Some Effects of Lime and Fertiliser on a Sitka Spruce Plantation

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Abstract
The results of the first six years of a factorial experiment testing the effects of lime and fertilizers on a 20-year-old Sitka spruce crop in Northein Ireland are described. Fertilizer increased basal area increment of poorly growing trees on a peaty-gley soil but did not affect an already better-growing crop. Lime did not affect growth but it reduced the trees' foliar P status, especially on plots given fertilizer. Lime increased microbiological activity in the litter layer, which increased its rate of decomposition and changed it to a form closer to a mull type humus. The numbers of bacteria, actinomycetes and the larger soil fauna were increased by liming. Roots were killed and the mycorrhizal association altered in limed areas. The effect of lime on the plantation has been complex and, after six years, the beneficial and harmful effects on the growth of Sitka spruce appear to be evenly balanced.

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