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Date Available
11-20-2017
Year of Publication
2017
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Forest and Natural Resource Sciences (MSFNRS)
College
Agriculture, Food and Environment
Department/School/Program
Forestry and Natural Resources
Faculty
Dr. John Lhotka
Faculty
Dr. Steve Price
Faculty
Dr. Chris Barton
Abstract
Survival, growth and biomass accumulation of 19 year-old trees planted on an Appalachian surface mine site were evaluated to determine the effect of spoil grading and surface amendment treatments. Three spoil grading treatments (loose-dump, strike-off and graded control) were established to create a range of operationally feasible spoil compaction capable of impacting tree establishment and growth. Likewise, three surface amendment treatments (straw/manure mulch, hardwood bark mulch and control) were applied to determine their effects on tree development. Trees grown under low-compaction grading treatment levels (strike-off and loose-dump) consistently outperformed trees planted in a high-compaction control treatment. Loose-dump preparation resulted in higher survival for five of six tree species and greater biomass in three species for which this metric was estimated. Strike-off preparation resulted in higher diameter at breast height (DBH) values. The addition of straw/manure surface amendment increased biomass for hardwood species for which this value was estimated.
Volunteer woody vegetation growing in the same experimental plots was measured and characterized by species. Loose-dump plots exhibited highest overall volunteer stem and native stem density and compacted control plots had lowest volunteer stem density and lowest proportion of native stems. Strike-off plots exhibited intermediate values for both of these measures.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2017.450
Recommended Citation
Dement, Wesley T., "AN INVESTIGATION OF TREE GROWTH AND WOODY VEGETATION COLONIZATION ON A 19 YEAR-OLD FORESTRY RECLAMATION SITE" (2017). Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources. 37.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/forestry_etds/37
