Temporal variations and controlling factors of nitrogen export from an artificially drained coastal forest.

Nitrogen losses in drainage water from coastal forest plantations can constrain the long term sustainability of the system and could negatively affect adjacent nutrient sensitive coastal waters. Based on long-term (21 years) field measurements of hydrology and water quality, we investigated the temporal variations and controlling factors of nitrate and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) export from an artificially drained coastal forest over various time scales (interannual, seasonal, and storm events). According to results of stepwise multiple linear regression analyses, the observed large interannual variations of nitrate flux and concentration from the drained forest were significantly (p < 0.

DRAINMOD-FOREST: Integrated Modeling of Hydrology, Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, and Plant Growth for Drained Forests.

We present a hybrid and stand-level forest ecosystem model, DRAINMOD-FOREST, for simulating the hydrology, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics, and tree growth for drained forest lands under common silvicultural practices. The model was developed by linking DRAINMOD, the hydrological model, and DRAINMOD-N II, the soil C and N dynamics model, to a forest growth model, which was adapted mainly from the 3-PG model. The forest growth model estimates net primary production, C allocation, and litterfall using physiology-based methods regulated by air temperature, water deficit, stand age, and soil N conditions.

Impacts of fertilization on water quality of a drained pine plantation: a worst case scenario.

Intensive plantation forestry will be increasingly important in the next 50 yr to meet the high demand for domestic wood in the United States. However, forest management practices can substantially influence downstream water quality and ecology. This study analyses, the effect of fertilization on effluent water quality of a low gradient drained coastal pine plantation in Carteret County, North Carolina using a paired watershed approach.