The Influence of Calcium and Nitrogen Fertilization on the Freezing and Salinity Tolerance of Two Urban Tree Species

Glynn C. Percival; S. Barnes

doi:10.48044/jauf.2005.002

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Table 1.

Physical characteristics of evergreen oak (Quercus ilex) and holly (Ilex aquifolium) after grading.

Attribute	Holly	Evergreen oak
Height (cm)	46.3 (2.20)^*	45.3 (2.11)
Girth (cm)	1.56 (0.18)	1.52 (0.15)
Height:girth ratio (cm/cm)	29.7 (2.08)	29.1 (1.98)
Shoot and leaf dry weight (g)	4.80 (0.39)	4.71 (0.38)
Root dry weight (g)	4.10 (0.38)	5.16 (0.39)
Shoot:root ratio (g/g)	1.17 (0.10)	0.91 (0.08)
Root area (cm²)	35.36 (3.02)	40.17 (3.26)

↵* Values are mean and standard errors for 10 trees.

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Table 2.
Statistical analysis of variance for examination of salient effects and interactions on leaf chlorophyll fluorescence (Fo, Fv/Fm), chlorophyll concentration (SPAD), and electrolyte leakage.
Factor df Fo Fv/Fm SPAD Electrolyte leakage
One-way interactions
SPECIES (SP) 1 ^** ^** ^** ——
FERTILIZER (F) 3 ^** ^** ^** ^*
CONC (C) 8 ^** ^** ^** ^**
Two-way interactions
SP^*F^*C 24 ^** ^** ^* ——
↵* = significant at P < 0.05,
↵** = significant at P < 0.01.

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Table 3.

The influence of Ca(N0₃)₂, Ca(N0₃)₂H₃B0₃, and N:P:K (24:7:7) fertilization on the freezing tolerance of evergreen oak and holly. Leaves were detached at months 1,2,4, and 8 post-fertilization from trees growing under field conditions and subjected to temperatures of −8°C (18°F) under laboratory conditions. Improvements in tolerance as measured by chlorophyll fluorescence (Fo, Fv/Fm), leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD), and leaf electrolyte leakage values were quantified by repeated measures analysis (regression analysis; the slope value represented by β₁).

Species/fertilizer	Fo			Fv/Fm			SPAD			Lead electrolyte leakage (%)
Species/fertilizer	Intercept	Slope (β₁)	r²	Intercept	Slope (β₁)	r²	Intercept	Slope (β₁)	r²	Intercept	Slope (β₁)	r²
Evergreen oak
Control	350.66	−28.22	68.1	0.546	−0.039	67.9	39.41	−2.78	69.2	47.62	2.46	70.9
Ca(NO₃)₂ (20 g/m²)	340.36	−22.78^ns	67.0	0.611	−0.045^ns	64.2	43.50	−3.20^ns	71.2	42.59	2.59^ns	55.5
Ca(NO₃)₂ (40 g/m²)	282.11	−18.32^*	69.9	0.705	−0.052^*	68.5	48.81	−3.48^*	66.7	40.27	1.87^*	60.0
Ca(NO₃)₂ (80 g/m²)	333.21	−23.08^ns	63.7	0.575	−0.042^ns	59.6	41.20	−2.68^ns	62.5	44.94	2.66^ns	68.7
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (20 g/m²)	281.63	−21.10^*	57.2	0.618	−0.043^ns	70.7	48.38	−3.27^*	64.9	39.83	2.06^*	70.1
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (40 g/m²)	301.25	−20.40^*	70.8	0.661	−0.047^*	68.3	49.54	−3.39^*	67.0	39.94	1.97^*	77.9
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (80 g/m²)	336.67	−24.12^ns	70.1	0.621	−0.040^ns	66.3	40.82	−2.81^ns	67.8	41.26	2.69^ns	66.7
N:P:K (24:7:7) (20 g/m²)	343.12	−23.87^ns	78.1	0.555	−0.037^ns	73.3	48.26	−3.39^*	64.5	44.39	2.49^ns	60.5
N:P:K (24:7:7) (40 g/m²)	345.91	−24.12^ns	69.3	0.563	−0.039^ns	69.1	50.78	−3.44^*	65.6	43.04	3.08^*	68.5
LSD		7.07			0.0062			0.488			0.316
Holly
Control	469.20	−34.01	68.0	0.432	−0.030	67.1	30.21	−2.34	68.4	54.17	2.99	61.4
Ca(NO₃)₂ (20 g/m²)	429.17	−30.31^ns	61.1	0.487	−0.036^*	71.6	35.06	−2.47^ns	69.5	49.26	2.81^ns	67.6
Ca(NO₃)₂ (40 g/m²)	386.43	−24.03^*	70.8	0.560	−0.040^*	68.7	40.03	−2.67^*	65.6	42.15	2.31^*	62.3
Ca(NO₃)₂ (80 g/m²)	440.82	−29.69^ns	67.1	0.461	−0.034^ns	51.2	30.11	−2.13^ns	62.6	48.42	3.27^ns	53.4
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (20 g/m²)	408.17	−26.97^ns	69.9	0.479	−0.033^ns	68.1	38.27	−2.49^ns	64.8	46.29	1.298	26.1
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (40 g/m²)	391.99	−24.63^*	71.2	0.513	−0.036^*	72.4	37.19	−2.69^*	74.7	48.07	2.09^*	49.9
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (80 g/m²)	417.38	−28.67^ns	70.1	0.487	−0.032^ns	70.1	33.56	−2.27^ns	56.9	52.37	3.48^ns	62.6
N:P:K (24:7:7) (20 g/m²)	450.78	−32.61^ns	73.6	0.443	−0.027^ns	69.4	36.81	−2.63^*	64.8	50.91	3.47^ns	44.0
N:P:K (24:7:7) (40 g/m²)	431.22	−31.35^ns	68.9	0.450	−0.029^ns	70.3	38.54	−2.67^*	65.4	53.80	3.22^ns	67.5
LSD		8.52			0.0055			0.253			0.524

