Resource Database

Resource Number: 17170

Title: Manganese (Mn) - Tree Essential Element

Publisher: UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources

Description: Manganese is a metal used in small amounts, but essential to a number of key processes in trees. Manganese (Mn) is a hard, whitish-gray metal not found in its pure form in nature. It can exist as seven isotopes, one stable, five short-lived and one long-lived (~3.7 million years). It was discovered in 1774 and was named from the Latin word for “magnet.” Manganese is similar to iron in it will rust. It is used in steel making, as a glass colorant, and in batteries. Manganese is taken up in a tree as the ion Mn++. Other manganese ions in a soil are converted to Mn++ for uptake.

Last Updated: July 5, 2021

Contributors:

Domain(s)/Area(S):

• Arboriculture
  • Stress Responses
• Trees
  • Biology & Structure

Locations:

Subject
nutrient deficiency
nutrient excess or toxicity (general)
manganese deficiency
nutrient cycling