Silver, W.L., F.N. Scatena, A.H. Johnson, T.G. Siccama, and M.J.
Sanchez. 1994. Nutrient availability in a montane wet tropical forest: Spatial patterns and methodological considerations. Plant Soil 164:129–145.
Abstract:
Soils and forest floor were sampled quantitatively from a montane wet tropical forest in Puerto Rico to determine
the spatial variability of soil nutrients, the factors controlling nutrient availability to vegetation, and the
distribution of nutrients in soil and plants. Exchangeable cation concentrations were measured using different soil
extracting procedures (fresh soil with NH4C1, air-dried and ground soil with KC1, and a Modified Olsen solution)
to establish a range of nutrient availability in the soil, and to determine the relationship between different, but
commonly used laboratory protocols.
The availability of exchangeable Ca, Mg, and K was significantly lower in soils extracted fresh with NHaCI
than from soils which were dried and ground prior to extraction with KCI or a modified Olsen solution. Soil
nutrient availability generally decreased with depth in the soil. Several soil properties important to plant growth
and survival varied predictably across the landscape and could be viewed in the context of a simple catena model.
In the surface soils, exchangeable base cation concentrations and pH increased along a gradient from ridge tops to
riparian valleys, while soil organic matter, exchangeable Fe and acidity decreased along this gradient. On the
ridges, N, P, and K were positively correlated with soil organic matter; on slopes, N and P were positively
correlated with organic matter, and Ca, Kg, and pH were negatively correlated with exchangeable Fe. Nutrient
availability in the upper catena appears to be primarily controlled by biotic processes, particularly the
accumulation of organic matter. The Ca, K, and P content of the vegetation was higher on ridges and slopes than
in the valley positions. Periodic flooding and impeded drainage in the lower catena resulted in a more
heterogeneous environment.
A comparison of the Bisley, Puerto Rico soils with other tropical montane forests (TMF) revealed that the
internal heterogeneity of soils in the Bisley Watersheds is similar to the range of average soil nutrient
concentrations among TMF's for Ca, Mg, and K (dry/ground soils). Phosphorus tended to be slightly higher in
Bisley and N was lower than in other TMFs.