Assessing and modeling the impacts of treated municipal biosolid amendments on spruce plantation nutrition and growth in Nova Scotia, Canada

The primary objective of this project is to develop a forest nutrient management decision support tool to promote sustainable forest management in Nova Scotia, with applicability elsewhere in Atlantic Canada. A secondary objective is to evaluate the potential for using alkaline-stabilized municipal biosolids as a potential soil amendment to help remediate the impacts of acid deposition and calcium depletion in eastern Canadian forest soils. These objectives will be met by: (i) calibration and validation of the forest ecosystem, stand-level growth model FORECAST for use in Nova Scotia; (ii) conducting two comprehensive field trials using alkaline-stabilized biosolids on white spruce plantations and integrating results into FORECAST modelling; (iii) conducting a series of forest soil and alkaline amendment incubation trials and integrating results into FORECAST modelling; (iv) conducting an operational and economic analysis of methods to apply alkaline-stabilized biosolids in Nova Scotia spruce plantations; (v) using FORECAST to evaluate the sustainability of projected yields under current plantation management practices in Nova Scotia; and (vi) using FORECAST to evaluate the nutrient sustainability of alternative plantation management regimes, including those with biosolids fertilization. The impact of intensive management and long-term acid deposition on softwood plantation nutrient sustainability, and the ability to remediate these impacts, is currently unknown in Atlantic Canada. By systematically studying the nutrient status of sample plantations in response to soil amendments (in both field and laboratory settings), and linking this to forest nutrition modelling and decision support tool development, we will advance our understanding of plantation nutrient cycling and our ability to develop robust management tools to maintain or enhance the long-term productivity of these systems.