The objective of this study was to investigate K, Ca, and Mg immobilization in the stem of species typical of the hardwood forest of southern Quebec. The species examined included American basswood, sugar maple, and white ash from a rich site, and American beech, red oak, and red maple from a poor site. Firstly, rates of immobilization were evaluated over a time span of 40 years. Higher rates of immobilization in the wood only were generally observed on the rich site. Sugar maple immobilized Ca at an elevated rate during 1978--1997, in comparison to the other species on site. In the case of Ca for white ash, and Ca and Mg for red oak, a low wood element concentration and a high rate of growth was associated with a low rate of immobilization. Mean annual immobilization rates on a whole stem basis were also determined for the life of the tree. These results suggest that American basswood and red oak immobilize significant amounts of Mg and Ca in their bark, respectively. / In a second study, concentrations of K, Ca, and Mg across the radial section of the stem (heartwood, transitional, sapwood, and bark) were determined. In a majority of cases, the bark was highest in concentration of base cations. Whereas, for the woody portion of the stem, concentrations were generally highest in the heartwood.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.29874 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Boucher, Patricia. |
| Contributors | Cote, Benoit (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Natural Resource Sciences.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001738009, proquestno: MQ55039, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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