Concentrations and distributions of Al, Ca, Cl, K, Mg and Mn in a Scots pine forest in Belgium

Concentrations and distributions of Al, Ca, Cl, K, Mg and Mn in a Scots pine forest in Belgium

•Concentrations of Mg, Al, Cl, Ca, Mn and K were analysed for a Scots pine stand.•Correlations were found between Ca and Al, Mn and Cl, K and Cl and K and Mn.•Compartment concentration ratios give indications of element translocation.•A simple compartment model was developed to simulate distribution...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological modelling Vol. 324; pp. 1 - 10
Main Authors: Gielen, Sienke, i Batlle, Jordi Vives, Vincke, Caroline, Van Hees, May, Vandenhove, Hildergarde
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier B.V 01-03-2016
Subjects:
Aluminum
Bark
branches
calcium
cesium
chlorine
clay
Compartments
coniferous forests
Element cycling
forest ecosystems
Forest modelling
fractionation
heart
magnesium
Manganese
Mathematical models
Needles
nuclear power
phloem
Pinus sylvestris
potassium
radionuclides
sapwood
Scots pine
strontium
suberin
Trees
waste management
wood
Belgium
Element cycling
Scots pine
Forest modelling
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Summary:•Concentrations of Mg, Al, Cl, Ca, Mn and K were analysed for a Scots pine stand.•Correlations were found between Ca and Al, Mn and Cl, K and Cl and K and Mn.•Compartment concentration ratios give indications of element translocation.•A simple compartment model was developed to simulate distributions at equilibrium.•Transfer rates that match observations were determined. A Pinus sylvestris stand located in Mol, Belgium was studied for its content of six elements: Ca, K, Mg, Al, Cl and Mn. A fractionation of tree components was carried out into 8 classes (heart and sapwood, inner and outer bark, living branches, twigs and young/old needles) and their element contents were measured. Comparisons were made between the different compartments in terms of absolute and relative element contents. Quantitatively, Ca and K are the main elements: in young needles, Ca+K reach 83% of the elements’ whole stock. The wood compartments (heartwood+sapwood) have generally low element content, as does the outer bark except for Ca (which is bound to suberin) and Al, possibly from atmospheric clay deposition. The inner bark, twigs and needles have high element contents possibly linked to high symplasmic content. The Inner bark shows high Ca and K contents as these elements are involved in phloem transport. Positive correlations were found between Ca and Al, Mn and Cl, K and Cl and K and Mn, attributed to similarity in chemical and biological function. A simple empirical compartment model was developed to derive numerically the transfer rates that reproduce the element distribution within tree compartments. The calculated mass flows appear to be within range of the limited data available from other pine tree studies. This study highlights the potential for coupling of specific elements (including radionuclides) to Ca, K, Mg, Al, Cl and Mn in context of vegetation modelling, by assuming that these elements follow the same pathways. We found indication that 36Cl, 90Sr and 137Cs (environmentally important from the perspective of nuclear power and waste management) can be coupled to Cl, Ca and K fluxes within the tree, increasing the understanding of the cycling of radionuclides in a forest ecosystem.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.12.015
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0304-3800
1872-7026
DOI:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.12.015