Growth Response of Aspen and Alder to Fresh and Stockpiled Reclamation Soils
Soil stockpiling is a common reclamation practice used in oil sands mining in the boreal forest region of Canada to conserve soil resources; but stockpiling may have detrimental effects on soil quality and plant growth. We examined growth response of trembling aspen (<i>Populus tremuloides<...
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doaj-a2d4550a7eb6463b904dda8b1e0b6aa12020-11-24T21:49:14ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072018-11-0191273110.3390/f9120731f9120731Growth Response of Aspen and Alder to Fresh and Stockpiled Reclamation SoilsKwadwo Omari0Sanatan Das Gupta1Bradley D. Pinno2Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Edmonton, AB T6H 3S5, CanadaNatural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Edmonton, AB T6H 3S5, CanadaDepartment of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, CanadaSoil stockpiling is a common reclamation practice used in oil sands mining in the boreal forest region of Canada to conserve soil resources; but stockpiling may have detrimental effects on soil quality and plant growth. We examined growth response of trembling aspen (<i>Populus tremuloides</i> Michx.), a fast-growing early successional tree, and green alder (<i>Alnus viridis</i> (Chaix) DC. ssp <i>crispa</i> (Ait.) Turrill), a nitrogen-fixing shrub, to stockpiling and fertilization treatments on two reclamation soils (forest floor mineral mix (FFMM) and peat mineral mix (PMM)). Aspen and alder seeds were planted and their growth monitored for four months in the greenhouse. We found that unfertilized stockpiled FFMM supported significantly higher aspen and alder aboveground biomass than the other fresh and stockpiled soils. Phosphorus and potassium supply rates were highest in stockpiled FFMM and were positively correlated with aboveground plant biomass. There was no significant difference in aspen and alder aboveground biomasses between unfertilized fresh FFMM and PMM soils. Aspen grown in combination with nitrogen-fixing alder did not experience competition or facilitation except on fresh PMM, where aspen height declined. Fertilization increased both aspen and alder growth and eliminated differences in growth between soil types and stockpiling treatments. Our study showed that individual soil properties are more important for revegetation purposes than type of soil or stockpiling treatment.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/9/12/731fertilizationforest floor mineral mixgreen alderoil sandspeat mineral mixreclamationstockpilingtrembling aspen |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Kwadwo Omari Sanatan Das Gupta Bradley D. Pinno |
spellingShingle |
Kwadwo Omari Sanatan Das Gupta Bradley D. Pinno Growth Response of Aspen and Alder to Fresh and Stockpiled Reclamation Soils Forests fertilization forest floor mineral mix green alder oil sands peat mineral mix reclamation stockpiling trembling aspen |
author_facet |
Kwadwo Omari Sanatan Das Gupta Bradley D. Pinno |
author_sort |
Kwadwo Omari |
title |
Growth Response of Aspen and Alder to Fresh and Stockpiled Reclamation Soils |
title_short |
Growth Response of Aspen and Alder to Fresh and Stockpiled Reclamation Soils |
title_full |
Growth Response of Aspen and Alder to Fresh and Stockpiled Reclamation Soils |
title_fullStr |
Growth Response of Aspen and Alder to Fresh and Stockpiled Reclamation Soils |
title_full_unstemmed |
Growth Response of Aspen and Alder to Fresh and Stockpiled Reclamation Soils |
title_sort |
growth response of aspen and alder to fresh and stockpiled reclamation soils |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Forests |
issn |
1999-4907 |
publishDate |
2018-11-01 |
description |
Soil stockpiling is a common reclamation practice used in oil sands mining in the boreal forest region of Canada to conserve soil resources; but stockpiling may have detrimental effects on soil quality and plant growth. We examined growth response of trembling aspen (<i>Populus tremuloides</i> Michx.), a fast-growing early successional tree, and green alder (<i>Alnus viridis</i> (Chaix) DC. ssp <i>crispa</i> (Ait.) Turrill), a nitrogen-fixing shrub, to stockpiling and fertilization treatments on two reclamation soils (forest floor mineral mix (FFMM) and peat mineral mix (PMM)). Aspen and alder seeds were planted and their growth monitored for four months in the greenhouse. We found that unfertilized stockpiled FFMM supported significantly higher aspen and alder aboveground biomass than the other fresh and stockpiled soils. Phosphorus and potassium supply rates were highest in stockpiled FFMM and were positively correlated with aboveground plant biomass. There was no significant difference in aspen and alder aboveground biomasses between unfertilized fresh FFMM and PMM soils. Aspen grown in combination with nitrogen-fixing alder did not experience competition or facilitation except on fresh PMM, where aspen height declined. Fertilization increased both aspen and alder growth and eliminated differences in growth between soil types and stockpiling treatments. Our study showed that individual soil properties are more important for revegetation purposes than type of soil or stockpiling treatment. |
topic |
fertilization forest floor mineral mix green alder oil sands peat mineral mix reclamation stockpiling trembling aspen |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/9/12/731 |
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