Vochysia guatemalensis Donn. Smith, an alternative species for reforestation on acid tropical soils

Author

• Manuel E. Camacho 
• , Alfredo Alvarado
• , Jesús Fernández-Moya

Abstract

Vochysia guatemalensis Donn. Smith is a native species commonly used in small-scale reforestation programs in Costa Rica recognized for its fast growth under acidic and unfertile soil conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the nutrient concentration dynamics on individual trees of V.guatemalensis of increasing ages, in order to improve the understanding some aspects of its ecology as well as management of this tree species. Nutrient (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, and B) and Al concentration in stems, branches and foliage were measured using false time series (also known as chronosequences) in 13 different tree stands (2–21 years) found in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. N, K and S concentrations in the stems showed a significant inverse relationship with DBH; while P, S, and Cu foliar contents increased with DBH. Average foliar concentrations of N, Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, B, and Al showed little or no variation with tree growth. Foliar Al concentration (21, 297–28, 826 mg kg−1) was higher than previously reported as toxic for non-Al accumulating species (<1000 mg kg−1), confirming V. guatemalensis as an Al hyper accumulator. Our results reinforce the possibility of using V. guatemalensis for timber production, especially to improve the income of small farmers farming on very acidic soils. The nutrient concentrations that were obtained for different tree components provide baseline information for further studies where the objective is to evaluate the nutritional status of a site.

