© 2004 by Institute of Chartered Foresters
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A comparison of mounding and inverting to establish Norway spruce on podzolic soils in Sweden
A1 Department of Silviculture, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 901 83 Umeå, Sweden A2 School of Industrial Engineering, Växjö University, SE 351 95 Växjö, Sweden
The study comprised 12 semi-practical field trials on 1–2-year-old clearcuts distributed from 57 to 65° N on podzolic soils. The objective of the study was to evaluate if inverting site preparation should be recommended as an alternative to mounding when both regeneration results andenvironmental effects were considered. Five growing seasons after planting with Norway spruce (Picea abies L Karst.) stock, improved seedling survival was found following inverting (78 per cent) compared with mounding (65 per cent) and unscarified controls (57 per cent). Height increment following inverting (46 cm) and mounding (42 cm) was significantly higher than for unscarified controls (32 cm). When the target number of site preparation spots was 2500 per hectare, the rate of altered ground contour on mounding plots was 40 per cent, whereas a lower rate of altered ground contour was found after inverting (15 per cent). However, comparing total surface disturbance, the difference between mounding and inverting was negligible. Improved plantation establishment following inverting can be expected on a majority of the normal plantation sites in Sweden and elsewhere in boreal forests where conditions are similar. Inverting needs to be improved technically before the potential benefits of reduced soil disturbance will be attained.
* Corresponding author. E-mail: goran.hallsby{at}ssko.slu.se