Stimulation of boreal tree seedling growth by wood-derived charcoal: effects of charcoal properties, seedling species and soil fertility

1. Fire is a major disturbance in many ecosystems worldwide including the boreal forest, and significant quantities of charcoal can be input to the soil from fire. Some recent studies have provided evidence that wood-derived charcoal produced by fire can significantly stimulate plant growth. However, the mechanisms by which charcoal affects plant growth are poorly understood, and little is known about how charcoal effects on plant growth are influenced by charcoal type, soil type and plant species. 2. Seedlings from four common boreal tree species, two evergreen gymnosperms and two deciduous angiosperms, were grown in each of two soils of contrasting nutrient availability amended with charcoal with each of nine charcoal types (each produced from wood from a different plant species) in a greenhouse experiment. We also measured several functional traits for each of the charcoal types, as well as of the wood used to prepare the charcoal. 3. Charcoal addition had either positive or neutral ...

1. 火是全球多数生态系统（包括北方针叶林（boreal forest））的主要生态干扰因子，火灾可向土壤中输入大量炭质物质。近期多项研究已证实，火成因木质源炭（wood-derived charcoal）可显著促进植物生长。然而，当前学界对炭质调控植物生长的内在机制仍知之甚少，且对于炭质类型、土壤类型以及植物物种如何影响炭质对植物生长的调控效应，相关研究也极为匮乏。
2. 本研究开展温室盆栽试验，选取4种常见北方针叶林树种的幼苗（包含2种常绿裸子植物（gymnosperms）与2种落叶被子植物（angiosperms）），将其种植于2种养分有效性存在显著差异的土壤中，并分别施加9种不同类型的炭质物质（每种炭质均由不同植物物种的木材烧制而成）；同时，本研究还针对每种炭质物质以及制备炭质所用的木材，测定了多项功能性状。
3. 炭质施加对植物生长表现出正向或中性的……