Intercept = value through y axis (calculated); slope = rate of Fo, Fv/Fm, SPAD, electrolyte leakage with time.
All values mean of 15 trees, 2 leaves per tree.
↵* = significantly different at P < 0.05, ns = not significantly different from control value.

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Table 4.

The influence of Ca(NO₃)₂, Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃, and N:P:K (24:7:7) fertilization on the salinity tolerance of evergreen oak and holly. Leaves were detached at months 1, 2, 4, and 8 post-fertilization from trees growing under field conditions and subjected to 8% salt (NaCl) exposure under laboratory conditions. Improvements in tolerance as measured by chlorophyll fluorescence (Fo, Fv/Fm) and leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD) values were quantified by repeated measures analysis (regression analysis; the slope value represented by β₃).

Species/fertilizer	Fo			Fv/Fm			SPAD
Species/fertilizer	Intercept	Slope (β₁)	r²	Intercept	Slope (β₁)	r²	Intercept	Slope (β₁)	r²
Evergreen oak
Control	351.89	−23.96	69.2	0.610	−0.043	70.2	44.09	−3.19	68.6
Ca(NO₃)₂ (20 g/m²)	331.91	−22.51^ns	67.5	0.709	−0.050^ns	64.0	48.27	−3.51^ns	67.2
Ca(NO₃)₂ (40 g/m²)	279.53	−17.35^*	68.4	0.791	−0.058^*	68.6	54.23	−3.80^*	70.3
Ca(NO₃)₂ (80 g/m²)	314.39	−20.52^ns	67.0	0.631	−0.048^ns	57.8	45.46	−2.99^ns	63.6
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (20 g/m²)	300.78	−19.33^*	70.5	0.689	−0.048^ns	69.0	53.55	−3.60^*	64.7
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (40 g/m²)	281.43	−17.22^*	66.3	0.729	−0.051^*	68.5	51.48	−3.66^*	70.5
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (80 g/m²)	310.68	−21.70^ns	70.2	0.685	−0.049^ns	70.2	47.75	−3.13^ns	67.4
N:P:K (24:7:7) (20 g/m²)	329.48	−21.44^ns	43.5	0.619	−0.042^ns	69.7	55.63	−3.69^*	65.2
N:P:K (24:7:7) (40 g/m²)	315.35	−20.89^ns	68.9	0.634	−0.043^ns	69.0	57.74	−3.72^*	66.4
LSD		4.11			0.0072			0.409
Holly
Control	439.62	−30.88	74.6	0.493	−0.034	69.9	34.58	−2.30	67.9
Ca(NO₃)₂ (20 g/m²)	397.21	−26.91^ns	61.0	0.539	−0.038^ns	68.9	37.12	−2.70^ns	69.7
Ca(NO₃)₂ (40 g/m²)	361.26	−23.20^*	67.5	0.619	−0.045^*	68.6	42.86	−2.92^*	65.3
Ca(NO₃)₂ (80 g/m²)	404.43	−27.66^ns	67.0	0.520	−0.040^ns	51.8	34.66	−2.21^ns	63.4
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (20 g/m²)	382.81	−25.96^*	68.7	0.544	−0.037^ns	69.0	41.17	−2.81^*	64.4
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (40 g/m²)	369.14	−24.67^*	70.0	0.567	−0.041^*	68.4	41.56	−2.83^*	67.1
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (80 g/m²)	392.58	−26.97^ns	70.3	0.531	−0.038^ns	69.9	36.94	−2.46^ns	67.8
N:P:K (24:7:7) (20 g/m²)	422.90	−28.89^ns	74.9	0.497	−0.031^ns	69.5	44.17	−2.95^*	65.1
N:P:K (24:7:7) (40 g/m²)	414.73	−27.80^ns	69.1	0.491	−0.033^ns	67.0	43.41	−2.88^*	65.3
LSD		4.70			0.0068			0.447

