Impacts of Fertilization Management on Stand Development: a Tree-Ring Analysis of Pinus caribaea var. Hondurensis and Pinus taeda

A study was conducted to assess the impact of fertilization regimes on the growth and wood density of 13-year-old stands of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis and Pinus taeda, located in an experimental area in Southeast Brazil. Growth parameters, such as total height, diameter at breast height (DBH), wood volume, and mean annual increment (MAI), were estimated using forest inventory data collected over an 8-year period. Forty-eight trees were selected, with 12 trees assigned to each of the four treatments: control and fertilized for each species. Four cores were obtained from each tree to measure wood density using X-ray densitometry, and tree-ring width series were crossdated and synchronized. The fertilization regime significantly affected the growth of P. caribaea var. hondurensis, which exhibited increased productivity, while P. taeda showed no significant growth responses. Fertilization resulted in a slight increase in wood density for P. taeda, while no changes were observed in P. caribaea var. hondurensis. Precipitation was identified as a key factor influencing wood density, with a negative correlation in P. taeda and a positive correlation with tree-ring width for both species. These findings underscore the importance of targeted fertilization strategies in forest management, particularly under varying environmental conditions.