Site preparation + 1 year: effect on plant cover and soil properties

Abstract

Preparing areas for planting conifer seedlings reduces competition for site resources but creates poor range conditions. Bare soil, low plant cover, and Little forage do not support forest grazing p rograms. At Boyd Hill on the Modoc National Forest, in California, several regeneration sites were prepared in 1988. Early in 1989 they were planted with ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) seedlings. On five plantations that swnmer, live plant cover averaged just 2.5 percent. Except for shrubs, which covered 1.4 percent of the surface, cover values for plant groups (perennial grasses, annual grasses, perennial forbs, and annual forbs) were less than 0.5 percent each. Non 4 plant area included 53 percent bare soil and 34 percent litter. Rock, wood, and gravel each occupied around 3.5 percent of the surface. For the surface layer, average soil properties on the plantations were: bulk density-1.05 g/cm l , organic matter-l 1.7 percent, soil water-8.1 pereent, and water a~ sorption-O.98 min/em.RelrievalTerms: Modoc National Forest, Big Va1 4 ley Ranger District, plantation, fire, herbaceous vegetation, soil lated 10 erosion 0/wild-Ia1ld soils jn cenlral Washing.

Seed Bank Depletion: The Key to Long-Term Downy Brome ( Bromus tectorum L.) Management

“…Japanese brome habitat requirements/site characteristics Japanese brome invades disturbed sites (Osborn and Allan 1949;Reed 1952;Ratliff and Denton 1991) and undisturbed sites (Karl et al 1999;Whisenant 1990). Japanese will grow on many soil types including sand (Brand 1980), silt (Carlson et al 1990), clay (Blank et al 1992), and on claypan (Haferkamp et al 1993).…”

Grazing on Regeneration Sites Encourages Pine Seedling Growth

“…Standing dead trees and shrubs were pushed into large piles with a brushrake-equipped bulldozer and later burned. Plant cover, non-plant factors (bare soil, gravel, rock, litter, wood, and animal waste), and soil properties (bulk density, organic matter, soil water, and water absorption) 1 year after site preparation were reported by Ratliff and Denton (1991).…”