PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 32: Biogeochemistry
Thursday, August 11, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Effects of site conditions on the nutrient dynamics of several oak stands in Korea.
Kim, Dong*,1, Son, Yohwan2, Yi, Myeong3, Jin, Hyun4, Park, In4, 1 Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea2 Korea University, Seoul, Korea3 Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Korea4 Kyunghee University, Suwon, Korea
ABSTRACT- Natural oak stands in Korea are often established after disturbances such as fire and human land use. Quercus variabilis and Q. mongolica were the most prevalent oak species at the study sites. It was intended to investigate the effect of site conditions on nutrient cycling at several natural oak stands in Korea. The nutrient cycling data were collected from 4 oak stands; 1 urban area and 3 remote forest areas at different location. The stand age ranged from 20 to 45 years. The nutrient distribution data were collected from vegetation, forest floor and soil for N, P, K, Ca, Mg and Na. Nutrient flow data were collected from atmospheric deposition, litterfall, plant nutrient uptake, litter decomposition and leaching. The amount of nutrients distributed in the vegetation was in a similar range in most of the oak stands, except for that of Kangwon site which was twice as much as the other sites. The amount of nutrients in the soil layer was various among the sites depending upon the coarse fragments. The oak stands in urban area showed the greatest amount of nutrient input from atmosphere and output through leaching, especially for N. The increased level of nutrient cycling at the oak stands in urban area seemed to be due to the urban environment including human disturbance and air pollution. The oldest oak stands at Kangwon site was stable in terms of nutrient flow, showing the lower level of nutrient input and output. However, internal nutrient cycling via plant uptake and litterfall was greatest at Kangwon site where stand biomass was largest among the oak stands. The nutrient cycling in the oak stands was influenced by stand age and site conditions such as atmospheric deposition, microclimate and vegetation structure.
Key words: nutrient cycling, oak forest, atmospheric deposition, nutrient leaching