Tree Growth Benefits and Water Quality Impacts of Using Animal Manure to Fertilize Pine Plantations: Project Summary

Wildfire represents a major risk to pine plantations. This risk is particularly great for young plantations (generally less than 10 m in height) where prescribed fire cannot be used to manipulate fuel biomass, and where flammable grasses are abundant in the understorey. We report results from a replicated field experiment designed to determine the effects of two rates of glyphosate (450 g L–1) application, two extents of application (inter-row only and inter-row and row) with applications being applied once or twice, on understorey fine fuel biomass, fuel structure and composition in south-east Queensland, Australia. Two herbicide applications (~9 months apart) were more effective than a once-off treatment for reducing standing biomass, grass continuity, grass height, percentage grass dry weight and the density of shrubs. In addition, the 6-L ha–1 rate of application was more effective than the 3-L ha–1 rate of application in periodically reducing grass continuity and shrub density in the inter-rows and in reducing standing biomass in the tree rows, and application in the inter-rows and rows significantly reduced shrub density relative to the inter-row-only application. Herbicide treatment in the inter-rows and rows is likely to be useful for managing fuels before prescribed fire in young pine plantations because such treatment minimised tree scorch height during prescribed burns. Further, herbicide treatments had no adverse effects on plantation trees, and in some cases tree growth was enhanced by treatments. However, the effectiveness of herbicide treatments in reducing the risk of tree damage or mortality under wildfire conditions remains untested.

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Impacts of Animal Manure Management on Ground and Surface Water Quality

Animal Waste Utilization ◽

10.1201/9781439822630.ch8 ◽

1997 ◽

pp. 173-242 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

A Sharpley ◽

J Meisinger ◽

A Breeuwsma ◽

J Sims ◽

T Daniel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Surface Water ◽

Surface Water Quality ◽

Animal Manure ◽

Manure Management

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The role of permanent site factors in the assessment of soil treatment effects: A case study with a site preparation trial in jack pine plantations on glacial outwashes

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/cjss06044 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 89 (1) ◽

pp. 81-91 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

F. Marquis ◽

D. Paré

Keyword(s):

Particle Size ◽

Particle Size Distribution ◽

Size Distribution ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Soil Texture ◽

Quality Index ◽

Jack Pine ◽

Site Preparation ◽

Pine Plantations ◽

Site Quality

In silvicultural trials, the confounding influence of permanent soil properties is assumed to be minimal. A covariance analysis using total elemental concentrations of parent material (geochemistry) and soil particle size distribution (texture) was used to understand the role that these variables could play in tree growth and foliar nutrient status, and in the growth response to site preparation of 16- to18-yr-old jack pine plantations growing on seemingly homogeneous glacial outwash deposits. Three treatments were tested in a replicated design: direct plantation, and site preparation with TTS or with Bräcke. The combination of particle size distribution and soil geochemistry explained the site quality index (SQI) in control plots (R2 = 0.94) better than soil texture alone. In all plots, SQI was strongly related to K and Mg concentrations in foliage and in humus and, to a lesser degree, to foliar N concentrations. A covariance analysis using soil texture and geochemical composition indicated that while site preparation had an effect on tree growth, the sites that responded the most to site preparation were the ones with the lowest growth potential as determined by soil texture and geochemistry. Key words: Silviculture, site preparation, site quality index, growth, permanent soil factors, texture, geochemistry, nutrition

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