Use of nitrogen-fixing plants to improve planted forest soil fertility and productivity in New Zealand: A review
- Author
- Nicola M. Reid, Kathryn Wigley, Aysha Nusrath, Simeon J. Smaill and Loretta G. Garrett
- Year
- 2024
- Journal / Source
- New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science
- Volume
- 54
- Number
- 8
- Pages
- 30 pp
- Keywords
- pdf on link
- Summary
- Planted forests with low fertility soils are likely to require increased inputs of nitrogen (N) to satisfy increasing productivity demands. The use of N fertilisers will become more challenging due to their increasing cost and the risk of unwanted environmental impacts. Nitrogen-fixing plants may provide an alternative option to chemical fertilisers that is not only cheaper but has a lower greenhouse gas footprint. Benefits to planted forest growth in New Zealand by N-fixing plants have been proven in only a few cases. Lupinus arboreus Sims was used in the 1970s and 1980s to increase N inputs in a planted Pinus radiata D.Don coastal forest, and improved P. radiata productivity was demonstrated. Productivity gains ceased when a blight disease infected the lupin population. Many N-fixing plants have been shown to tolerate low fertility soils and establish in planted forests, but there is limited information on their N contribution to the soil, and whether this N contribution increases P. radiata productivity. Such N-fixing plants include Lotus species, clover (Trifolium species) and weeds such as gorse (Ulex europaeus L.) and broom (Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link), which are commonly found in association with P. radiata forests. New Zealand native N-fixing shrubs may be suitable but there is limited information available describing N-fixation or forestry management for native plant species.