Since the early 1980s, ca 1,550 hectares (3,800 ac) of high-density jack pine (Pinus banksiana) plantations have been established annually in northern Lower Michigan to serve as habitat for the federally endangered Kirtland’s warbler (KW; Setophaga kirtlandii). Because these plantations do not appear capable of producing merchantable sawlogs by their planned 50-year harvest age, we investigated the potential to implement reduc...

Studies of soil nitrogen (N) availability over stand development have almost exclusively focused on mineral N, yet we increasingly recognize that plants can take up organic N in the form of free amino acids at biologically important rates. We investigated amino‐acid and mineral N availability along a 10‐site chronosequence of jack pine stands, varying in age from 4 to 60 yr following wildfire. We measured free amino‐acid N and...

There is increasing concern over the effects of nitrogen (N) pollution resulting from fertilizer inputs to food and fiber production systems. Christmas tree production is one segment of the forestry sector that uses substantial fertilizer inputs. However, we know very little about the environmental costs and production benefits of N fertilization in Christmas tree plantations. I studied the costs and benefits of 2 years of N a...