References

1. Alice F, Montagnini F, Montero M (2004) Productividad en plantaciones puras y mixtas de especies forestales nativas en la Estación Biológica La Selva, Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. Agronomía Costarricense 28(2):61–71
2. Alvarado A (2012) Diagnóstico de la nutrición en plantaciones forestales. In: Alvarado A, Raigosa J (eds) Nutrición y fertilización forestal en regiones tropicales. Asociación Costarricense de las Ciencias del Suelo, San José, pp 25–51
3. Arias WA (1994) Efecto de cinco sustratos en el crecimiento de Vochysia guatemalensis y censo de la reforestación en la Zona Sur de Costa Rica. Informe de Práctica de Especialidad. Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago
4. Arias D, Calvo-Alvarado J, Richter DDB, Dohrenbusch A (2011) Productivity, aboveground biomass, nutrient uptake and carbon in fast-growing tree plantations of native and introduced species in the southern region of Costa Rica. Biomass Energy 35:1779–1788CrossRef
5. Badilla Y (2012) Concentración y absorción de elementos en plantaciones de Vochysia guatemalensis de las zonas Caribe y Norte de Costa Rica. Tesis de Licenciatura. Escuela de Ingeniería Forestal. Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago
6. Barker AV, Pilbeam DJ (2006) Handbook of plant nutrition. CRC Press, USACrossRef
7. Barraza D, Días J (1999) Clasificación preliminar de sitios para plantaciones con Hyeronima alchorneoides, Vochysia guatemalensis, Vochysia ferruginea, Virola koschnyi y Terminalia amazonia en la zona Nor.-Atlántica de Costa Rica. Práctica de especialidad. UNA: Escuela de Ciencias Ambientales, Heredia
8. Basuki TM, Van Laake PE, Skidmore AK, Hussin YA (2009) Allometric equations for estimating the above-ground biomass in tropical lowland Dipterocarp forests. For Ecol Manag 257(8):1684–1694CrossRef
9. Bertsch F (1998) La fertilidad de los suelos y su manejo. San José, Costa Rica. Asociación Costarricense de la Ciencia del Suelo, pp 83–110
10. Butterfield RP, Espinoza M (1995) Screening trial of 14 tropical hardwoods with an emphasis on species native to Costa Rica: fourth year’s results. New For 9(2):135–145CrossRef
11. Butterfield RP, Fisher RF (1994) Untapped potential: native species for reforestation. J For 92(6):37–40
12. Camacho M (2014) Modelo de absorción de nutrimentos como herramienta para hacer recomendaciones de manejo en plantaciones de Vochysia guatemalensis Donn. Smith en el Trópico Muy Húmedo de Costa Rica. Tesis de grado. Escuela de Agronomía. Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica
13. Carpenter LN, Nichols D, Sandi E (2004) Early growth of native and exotic trees planted on degraded tropical pasture. For Ecol Manag 196:367–378CrossRef
14. Chave J, Riéra B, Dubois MA (2001) Estimation of biomass in a neotropical forest of French Guiana: spatial and temporal variability. J Trop Ecol 17(1):79–96CrossRef
15. Chave J, Andalo C, Brown S, Cairns MA, Chambers JQ, Eamus D, Yamakura T (2005) Tree allometry and improved estimation of carbon stocks and balance in tropical forests. Oecologia 145(1):87–99CrossRefPubMed
16. Chenery E, Sporne K (1976) A note on the evolutionary status of aluminium-accumulators among dicotyledons. New Phytol 76:551–554CrossRef
17. Cornelius JP, Mesén JF (1997) Provenance and family variation in growth rate stem straightness, and foliar mineral concentration in Vochysia guatemalensis. Can J For Res 27(7):1103–1109CrossRef
18. Cronan CS, Grigal DF (1995) Use of calcium/aluminum ratios as indicators of stress in forest ecosystems. J Environ Qual 24(2):209–226CrossRef
19. Cuenca G, Herrera R, Medina E (1990) Aluminium tolerance in trees of a tropical cloud forest. Plant Soil 125(2):169–175CrossRef
20. Drechsel P, Zech W (1991) Foliar nutrient levels of broad-leaved tropical trees: a tabular review. Plant Soil 131(1):29–46
21. Ericsson T, Göransson A, Van Oene H, Gobran G (1995) Interactions between Aluminium, Calcium and Magnesium: impacts on nutrition and growth of forest trees. Ecol Bull 44:191–196
22. Fernández-Moya J, Murillo R, Portuguez E, Fallas JL, Rios V, Kottman F, Verjans JM, Mata R, Alvarado A (2013) Nutrient concentration age dynamics of teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) plantations in Central America. For Syst 22(1):123–133
23. Fisher RF (1995) Ameliorization of degraded rain forest soils by plantations of native trees. Soil Sci Soc Am J 59(2):544–549CrossRef
24. Fonseca W, Alice F, Rey-Benayas JR (2009) Modelos para estimar la biomasa de especies nativas en plantaciones y bosques secundarios en la zona Caribe de Costa Rica. Bosque 30(1):36–47CrossRef
25. Fournier LA (2002) Vochysia guatemalensis Donn. Sm. In: Vozzo JA (ed) Tropical tree seed manual. Washington USDA/Forest Service US, pp 778–780
