The spatial distribution of nitrogen and carbon were measured in four soil size fractions from five slash pine pine plantations located adjacent to poultry operations where high nitrogen loading exacerbated pitch canker. In previous work, foliar nitrogen was shown to be spatially related to pitch canker incidence at these sites. Because of the nitrogen loading from the poultry house emissions, we asked the question: how did the nitrogen input affect the total soil nitrogen as well as total nitrogen and carbon:nitrogen ratio in the various particle size fractions? The spatial distribution of most soil nitrogen metrics confirmed that the poultry operations did impact the nitrogen status. Total nitrogen in the various size fractions was more strongly related to foliar and forest floor nitrogen levels than was total soil nitrogen. The soil size fraction that correlated best differed among sites and appeared related to distance from the poultry houses. The spatial distribution of soil nitrogen in the plantations reflected the size class of the poultry residue carried by winds. Most distinct was the increase in the carbon:nitrogen ratios with distance from poultry houses in the smaller size fractions. These data suggest that soil monitoring can be used to assess the impact of poultry house nitrogen emissions in pine plantations, and that selected size fractions were a more sensitive metric for both the spatial distribution of the added nitrogen and the particle size input than variables such as total soil nitrogen.
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