EAP - Oil Shale publications

PUBLISHED
SINCE 1984

Oil Shale

ISSN 1736-7492 (Electronic)
ISSN 0208-189X (Print)

Impact Factor (2022): 1.9

GROWTH ACCELERATION OF PINUS SYLVESTRIS IN BOG STANDS DUE TO INTENSIFIED NUTRIENT INFLUX FROM THE ATMOSPHERE; pp. 75-93

PDF | doi:10.3176/oil.2008.1.08

Authors

Marko Kaasik, Tõnu Ploompuu, R. OTS, E. MEIER, H. OHVRIL, O. OKULOV, H. TERAL, L. NEIMAN, V. RUSSAK, A. KALLIS, P. POST

Abstract

As the pine trees at ombrotrophic bog grow in the extreme lack of nutrients deposited into the soil exclusively from the atmosphere, any increase of deposition affects the growth of trees remarkably. Radial increments of Pinus sylvestris in bog stands were studied at 6 sites in the North-Eastern Estonia, 7 sites in remote parts of Estonia, a site in Southern Finland and a site in Lithuania. In total 380 cores from trees aged 80–200 years were used for this study. It was found that after a quite steady growth in 1930–1960 annual increments in the oil shale impact area increased about two-times. Rapid growth lasted about two decades, 1970–1990, when the consumption of oil shale and resulting environmental impacts were largest. Smaller but nearly simultaneous acceleration was found in remote sites. Since the 1990´s, the increments decreased again. Such behaviour is in good agreement with both airborne emissions from the local oil-shale-based industry and global human activities. A strong negative correlation between the radial increment and the atmospheric Bouguer transparency coefficient (an integral indicator of column aerosol content of the atmosphere), measured in Estonia since 1932, was found. Thus, the deposition of nutrient-containing aerosol has probably accelerated the growth of pines in bog stands at large European boreal areas.

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