2. To find if W1 showed a positive response with
annual tree ring growth and water-use
efficiency when compared to W3.
Evidence from other studies helped in this
research, such as Battles et al. 2013 and
Green et al. 2013.
Green, Mark, et al. “Decreased water flowing from a forest
amended with calcium silicate.” Proceedings of the
National Academy of Science 110:15 (2013): 5999-6003.
Web. 30 Sept 2014.
Battles, John J., et al. “Restoring Soil Calcium Reverses Forest
Decline.” Environmental Science and Technology Letters
vol. 1 (2014):15-19. Web. Sept 30 2014.
The battles paper found that that there was an increase in growth over long periods of time. Good to use tree cores to see how fast the tree grew every year.
Changes in biomass
The Mark Green paper found that transpiration went up and then down. THIS IS WHY TREE RINGS ARE IMPORTANT.
Hydrological anomaly (increased ET) for ~2 years following Ca treatment, then decreased ET (Green et al. 2013)
Collected tree cores from Hubbard Brook in W3 and W1.
Measured tree ring width using Measure J2X
Cross-dated using COFECHA to find where there were missing rings to make sure everything was dated correctly.
Basal Area Increments for percent growth of each year
Calcium fertilization resulted in growth in Sugar Maple and the results of Yellow Birch is not conclusive, however, it does look like the fertilization had some kind of effect.
This study adds more detail to the past study by Battles et al. 2013.
The T- Test P value on the ratio of both means from W1 and W3 is <.01.
The relationship after 2000 does not change. WUE ratio of carbon gained to H2o lost. Contrary to expectations, there was no change in WUE.