Intercept = value through y axis (calculated); slope = rate of Fo, Fv/Fm, SPAD, electrolyte leakage with time.
All values mean of 15 trees, 2 leaves per tree.
↵* = significantly different at P < 0.05, ns = not significantly different from control value.

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Table 5.

The influence of Ca(NO₃)₂, Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃, and N:P:K (24:7:7) fertilization on the freezing tolerance of spring foliage of evergreen oak and holly. Newly emerged leaves were detached at month 8 post-fertilization from trees growing under field conditions and subjected to −8°C (18°F) under laboratory conditions. Improvements in tolerance were measured by chlorophyll fluorescence (Fo, Fv/Fm), leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD), and leaf electrolyte leakage.

Species/fertilizer	Fo	Fv/Fm	SPAD	Leaf electrolyte leakage (%)
Evergreen oak
Control	159.9 (24.33)	0.261 (0.028)	18.5 (4.07)	70.7 (14.66)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (20 g/m²)	150.3^ns (31.42)	0.281^ns (0.063)	20.4^ns (6.11)	66.4^ns (16.10)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (40 g/m²)	121.3^* (17.68)	0.325^* (0.041)	24.3^* (5.32)	56.9^* (15.40)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (80 g/m²)	146.5^ns (19.60)	0.244^ns (0.031)	18.9^ns (3.87)	66.8^ns (17.21)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (20 g/m²)	131.9^* (26.55)	0.295^* (0.037)	23.6^* (4.46)	57.0^* (13.28)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (40 g/m²)	124.6^* (30.13)	0.312^* (0.040)	23.3^* (4.17)	62.3^ns (16.75)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (80 g/m²)	137.5^ns (19.75)	0.284^ns (0.018)	19.9^ns (6.25)	67.7^ns (13.26)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (20 g/m²)	141.2^ns (18.80)	0.259^ns (0.020)	24.1^* (8.08)	65.8^ns (13.58)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (40 g/m²)	146.5^ns (22.62)	0.264^ns (0.038)	24.3^* (7.13)	72.9^ns (16.50)
LSD	27.54	0.0311	4.66	13.11
Holly
Control	207.7 (32.20)	0.204 (0.019)	14.3 (3.14)	79.0 (15.21)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (20 g/m²)	195.1^ns (38.54)	0.219^ns (0.022)	15.7^ns (3.70)	72.1^ns (17.49)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (40 g/m²)	157.5^* (31.49)	0.253^* (0.034)	18.7^* (4.13)	64.8^* (14.11)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (80 g/m²)	190.4^ns (40.36)	0.189^ns (0.015)	14.6^ns (4.39)	78.2^ns (20.79)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (20 g/m²)	171.3^* (22.66)	0.230^ns (0.027)	18.2^* (5.66)	59.3^* (11.96)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (40 g/m²)	161.7^* (30.21)	0.243^* (0.034)	17.9^* (6.13)	65.0^ns (13.57)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (80 g/m²)	178.8^ns (26.39)	0.221^ns (0.021)	14.7^ns (5.71)	82.1^ns (18.60)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (20 g/m²)	183.5^ns (28.48)	0.202^ns (0.022)	18.6^* (7.60)	83.4^ns (16.23)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (40 g/m²)	190.2^ns (24.30)	0.206^ns (0.022)	18.7^* (5.28)	80.4^ns (15.63)
LSD	34.76	0.0288	3.16	11.67