26. Fox TR, Miller BW, Rubilar R, Stape JL, Albaugh TJ (2011) Phosphorus nutrition of forest plantations: the role of inorganic and organic phosphorus. Soil Biol 100:317–338CrossRef
27. Foy CD (1988) Plant adaptation to acid, aluminum-toxic soils. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 19(7–12):959–987CrossRef
28. Foy CD, Chaney RT, White MC (1978) The physiology of metal toxicity in plants. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 29(1):511–566CrossRef
29. Geoghegan LE, Sprent JL (1996) Aluminum and nutrient concentrations in species native to central Cerrado. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 27(18–20):2925–2934CrossRef
30. González E (1996) Tropical tree species for reforestation: studies on seed storage, foliar nutrient content and wood variation. Ph.D. dissertation. Texas A&M University (USA), 124p
31. González E, Fisher RF (1997) Variation in foliar elemental composition in mature wild trees and among families and provenances of Vochysia guatemalensis in Costa Rica. Silvae Genetica 46(1):45–50
32. Gower ST, McMurtrie RE, Murty D (1996) Aboveground net primary production decline with stand age: potential causes. Tree 11(9):378–382PubMed
33. Haggar J, Wightman K, Fisher R (1997) The potential of plantations to foster woody regeneration within a deforested landscape in lowland Costa Rica. For Ecol Manag 99(1–2):55–64CrossRef
34. Haridasan M (1982) Aluminium accumulation by some cerrado native species of central Brasil. Plan Soil 65(2):165–273
35. Harrington RA, Fownes JH, Vitousek PM (2001) Production and resource use efficiencies in N-and P-limited tropical forests: a comparison of responses to long-term fertilization. Ecosystems 4(7):646–657CrossRef
36. Hedin LO, Brookshire ENJ, Menge DNL, Barron AR (2009) The nitrogen paradox in tropical forest ecosystems. Ann Rev Ecol Evol Syst 40:613–635CrossRef
37. Herbert DA, Fownes JH (1995) Phosphorus limitation of forest leaf area and net primary production on a highly weathered soil. Biogeochemistry 29(3):223–235CrossRef
38. Herrera B, Campos JJ, Finegan B, Alvarado A (1999) Factors affecting site productivity of a Costa Rican secondary rain forest in relation to Vochysia ferruginea, a commercially valuable canopy tree species. For Ecol Manag 118:73–81CrossRef
39. Holdreige LR (1967) Life zones ecology. Tropical Science Center, San José
40. Jansen S, Broadley M, Robbrecht E, Smets E (2002) Aluminum hyperaccumulation in angiosperms: a review of its phylogenetic significance. Bot Rev 68:235–269CrossRef
41. Johnson EA, Miyanishi K (2008) Testing the assumptions of chronosequences in succession. Ecol Lett 11(5):419–431CrossRefPubMed
42. Jordan CF (1985) Nutrient cycling in tropical forest ecosystems. Wiley, Inglaterra
43. Kalra Y (1998) Handbook of reference methods for plant analysis. Soil and Plant Analysis Council, Inc., Boca Raton
44. Kochian LV, Hoekenga OA, Piñeros MA (2004) How do crop plants tolerate acid soils? Mechanisms of aluminum tolerance and phosphorous efficiency. Annu Rev Plant Biol 55:459–493CrossRefPubMed
45. Lathwell DJ, Grove TL (1986) Soil-plant relationships in the tropics. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 17:1–16CrossRef
46. Lehto T, Räisänen M, Lavola A, Julkunen-Tiitto R, Aphalo PJ (2004) Boron mobility in deciduous forest trees in relation to their polyols. New Phytol 163(2):333–339CrossRef
47. Lehto T, Ruuhola T, Dell B (2010) Boron in forest trees and forest ecosystems. For Ecol Manag 260(12):2053–2069CrossRef
48. Lenoble ME, Blevins DG, Miles RJ (1996a) Prevention of aluminium toxicity with supplemental boron. I. Maintenance of root elongation and cellular structure. Plant, Cell Environ 19:1132–1142CrossRef
49. Lenoble ME, Blevins DG, Miles RJ (1996b) Prevention of aluminium toxicity with supplemental boron. II. Stimulation of root growth in an acidic, high- aluminum subsoil. Plant, Cell Environ 19:1143–1148CrossRef
50. Masunaga T, Kubota D, Hotta M, Wakatsuki T (1998) Mineral composition of leaves and bark in aluminum accumulators in a tropical rain forest in Indonesia. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 44(3):347–358CrossRef
51. Montagnini F (2000) Accumulation in above-ground biomass and soil storage of mineral nutrients in pure and mixed plantations in a humid tropical lowland. For Ecol Manag 134:257–270CrossRef
52. Montagnini F (2007) Soil sustainability in agroforestry systems: experiences on impacts of trees on soil fertility from a humid tropical site. In: Batish, Kohli RK, Jose S, Singh HP (eds) Ecological basis of agroforestry. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 239–251CrossRef
