Date Available

11-20-2017

Year of Publication

2017

Degree Name

Master of Science in Forest and Natural Resource Sciences (MSFNRS)

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Agriculture, Food and Environment

Department/School/Program

Forestry and Natural Resources

First Advisor

Dr. John Lhotka

Second Advisor

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

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