Relationship Between Height Growth and Foliar Nutrient N and P Concentration in a Eucalyptus grandis Plantation in Northeastern Argentina

摘要

The relationship between the height growth, foliar concentrations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus(P), and the N:P ratio was analyzed in a fourth rotation plantation that did not respond to fertilization with these nutrients. Spearman's nonparametric correlation analysis was used to evaluate the association between growth in height—calculated as the difference between heights measured at 1 yr and 2 yr after planting—and foliar N and P concentrations, as well as N:P ratio, determined in the 1-yr-old plantation. Only a weak positive correlation between height growth and foliar P concentration in planted seedlings was found. A significant negative relation was observed between the growth and N:P ratio in seedlings. Foliar concentrations suggest that there were neither P nor N limitations for growth in the analyzed period. This may be due to the management of harvest residues, which were abandoned on-site without burning.