53. Montagnini F, Sancho F, Ramstad K, Stijfhoorn E (1991) Multipurpose trees for soil restoration in the humid lowlands of Costa Rica. In: Taylor DA, Mc Dicken KG (eds) Research on multipurpose trees in Asia. Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development, Bangkok, pp 41–58
54. Montagnini F, Ugalde L, Navarro C (2003) Growth characteristics of some native tree species used in silvopastoril systems in the humid lowlands of Costa Rica. Agrofor Syst 59:163–170CrossRef
55. Montero M (1999) Factores de sitio que influyen en el crecimiento de Tectona grandis L.f. y Bombacopsis quinata(Jacq.) Dugand, en Costa Rica. MSc thesis. Universidad Austral de Chile/CATIE
56. Montero M, Montagnini F (2006) Modelos alométricos para la estimación de biomasa de diez especies nativas en plantaciones en la región Atlántica de Costa Rica. Recursos Naturales y Ambiente 45:118–125
57. Pérez J, Bornemisza E, Sollins P (1993) Identificación de especies forestales acumuladoras de aluminio en una plantación experimental ubicada en Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. Agronomía Costarricense 17(2):99–104
58. Petit B, Montagnini F (2004) Growth equations and rotation ages of ten native tree species in mixed and pure plantations in the humid neotropics. For Ecol Manag 199:243–257CrossRef
59. Piotto D, Craven D, Montagnini F, Alice F (2010) Silvicultural and economic aspects of pure and mixed native tree species plantations on degraded pasturelands in humid Costa Rica. New For 39:369–385CrossRef
60. Rao IM, Friesen DK, Osaki M (1999) Plant adaptation to phosphorus-limited tropical soils. Chapter 4. In: Pessarakli M (ed) Handbook of plant and crop stress, 2nd edn. Marcel Deker, Inc, New York, pp 61–95
61. Ryan MG, Binkley D, Fownes JH (1997) Age-related decline in forest productivity: pattern and process. Adv Ecol Res 27:213–262CrossRef
62. Sánchez PA (1985) Suelos del trópico: características y manejo (no. 48). IICA Biblioteca Venezuela, 634p
63. Sánchez PA, Logan TJ (1992) Myths and Science about the chemistry and fertility of soils in the tropics. In: Myths and science of soils in the tropics (ed) SSSA special publication no. 29. Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp 35–46
64. Sancho F, Mata R, Molina E, Salas R (1989) Estudio de suelos finca de la Escuela de Agricultura de la Región Tropical Húmeda Guácimo, provincia de Limón. Universidad EARTH, San José
65. Shen R, Ma J, Kyo M, Iwashita T (2002) Compartmentation of aluminium in leaves of an Al accumulator, Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. Planta 215(3):394–398CrossRefPubMed
66. Solís M, Moya R (2006) Vochysia guatemalensis en Costa Rica (en línea). San José, Costa Rica, FONAFIFO. 100 p. Consultado el 3 de agosto del 2007 Disponible en ManualVochysia.pdf
67. Sprugel DG (1983) Correcting for bias in log-transformed allometric equations. Ecology 64(1):209–210CrossRef
68. Stuhrmann M, Bergmann C, Zech W (1994) Mineral nutrition, soil factors and growth rates of Gmelina arboreaplantations in the humid lowlands of northern Costa Rica. For Ecol Manag 70(1):135–145CrossRef
69. Van Praag HJ, Weissen F (1985) Aluminium effects on spruce and beech seedlings. Plant Soil 83:331–356CrossRef
70. Van Praag HJ, Weissen F (1986) Foliar mineral composition, fertilization and dieback of Norway spruce in the Belgian Ardennes. Tree Physiol 1(2):169–176CrossRefPubMed
71. Vitousek PM (1984) Litterfall nutrient cycling and nutrient limitation in tropical forest. Ecology 65:285–298CrossRef
72. Vitousek PM, Farrington H (1997) Nutrient limitation and soil development: experimental test of a biogeochemical theory. Biogeochemistry 37(1):63–75CrossRef
73. Watanabe T, Osaki M (2002) Mechanisms of adaptation to high aluminum condition in native plant species growing in acid soils: a review. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 33(7–8):1247–1260CrossRef
74. Yang ZB, Rao IM, Horst WJ (2013) Interaction of aluminium and drought stress on root growth and crop yield on acid soils. Plant Soil 372(1–2):3–25CrossRef
75. Young KC (2009) Testing the effects of aluminum-hyperaccumulating trees and nitrogen-fixing trees on successional processes in Costa Rica. Ph.D. dissertation. University of California at Irvine (USA), 121p
76. Yuan Z, Liu W, Niu S, Wan S (2007) Plant nitrogen dynamics and nitrogen-use strategies under altered nitrogen seasonality and competition. Ann Bot 100(4):821–830CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
77. Zech W, Drechsel P (1991) Relationships between growth, mineral nutrition and site factors of teak (Tectona grandis) plantations in the rainforest zone of Liberia. For Ecol Manag 41(3):221–235CrossRef

For further details log on website :
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11056-016-9527-7