All values mean of 15 trees, 2 leaves per tree.
↵* = significantly different at P < 0.05, ns = not significantly different from control value.
Values in parentheses represent the standard error of the mean.

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Table 6.

The influence of Ca(NO₃)₂, Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃, and N:P:K (24:7:7) fertilization on the salt tolerance of spring foliage of evergreen oak and holly. Newly emerged leaves were detached at month 8 post-fertilization from trees growing under field conditions and subjected to 8% salt (NaCl) exposure under laboratory conditions. Improvements in tolerance were measured by chlorophyll fluorescence (Fo, Fv/Fm) and leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD).

Species/fertilizer	Fo	Fv/Fm	SPAD
Evergreen oak
Control	148.7 (32.13)	0.236 (0.050)	17.8 (4.66)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (20 g/m²)	139.7^ns (28.24)	0.253^ns (0.038)	18.5^ns (3.98)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (40 g/m²)	112.8^* (30.11)	0.292^* (0.045)	22.1^ns (4.44)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (80 g/m²)	136.3^ns (25.67)	0.219^ns (0.038)	17.4^ns (3.88)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (20 g/m²)	122.7^* (30.17)	0.265^* (0.042)	21.4^ns (5.21)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (40 g/m²)	115.9^* (31.98)	0.280^* (0.040)	21.3^ns (5.07)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (80 g/m²)	127.9^* (27.60)	0.256^ns (0.058)	18.3^ns (3.45)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (20 g/m²)	131.5^ns (39.04)	0.234^ns (0.059)	21.7^ns (4.28)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (40 g/m²)	136.2^ns (39.41)	0.238^ns (0.043)	22.9^ns (6.65)
LSD	20.61	0.0277	5.03
Holly
Control	193.1 (36.78)	0.184 (0.039)	13.7 (4.90)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (20 g/m²)	181.4^ns (39.44)	0.197^ns (0.041)	14.2^ns (5.09)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (40 g/m²)	146.5^* (38.90)	0.227^* (0.044)	17.0^* (5.38)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (80 g/m²)	177.0^ns (37.88)	0.171^ns (0.039)	13.4^ns (4.00)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (20 g/m²)	159.2^* (30.25)	0.207^ns (0.051)	16.5^ns (3.72)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (40 g/m²)	150.4^* (34.56)	0.219^* (0.045)	16.4^ns (4.21)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (80 g/m²)	166.2^ns (32.30)	0.199^ns (0.048)	13.5^ns (6.28)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (20 g/m²)	170.6^ns (36.74)	0.182^ns (0.037)	16.8^ns (5.13)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (40 g/m²)	176.9^ns (40.29)	0.185^ns (0.040)	17.0^* (2.89)
LSD	30.66	0.0329	3.22

All values mean of 15 trees, 2 leaves per tree.
↵* = significantly different at P < 0.05, ns = not significantly different from control value.
Values in parentheses represent the standard error of the mean.

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Table 7.

The influence of Ca(N0₃)₂, Ca(N0₃)₂H₃B0₃, and N:P:K (24:7:7) fertilization on growth of evergreen oak and holly at month 8 post-fertilization.

