LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF LIMING AND FERTILIZA TION ON THE CHEMICAL-PROPERTIES OF THE TOPSOIL, HUMUS LAYERS, AND GROUND VEGETATION OF A SPRUCE FOREST

Type of humus layer, ground vegetation, and chemical properties of the upper mineral-soil horizons were studied in a 40-year-old fertilizati on and liming experiment at Lutter am Barenberg in Northern Germany. I n the today 109-years-old stand of Norway spruce up to 2.9 t Ca/ha, 21 0 kg P/ha and 150 kg N/ha had been applied. With liming and fertilizat ion (P), raw humus and moder changed to moder and mull. In the top org anic layer, pH-values (KCl) ranged from 2.6 to 2.9. In the treatment w ith 2.9 t Ca/ha, pH-values of the top organic layer were significantly different from those on the other plots, and in the upper 17 cm of th e mineral soil the equivalent fractions of exchangeable H-ions were si gnificantly lower. Liming and fertilization did not change the composi tion of the ground vegetation to such an extent, that the indicator va lues for nitrogen and soil moisture were different.