Mark D. Coleman

Hyperspectral remote sensing analysis of short rotation woody crops grown with controlled nutrient and irrigation treatments

Hyperspectral remote sensing research was conducted to document the biophysical and biochemical characteristics of controlled forest plots subjected to various nutrient and irrigation treatments. The experimental plots were located on the Savannah River Site near Aiken, SC. AISA hyperspectral imagery were analysed using three approaches, including: (1) normalized difference vegetation index based simple linear regression (NSLR), (2) partial least squares regression (PLSR) and (3) machine-learning regression trees (MLRT) to predict the biophysical and biochemical characteristics of the crops (leaf area index, stem biomass and five leaf nutrients concentrations). The calibration and cross-validation results were compared between the three techniques. The PLSR approach generally resulted in good predictive performance. The MLRT approach appeared to be a useful method to predict characteristics in a complex environment (i.e. many tree species and numerous fertilization and/or irrigation treatments) due to its powerful adaptability.

Bioenergy production systems and biochar application in forests: potential for renewable energy, soil enhancement, and carbon sequestration

Bioenergy production from forest biomass offers a unique solution to reduce wildfire hazard fuel while producing a useful source of renewable energy. However, biomass removals raise concerns about reducing soil carbon and altering forest site productivity. Biochar additions have been suggested as a way to mitigate soil carbon loss and cycle nutrients back into forestry sites; yet, little is known about the effects of intentional biochar amendments to temperate forest soil in conjunction with biomass removals for bioenergy production. In this review, we evaluate the potential for mobile bioenergy systems and the environmental implications of biochar application in forests. Using forest biomass that accumulates annually during forest harvest operations, bioenergy can be produced on-site and the biochar that is generated can be redistributed to return nutrients and help improve water holding capacity of the site. Little is known about the short- and long-term impacts of biochar application in forest ecosystems. Some sites may benefit from biochar application, while others show no or negative responses. Field studies on soil and vegetation responses combined with laboratory studies will elucidate the best sites for biochar application and sustainable bioenergy production.

Characterization of forest crops with a range of nutrient and water treatments using AISA Hyperspectral Imagery.

This research examined the utility of Airborne Imaging Spectrometer for Applications (AISA) hyperspectral imagery for estimating the biomass of three forest crops—sycamore, sweetgum, and loblolly pine—planted in experimental plots with a range of fertilization and irrigation treatments on the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. Both vegetation index (VI) and red-edge positioning (REP) approaches were investigated to estimate the biomass associated with 12 treatment conditions. The optimum band pairs using the VI approach for biomass estimation were located mainly in the visible, NIR, and/or water absorption region around 970 nm, depending on the treatment conditions. Both the selected hyperspectral variables (i.e., VI and REP) resulted in good performance for biomass estimation for a range of treatment conditions except for those associated with loblolly pine. The hyperspectral variables were also examined to determine if they were able to identify the optimum fertilization treatment level. For the fertilization treatment conditions with good biomass estimation (R 20.9), their optimum treatment levels were successfully identified.

DRIS Analysis Identifies a Common Potassium Imbalance in Sweetgum Plantations

DRIS (Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System) analysis was applied to fast-growing sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) plantations in the southeast United States as a tool for nutrient diagnosis and fertilizer recommendations. First, standard foliar nutrient ratios for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) were established using high-yield stands from a region-wide sweetgum fertilization study. DRIS indices were then calculated for the low-yield stands in the same study and stands from four other studies to evaluate foliar nutritional characteristics. Low-yield stands showed strong negative K imbalance, indicating insufficient K, but also showed strong positive Mg imbalance. Potassium imbalance was also observed in the other four data sets tested. DRIS analysis successfully identified the tendency for K insufficiency to increase from early to late in the growing season, probably due to K foliar leaching and low soil K supply. While insufficient N was common in all the stands tested, the DRIS analysis failed to identify any P imbalance. We recommend that K be applied in N:K ratios less than one to correct K imbalance problems in the studied sweetgum plantations. Supra-optimal Ca and Mg levels are expected to decline once insufficient N and K are corrected. DRIS analysis provides the means for diagnosing nutrient imbalance and a potential basis for prescribing corrective amendments in sweetgum plantations. #The submitted manuscript has been authored by a contractor of the U.S. Government. Accordingly, the U.S. Government retains a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish or reproduce the published form of this contribution, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.

Biochar Soil Amendment Effects on Arsenic Availability to Mountain Brome (Bromus marginatus)

Biochar is a renewable energy byproduct that shows promise for remediating contaminated mine sites. A common contaminant at mine sites is arsenic (As). In this study, the effects of biochar amendments to a mine-contaminated soil on As concentrations in mountain brome ( Nees ex Steud.) were investigated. In the biochar-amended soil, mountain brome had greater root biomass and decreased root and shoot As concentrations. X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy results showed that arsenate [As(V)] is the predominant species in both the nonamended and biochar-amended soils. Soil extraction tests that measure phosphate and arsenate availability to plants failed to accurately predict plant tissue As concentrations, suggesting the arsenate bioavailability behavior in the soils is distinct from phosphate. Results from this study indicate that biochar will be a beneficial amendment to As-contaminated mine sites for remediation.

