Long-Term Effect of Wood Ash and Wastewater Sludge Fertilization on Tree Growth in Short-Rotation Forest Plantations on Abandoned Agricultural Land: A Case Study

Kristaps Makovskis (), Kārlis Dūmiņš, Toms Artūrs Štāls, Viktorija Vendiņa, Arta Bārdule and Dagnija Lazdiņa
Additional contact information
Kristaps Makovskis: Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Riga Street 111, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Kārlis Dūmiņš: Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Riga Street 111, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Toms Artūrs Štāls: Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Riga Street 111, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Viktorija Vendiņa: Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Riga Street 111, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Arta Bārdule: Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Riga Street 111, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Dagnija Lazdiņa: Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Riga Street 111, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-15

Abstract: Short-rotation forest plantations on former agricultural land capture CO 2 , provide bioeconomic materials, and mitigate climate change. This study aimed to enhance our understanding of the long-term effects of wood ash and wastewater sludge fertilization on various tree species (birch, hybrid aspen, grey alder, black alder, and hybrid alder) in short-rotation forestry plantations on abandoned agricultural land where tree growth measurements were taken over an 11-year period. After 11 years, the highest aboveground biomass (AGB) was observed for hybrid aspen clone No. 4 under wastewater sludge treatment (109.0 t ha −1 ), birch under wood ash treatment (34.3 t ha −1 ), black alder under wastewater sludge treatment (33.6 t ha −1 ), grey alder under wastewater sludge treatment (40.9 t ha −1 ), hybrid alder under control conditions (36.2 t ha −1 ), and hybrid aspen clone No. 28 under wood ash treatment (37.2 t ha −1 ). The average survival rate was 73% in control plots, 81% under wastewater sludge treatment, and 78% under wood ash treatment. Short-term positive impacts on tree growth were observed, effects that were not consistent over the long term. The impact of these treatments on tree growth varied between species, and the effects tended to diminish over time, which must be considered before fertilization.

Keywords: wastewater sludge; wood ash; tree plantation fertilization; fertilization effectiveness; short-rotation forestry (SRF) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16272/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16272/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16272-:d:1287171

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().