Habitat characteristics and the effect of various nutrient solutions on growth and mineral nutrition ofArnica montanaL. grown on natural soil
✍ Scribed by D. M. Pegtel
- Publisher
- Springer Netherlands
- Year
- 1994
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 1015 KB
- Volume
- 114
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1385-0237
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✦ Synopsis
Arnica montana, one of the character species of the replacement plant community Violion caninae on sandy acid humic podzol, is declining in the Netherlands since 1950. Locally, it is even extinct.
This process of decline may be attributed to (i) autonomic succession; (ii) increased rate of acidification of the soil and/or (iii) change in competitive relations among Arnica and more productive plant species, such as the successive dominant Deschampsia flexuosa. This paper examines the last two hypothesized factors, supposedly being regulated by atmospheric input of N-input, by (a) describing the habitat characteristics of a seemingly still healthy individual-rich population of Arnica and (b) growing Arnica and Deschampsia in mixed humic podzol soil (mainly A1 horizon) fertilized with variously-composed nutrient solutions in order to assess the nutrient supplying capacity of the podzol soil and species-specific nutritional demands related to their respective growth capabilities.
The results suggest that an increased rate of soil acidification yielding extra supply of ionic AI and Mn is presumably of less importance. The implications of growth rate differences among Arnica and Deschampsia as related to their nutritional demands are likely far more important. Arnica grows more slowly than Deschampsia in fertilized humus podzol. The latter species has a much more efficient use of nutrients. Furthermore, both species differ in K-nutrition if NH + is the dominant N-source, a situation normally occurring in acid podzolic soils. Deschampsia possesses the capability to adapt its metabolic nutrition (avoiding nutritional imbalances) to a wide range of nutrient supplies thereby maintaining a rather constant level of growth. Arnica, on the contrary, lacks this capability. These results are discussed in the framework of competitive relations among co-occurring plant species in the plant community Violion caninae. It is concluded that maintenance of Arnica and likely other character species of that alliance -all characterized by a low growth rate -will only be achieved when the plant community is properly managed by trampling, mowing or light levels of grazing (low stocking rate). Of prime importance is to maintain a low and relatively open vegetation structure at a relatively low level of nutrient supply.
Nomenclature: follows, Heukels & Van der Meijden (1983); that of the syntaxa follows Westhoff & Den Held (1969).