weldon soil, avenge annual height growth L' feet, age 12 yeats. 8 .MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION thesc indepmdem variables to the regression based on thickness and per-cent2ge of clay showed that they did nOt contribute signifiamdy to a pro:iic-rion of 5ice quality. Their failure to strengthen site-qua1ity prediction may be due to the faCt rh:l.t they are highly correlated with day Content. Percent:l.ge of silt-plus-clay in the A horizon also was correlated to a marked degree with sice quality. However, as an expression of the opaciry of the soil for tItt growth, it W2S inferior to percentage of cb.y. Thiclrness of A horizon (or deprh to a ti~h t subsoil) is of general im-pomnce as a gauge 1..[ site quality. The tiodings of other investig.ltors also bot OUt its genenl imporWltt in affecting tree growth (Auten, 1937, 194~ ; Turner, 1938; RobertS, 1939; Minckler, 1943; Coile, 1948; G:aiser, 1950; Gessel and Uoyd, 1950; Gogg:ans :and M:ay, 1950; Goggans, 19H). . The importance of percent:age of cb.y in the A horizon is supported by reseuch on pine growth in Arkansas, where site qu:ality inae:asel:! with incre:ase in d:ay content in the A horizon ( Turner, 1938). According to B:aver (1948), me c1:ay fraction of the soil is the mOSt active textural class with respect to avnbbility of soil moisrurc and soil nutrientS. Consequently, in soils with sm:a.ll or moderate :amountS of d:ay, site quality is likefy to be rel:aced directly to clay content. However, soils with high day content might show inverse relationship of cl:ay percenta$e to site qu:ality because of un· favorable physical properties associated With large amountS of d:ay. This inverse relationship appeared in studies of tree growth on hovy soil by H :lyes and Stoeckefer (193') :and Harper (!S>40). Two subsoil char:aaerisrics,.percent2ge of clay and plasticity number of the B horizon, were combined with thickness and percentage of day of the A horizon in regrosion an21ysis. The results indicated that these twO sub-soil propenies do not add signifinntly to the prediCtion of sire qu:a.lity b:ased. on the previously given equ:ation. Inability to show ~ssociation · of subsoil differences with height growth variation may be due to the fact that the pl:antations are young. As the crees grow older, rOOt competition will in· crease. The lower soil b.yers will become rci:acively more importan< than they are now. RELATIONSHIP OF TEMPORARY SOIL PROPERTIES TO SITE QUAUTY Org:anic matter and pH of the A horizon were inversely related to site qu:ality-sites with high organic matter and high pH were poorest. Organic matter content and pH were relatively low, averaging 0.95 percent :lnd 4.80, respe-ctivdy. Increases in organic matter and pH would be expected to improve site quality. However, in the plant2tions studied, it is likely that differences in organic matter content and pH of surface soil are mutt! rather than callJeJ of differences in tree growth. On good sires, where plan· tations had developed rapidly, the ground was well covered with pine need· les, which tend to increase soil acidity. Organic matter incorpontion into , , , RESEARCH BUUETIN 541 9 mineral soil is slow under pine needle litter. On poor sites, where Ue(:S grew slowly, the ground was covered with herbs (mostly grasses), under which organic maHer was incorporated into mineral soil. Thus, good sites have rapidly growing pine trees with acid mineral soil low in organic matter; poor sites have slow-growing pine, abundant herbaceous ground cover, less acid mineral soil, and higher organic matter content. Available moisture in the upper 3 inches (field capacity minus wilting percentage) was not correlated significantly with site quality. This soil pro-perty ranged from 14 to 24 percent, averaging 20 percent. The range of color in the soils studied was slight; no consistent rela-tionship of soil color to site 'luality could be established. ROOT DISTRIBUTION AND SOIL PROPERTIES The number of fine roots in a cross-section of the A horizon 2 feet wide averaged 172, varying from 59 to 335. Site quality was directly related to the number of fine roots in the A horizon. Further analysis showed that the number of fine roOtS was dependent upon thickness of this horizon. For each 1 inch increase in thickness, the number of roots increased nine. Although site quality was related to percentage of clay in the A horizon, the number of fine roots in this horizon apparently was not related to this particular soil property or to the other properties studied. The number of fine roots in a 2-(OOt cross-section of the B horizon (down to 24 inches below the surface) a,:,eraged only 13. Apparently this number was related to only one soil property of those studiea-thickness of A horizon. An increase of 1 inch in thickness of this horizon resulted in a decrease of two in number of fine roots in the B horizon. 