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OverviewProtecting soils is the best option for conserving soil productivity and ensuring sustainable harvest from our forest and range lands. Sometimes, however, unavoidable or accidental damage to soils occurs and needs to be rehabilitated to restore the productive capability. Soil rehabilitation following planned disturbance can also be a cost effective strategy for reducing timber harvesting costs while ensuring that forest soils remain productive after harvesting. Restoring productivity to degraded soils is therefore an important strategy for maximising both the amount of land available for commercial timber production, and the productivity of that land. In many situations, it is also a necessary component of efforts to enhance environmental values. Based on a problem analysis that evaluated the practice of soil rehabilitation in British Columbia, a series of investigations were initiated to evaluate the effectiveness and cost of rehabilitation techniques in a wide range of forest ecosystems throughout the province. Through retrospective studies and field experiments, a picture has emerged that shows rehabilitation techniques often have beneficial effects on forest productivity when applied to degraded soils. Early results from several studies indicate that new forests frequently establish on disturbed sites that have been rehabilitated using relatively inexpensive techniques, and that productivity frequently matches similar sites that were simply harvested and planted. In many cases, sites that failed to regenerate or had poor seedling performance after rehabilitation treatments were associated with wetter parts of the landscape, fine-textured soils, vegetation competition, or cattle use of the areas. Longer term measurements, which are part of this research effort, will confirm whether the new forests continue to grow and contribute to timber supply. | |||
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Projects
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Recent Publications (link to all Soils Publications)Krzic, M., L. Zabek, C.E. Bulmer, B.K. Chapman, and C. Trethewey 2009. Soil properties and lodgepole pine growth on forest landings rehabilitated by tillage and fertilizer application. Cdn. J. Soil Sci. 89:25-34. Campbell, D.B., C.E. Bulmer, M.D. Jones, L.J. Philip and J.J. Zwiazek. 2008. Incorporation of topsoil and burn-pile debris substantially increases early growth of lodgepole pine on landings. Can. J. For. Res. 38:257-267. Bulmer, C.E. Venner, K. and Prescott C. 2007. Forest soil rehabilitation with tillage and wood waste enhances seedling establishment but not height after eight years. Can. J. For. Res. 37:1894-1906. ContactChuck Bulmer, Soil Restoration Ecologist Ministry contact: Evelyn Hamilton.
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