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Nutrient cycles in birchwoods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

Hugh G. Miller
Hugh G. Miller
Affiliation:
The Macaulay Institute for Soil Research, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB9 2QJ
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Synopsis

Birch has a long-established reputation as a soil-improver, a characteristic often presumed to result from some aspect of the nutrient cycle peculiar to this species. However, models for the cycles of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium by age in slow-growing birch based on data from the literature for biomass development, nutrient levels and rates of decomposition suggest that nutrient cycling in birchwoods is comparable to that in forests of other species with similar rates and patterns of growth.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 85 , Issue 1-2: Birches , 1984 , pp. 83 - 96
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1984

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