10 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS An intensive study of soil conditions related to the growth of 12· to 16-year-old planted shortleaf pine was conducted in 1952 at the Ashland Wildlife Research Are2 in Boone County. Soils of the srudy area were large-ly silt loarns derived from loess. Twenty-eight plots were established in seven plantations. Average annual growth in height was determined at each plot and used as a measure of site quality. Samples of soil from the A and B horizons were tllken separately for measurement of soil propenics. Distribu-don of roots in the soil profile was recorded. The main results of the srudy were : 1. Seventy-cwo percent or the site quality variation was associated with differences in (1) thickness of A horizon, and (2) percentage of clay in the A horizon: 2. A formula was derived which shows the relationship between cateof height growth and A horizon thickness and clay percentage. A table show-ing these relationships was developed using this _formula. 3. The preceding combination of soil properties was the best, of all those examined in chis study, fot prediction of pine site quality. 4. Differences in subsoil characteristics were noc related to site-quality variation. 5. The beSt sites had the lowest organic maner:and pH in their A hori-zons, probably because rapid pirie plantation growth promoted soil acidity and decreased incorporation of organic matter into mineral soil. 6. The numbers of fine rOOtS in the A horizon and in the B horizon were related to thlckness of A horizon. Apparently no other soil property of those studied appreciably affected the number of fine roots. These results constitute further evidence of the importance of certain soil properties to tree growth. They demonstrate that it is possible to pre-dict site quality, in some cases, upon the basis of a few, relatively simple soil measurementS. • • , , RESEARCH B ULLETIN 54 1 II LITERATURE CITED I . Auten, J T. 1937. A Mtlhod olSilt Evaluation for Ytl/Qw Poplar Baud (In lIN Dtpth 01 the Vndisturh«i A 54il Horivm. Ccntnl Snues Forest Exp. So. Note 33. 2. --------1945. Soil Farlors Assrxialtd With Sill Quality for Planltd Bltzek UxuJtllnd Black Walnul. Jour. Forestry 43:592-598. 3. B~ver, 1. D. 1948. Soil P&)Jia. J ohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. (Second edition). 4. Casagrande, A. 1932. TWtllrr:h on lhe Attn-burg limitJ 01 Soil Public Roads 13: 121-130. 5. Coile, T . S. 1948. &Iation of Soil Charamnsl;a to Silt lntkx 01 Lob""'} lind ShDrt-Ita/ Pines in 1m /..Qu;rr Pitdmonl Rtgion of North CArolina. Duke University School o(Forenry Bul. 13. 6. Gaiser. R. N . 1950. Rtialirm & twttn Soil Ch4,admJtio and Silt lmkx (II Lob""') Pint m 1M u,.utal Plain Rlgi(ln (If Virginia lind l iN CArmnas. J our. Forestry ~8: 271-275. 7. Gessel, S. P., and W m. J. Uoyd. 1950. Effm ofSoI'M Physi(al S()iJ PrtJptTtilJ()n J){)Jlgias-Fir Siu Quality. J our. Forestry ~8:.r05 "'1 0. 8. G oUans, J. F. 195 1. Slash and LAblolly Pi," Pial/lations in A labama's Piedmont &g/(71I. Ala. Agr. Exp. Sta. Cir.99. 9. --------andJ. T. May. 1950. BilKlI. 1..«usl Plantations in 1M Pitdmont &g;()II 01 Alabama. Ala. Agr. Exp. Sra. Cir. 98. 10. Harper, Horace J. 1940. Rli4tion of Cii_lil Condit;ons, Soil Charadtri;tia, and T,.. DtwWpmmt m liN Solllbtrn &raJ Plains Jl§gion. Soil Science Society of Ameri-ca Proceedings 5:327-335. 11 . H ayes, F. A. and). H . Stoeckeler. 1935. Soil and &" 11 &kIt;(l1I.Ihi; ()I thl SiNlUf'-kil unto A section in: PouibHitits ()I SiNlUf'btJI Planting in liN PlaIns IYgi(m. Lake States For. Exp. So. unnumbered publication. 12. Kellogg,C. E.1938. M2p,SoiIAssodali()1IJ oIIN U. S. In: SoiisanaMm, Year-book of Agc., 1938, U. S. Dept. of Agr. 13. Lutz, H. J. and R. F. Ch~ndrer, Jr. 1946. F(lml Soiis. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. N ew York. 14. Minckler, L S. 1943. Efta of Rainfall and Sitt Fa(tm on tiN Growth and SlIrvivai ()/ Young Ftmsl Pianlatl()IIJ. Jour. ~orestry 41 :829-833. 1'. fiec:ch , Michael, L T. Alexander, 1. A. Dean, 2!ld 1. Fielding Read. 1947. MnhJs o/Soil Analym for ~i/ FtrtiJity blfJts/~fa'm. u. S. L>ept. of Agr. Cir. 757. 16. fiendleron, Robert L and Dorothy Nickerson. 1951. ~ii ~ and Sp«:ial Mlln-stJl Soil CoM Chartl. Soil Seiente 71:354 3. 17. RobertS, E. G. 1939. Soil !kplh and Height Growth of Black I...ocust. Jour. Forestry 37:583·584. 18. Scrivner, C. L. and). A. Frieze. 1951. S(liis 01 Boont County. Mo. Agr. Exp. So. Progress Report 14. 19. Sncde<ot, G. W . 1 946. Stari;lical Methods. Iowa State College Press, Ames. 20. Turner, Lc:wis M. 1938. So_ Pro}" CiJI:lrlKurislia ()lliN Pint-Growing Soiis of thl VJ.ulai Plam Rtgitm (II Arll.an.sas. Ark Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 361. 

Relationship of shortleaf pine growth to soil properties

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