A Review of the Effects of Soil Compaction and Amelioration Treatments on Landscape Trees

Abstract

Compacted soil is a frequently encountered problem on urban and community landscape sites. Numerous site amelioration methods and planting techniques have been employed to counteract the harmful effects of soil compaction on plant establishment and growth. Recent research aimed at examining the effectiveness of these techniques has given mixed results. It is evident that compaction restricts woody plant growth, but the nature and causes of the restriction are not completely understood. This is partly a result of the difficulty in separating the effects of interrelated factors such as physical impedance to roots, soil gas exchange, water infiltration and drainage. Consequently, it is difficult to prescribe with confidence techniques to improve compacted soil conditions for landscape trees. A review of our current understanding of soil compaction and its amelioration is presented here from the perspective of woody plant establishment. Index words: bulk density, penetrometer, soil aeration, urban horticulture.

Compaction by a forest machine affects soil quality and Quercus robur L. seedling performance in an experimental field

“…Plant growth is usually negatively affected by soil compaction (Alameda and Villar, 2009) due to the resistance of the soil to be penetrated by the radicle (Day and Bassuk, 1994;Kozlowski, 1999;Bassett et al, 2005). According to our results, a higher soil compaction reduced the seedling performance in terms of height and root growth.…”

Contextualizing Inflow and Infiltration Within the Streamflow Regime of Urban Watersheds

“…It is also known that urban soils have substantially higher densities than forested soils due to wheel and foot traffic, grading, and construction activities. These compacted soils are known to significantly reduce the depths of root penetration by trees (e.g., Bartens et al., 2009; Day & Bassuk, 1994; Day et al., 2000). Based on these facts, we would speculate that groundwater utilization by urban vegetation would only marginally impact the results shown in Figures 7 and 8.…”

Environmental impact assessment of different logging methods in pine forests thinning

“…These soil variables increased significantly in both winch treatments, but below the values considered to be limiting root growth (Greacen and Sands, 1980;Whalley et al, 1995). However, in the permanent trails the penetration resistance was high enough to define unfavourable conditions to forest growth and regeneration (Donnelly and Shane, 1986;Day and Bassuk, 1994). High penetration resistance of soil is unfavourable to soil dwelling fauna as well (Ampoorter et al, 2007).…”