Species/fertilizer	Height (cm)	Girth (cm)	Height:girth ratio (cm/cm)	Shoot and leaf dry weight (g)	Root dry weight (g)	Shoot:root ratio (g/g)	Total plant dry weight (g)
Evergreen oak
Control	57.38 (12.98)	1.81 (0.39)	31.7 (6.65)	5.89 (1.18)	6.08 (1.39)	0.96 (0.22)	11.97 (2.75)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (20 g/m²)	59.79^ns (11.07)	1.96^ns (0.41)	28.8^ns (5.27)	6.31^ns (2.32)	6.23^ns (2.08)	1.01^ns (0.26)	12.54^ns (2.98)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (40 g/m²)	69.22^ns (13.59)	2.28^* (0.48)	30.4^ns (7.69)	7.80^* (2.88)	8.20^* (2.40)	0.95^ns (0.21)	16.00^* (4.75)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (80 g/m²)	60.38^ns (14.65)	1.92^ns (0.51)	31.5^ns (7.22)	6.18^ns (1.65)	7.08^ns (2.79)	0.87^ns (0.18)	13.26^ns (3.42)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (20 g/m²)	62.44^ns (10.21)	2.01^ns (0.39)	31.1^ns (5.26)	7.01^ns (2.01)	6.49^ns (1.69)	1.08^ns (0.20)	13.50^ns (2.70)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (40 g/m²)	72.37^* (15.32)	1.98^ns (0.44)	36.6^ns (8.91)	8.13^* (3.10)	7.80^* (2.04)	1.04^ns (0.27)	15.93^* (3.88)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (80 g/m²)	63.38^ns (20.22)	1.85^ns (0.49)	43.3^* (7.24)	6.01^ns (2.27)	5.86^ns (0.93)	1.03^ns (0.25)	11.87^ns (3.10)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (20 g/m²)	65.81^ns (18.49)	2.07^* (0.50)	31.8^ns (8.33)	7.86^* (2.55)	7.49^ns (2.11)	1.05^ns (0.19)	15.35^ns (5.09)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (40 g/m²)	75.16^* (20.34)	2.09^* (0.50)	35.9^ns (6.18)	9.22^* (3.43)	8.49^* (2.79)	1.09^ns (0.28)	17.71^* (4.11)
LSD	14.35	0.22	7.19	1.89	1.58	0.13	3.57
Holly
Control	55.10 (16.70)	2.19 (0.48)	25.15 (6.43)	5.93 (1.34)	4.88 (1.53)	1.22 (0.26)	10.81 (3.24)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (20 g/m²)	60.19^ns (15.24)	1.90^ns (0.59)	31.67^* (6.38)	6.52^ns (1.68)	5.29^ns (1.36)	1.23^ns (0.17)	11.81^ns (3.03)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (40 g/m²)	66.71^ns (14.61)	2.78^* (0.67)	23.99^ns (4.56)	8.11^* (3.06)	6.80^* (2.29)	1.19^ns (0.18)	14.91^* (4.47)
Ca(NO₃)₂ (80 g/m²)	58.80^ns (18.08)	2.38^ns (0.50)	24.71^ns (7.02)	6.33^ns (1.51)	5.11^ns (1.32)	1.24^ns (0.25)	11.44^ns (3.83)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (20 g/m²)	63.66^ns (19.62)	2.54^ns (0.43)	25.06^ns (5.77)	6.94^ns (2.21)	6.78^* (2.23)	1.02^ns (0.24)	13.72^ns (3.75)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (40 g/m²)	67.91^* (15.34)	3.00^* (0.72)	22.40^ns (4.98)	8.36^* (2.72)	7.29^* (3.09)	1.15^ns (0.27)	15.65^* (4.28)
Ca(NO₃)₂H₃BO₃ (80 g/m²)	59.22^ns (9.94)	2.45^ns (0.40)	24.17^ns (6.67)	6.71^ns (1.54)	7.23^* (1.89)	0.93^* (0.19)	13.94^ns (3.66)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (20 g/m²)	64.57^ns (17.27)	2.43^ns (0.39)	26.57^ns (6.15)	7.83^ns (2.40)	7.21^* (2.24)	1.09^ns (0.20)	15.04^* (4.14)
N:P:K (24:7:7) (40 g/m²)	72.79^* (23.09)	3.15^* (0.70)	23.10^ns (6.05)	9.20^* (3.05)	8.11^* (3.60)	1.13^ns (0.20)	17.31^* (3.98)
LSD	12.13	0.37	4.02	2.07	1.76	0.27	3.99

All values mean of 15 trees.
↵* = significantly different at P < 0.05, ns = not significantly different from control value.
Values in parentheses represent the standard error of the mean.