Event Website
http://www.nafew2009.org/
Start Date
6-22-2009 4:00 PM
End Date
6-22-2009 4:20 PM
Description
The silviculture of hybrid poplars is a promising solution to reduce the pressure on natural forests while maintaining the wood supply to industries. However, hybrid poplars are sensitive to competing vegetation and to inadequate soil conditions and fertility. Possible management tools include mechanical site preparation (MSP), vegetation control, and fertilization. We present here the results after five years of growth for eight formerly forested sites (40 hectares total) on Podzols in the province of Quebec, Canada. The experimental design combines four MSP treatments (harrowing, scarifying, mounding, and no preparation) with four frequencies of plant competition control by brushing (from never to once a year) and N or N+P fertilization. The best growth was found in the following MSP treatments: mounding > harrowing > scarifying > none. The effect of competition control is more evident on the more productive sites and in the less severe preparation treatments, which brings insight into the Grime-Tilman debate over the importance and intensity of competition. Fertilization can provide substantial improvement in immediate growth, although it does not seem to compensate for deficient root systems. We will discuss the causes and implications of our results for future management strategies of hybrid poplar plantations.
Included in
How Best Should We Manage Hybrid Poplar Plantations? Interactions of Site Preparation, Vegetation Control and Fertilization
The silviculture of hybrid poplars is a promising solution to reduce the pressure on natural forests while maintaining the wood supply to industries. However, hybrid poplars are sensitive to competing vegetation and to inadequate soil conditions and fertility. Possible management tools include mechanical site preparation (MSP), vegetation control, and fertilization. We present here the results after five years of growth for eight formerly forested sites (40 hectares total) on Podzols in the province of Quebec, Canada. The experimental design combines four MSP treatments (harrowing, scarifying, mounding, and no preparation) with four frequencies of plant competition control by brushing (from never to once a year) and N or N+P fertilization. The best growth was found in the following MSP treatments: mounding > harrowing > scarifying > none. The effect of competition control is more evident on the more productive sites and in the less severe preparation treatments, which brings insight into the Grime-Tilman debate over the importance and intensity of competition. Fertilization can provide substantial improvement in immediate growth, although it does not seem to compensate for deficient root systems. We will discuss the causes and implications of our results for future management strategies of hybrid poplar plantations.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/nafecology/sessions/silviculture/7