Stand development and other intrinsic factors largely control fine-root dynamics with only subtle modifications from resource availability

Forest productivity depends on resource acquisition by ephemeral roots and leaves. A combination of intrinsic and environmental factors influences ephemeral organs; however, difficulties in studying belowground organs impede mechanistic understanding of fine-root production and turnover. To quantify factors controlling fine-root dynamics, we grew a deciduous hardwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) and an evergreen conifer (Pinus taeda L.) with distinct soil moisture and nutrient availability treatments. We monitored fine-root dynamics with minirhizotrons for 6 years during early stand development and expressed results on a root length, biomass and mortality-risk basis. Stand development and other intrinsic factors consistently influenced both species in the same direction and by similar magnitude. Live-root length increased to a peak during establishment and slowly declined after roots of neighboring trees overlapped. Root longevity was highest during establishment and decreased thereafter. Root longevity consistently increased with depth of appearance and initial root diameter. Season of appearance affected root longevity in the following order: spring > summer > fall > winter. The influence of soil resource availability on fine-root dynamics was inconsistent between species, and ranked below that of rooting depth, initial diameter, stand development and phenology. Fine-root biomass either increased or was unaffected by greater resource availability. Fine-root production and live root length decreased with irrigation for both species, and increased with fertilization only for poplar. Fine-root mortality risk both increased and decreased depending on species and amendment treatment. Differing responses to soil moisture and nutrient availability between species suggests we should carefully evaluate generalizations about the response of fine-root dynamics to resource availability. While attempting to describe and explain carbon allocation to fine-root production and turnover, modelers and physiologists should first consider consistent patterns of allocation caused by different depth, diameter, stand development, phenology and species before considering allocation due to soil resource availability.

Converting conventional agriculture to poplar bioenergy crops: soil greenhouse gas flux

ABSTRACT Conversion of agricultural fields to bioenergy crops can affect greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Soil GHG emissions were measured seasonally in poplar bioenergy and agricultural fields at three Northwestern US locations. A forest stand was also used at one location for comparison. A portable gas analyzer was used to measure CO2 efflux and CH4 and N2O fluxes were first measured with chambers and later with gradients. Agricultural soil had 17% larger CO2 efflux rates than poplar soil. Chamber fluxes showed no differences in CH4 uptake but did show higher N2O fluxes in poplar than agricultural soil. Gradient CH4 uptake rates were highest in agricultural soil in the summer but showed no N2O flux differences. Forest soils had smaller quarterly CO2 efflux rates than agricultural soils and greater CH4 uptake rates than poplar soils. The largest GHG contributor to soil GHG flux was CO2, with those being ∼1000 times larger than CH4 flux rates and ∼500 times larger than N2O flux rates based on CO2 equivalences. Converting conventional agricultural cropland to poplar bioenergy production does not have adverse effects on soil greenhouse gas flux and these results could be useful for modeling or life cycle analysis of land use conversion.

Idaho forest growth response to post-thinning energy biomass removal and complementary soil amendments

Utilization of woody biomass for biofuel can help meet the need for renewable energy production. However, there is a concern biomass removal will deplete soil nutrients, having short‐ and long‐term effects on tree growth. This study aimed to develop short‐term indicators to assess the impacts of the first three years after small‐diameter woody biomass removal on forest productivity to establish optimal biomass retention levels for mixed‐conifer forests in the Inland Northwest region, and to evaluate the ability of soil amendments to compensate for potential adverse effects from biomass removal. We examined impacts of four biomass retention‐level treatments at two study locations: full biomass removal (0x), full biomass retention (1x), double biomass retention (2x), and unthinned control. We combined biomass retention with four soil amendment treatments: biochar (B), fertilizer (F), fertilizer and biochar combined (FB), and an untreated control (C). We considered treatment effects on basal area and total stem volume growth for all trees per plot (plot trees) and for the six largest trees per plot (crop trees). Biomass removal had no effect on plot (P > 0.40) or crop tree growth (P > 0.65) compared to normal biomass retention. High biomass retention (2x) decreased plot tree growth as compared to normal biomass retention (1x) levels (P < 0.05) after three years. This growth difference was not explained by soil moisture, temperature, or nutrient uptake. While there were strong tree growth differences between study locations, patterns of biomass and amendment treatment responses did not differ. Fertilizer increased basal area growth and total volume growth (P < 0.10) as expected, because nitrogen is limiting in the region. Biochar had no effect on tree growth (P > 0.47). Initial findings after three years suggest removing small‐diameter biomass for biofuel feedstocks is feasible in the Inland Northwest without negative impacts on tree growth.