Compensational Fertilization with Silicate Rock Dust For Buffering Damaged Forest Soils: First Experential Report

The fertilization of forest areas has increased substantially in recent years. In all, since 1982 over 500,000 hectares of forest were fertilized which is more than 7% of the forest area (in Germany). On about 95% of the areas fertilized in 1988, magnesium-containing lime (various types such as dolomite, limestone, etc.) was applied. On about 15% of the area, additional fertilization with several minerals, containing potassium and phosphorus were applied, in addition to the limestone.