Analysis of the Throughfall Leachates of a Declining Forest in Relation to Time and to the Mineral Content of the Canopy

Abstract

The Croix Scaille spruce forest (Ardenne, Belgium) has shown symptoms of decline since 1984-85 and this decline has been attributed mainly to magnesium deficiency (3,4). In order to deal with this problem, the soil has been fertilized with Kieserite (magnesium sulfate). The situation has improved very much in the fertilized plots and spruces growing in these plots seem now to have recovered; the trees on non-fertilized plots are still declining. In order to obtain an indication of the mineral status of this forest, needles were sampled and rain water gauges were installed under healthy and declining spruces.