Abstract
Experiments were carried out at four sites in Sweden to investigate the possibility of establishing hairy birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) and silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) on abandoned fields using natural regeneration and (or) direct seeding. The effects of six soil preparation methods (no preparation, ordinary ploughing, rotary cultivation, deep ploughing, inverted ground, removal of top-soil) and five additional treatments (no treatment, herbicide, peat litter, wood-ashes, slaked lime) on seedling emergence percentages (SEP) and vegetation cover percentages (VCP) were studied. SEP-values were estimated in June (SEP(J)) and October (SEP(O)). The experimental designs used were: 1) split-plot design with whole plots in a randomized complete block design (RCBD); 2) RCBD. The SEP-values observed with no preparation were close to 0% while the SEP-values obtained with mechanical soil preparation methods mostly were much higher (p≤0.014). Seedbeds with top-soil in the surface, created by ordinary ploughing or rotary cultivation, and seedbeds with mainly bare mineral soil in the surface, created by deep ploughing, inverted ground or removal of top-soil, obtained SEP-values of equal merit on silty soils, reaching SEP(O)-values up to 15%. The latter seedbeds obtained the best results on sandy soil, with as high SEP(O)-values as 47% after removal of top-soil. Seedbeds with top-soil in the surface were quickly colonized by ground vegetation, reaching VCP-values between 70% and 100%. Herbicide spraying with glyphosate and application of peat litter to the seedbed surface promoted seedling emergence. However, herbicide spraying before soil preparation was of little effect when followed by mechanical soil preparation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bäcke, J.O. 1991. Preliminära delresultat från Lövinventering 90. Skogsstyrelsen, Skogsvårdsenheten, Skogsvård 1/91. 4 p. Jönköping. Sweden (in Swedish).
Bärring, U. 1962. Plantering på inägojord. Skogen, 10: 214–215. Svenska skogsvårdsföreningen. Stockholm. Sweden (in Swedish).
Bärring, U. 1967. Studies of methods employed in the planting of Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. and Pinus silvestris L. on farm land in southern and central Sweden. Stud. For. Suec. 50. 332 p. (in Swedish: English summary).
Bjorkbom, J.C. 1969. Seeding and planting birch. pp. 79–82 In: E. vH. Larson, E.vH. (Ed) Proc. Birch Symp. Univ. of New Hampshire Durham NH 19–21 August 1969. USDA For. Serv., Northeast. For. Exp. Stn., Upper Darby, PA.
Bjorkbom, J.C. 1971. Production and germination of paper birch seed and its dispersal into a forest opening. USDA For. Serv., Notheast. For. Exp. Stn., Res. Pap. NE-209 14 p.
Christersson, L., vonFircks, H.R. and Sennerby-Forsse, L. 1982. Frost damage in energy forestry. Analysis of the problem and plan for future work. Technical report no 28. Energy Forestry Project (EFP). Swed. Univ. Agric. Sci. 16 p. Uppsala. Sweden.
Elfving, B. 1986. The value of growing birch, aspen and alder on abandoned fields in southern Sweden. Sver. Skogsvårdsförb. Tidskr. 5: 31–41 (in Swedish; English summary).
Ekström, H. 1987. HARDWOOD Supplies and industrial utilization. Swed. Univ. Agric. Sci., Dep. of Forest Products, Rep. no. 197. 123 p. (in Swedish; English summary).
Ford, R.H., Sharik, T.L. and Feret, P.P. 1983. Seed dispersal of the endangered Virginia roundleaf birch (Betula uber). For. Ecol. Manage. 6: 115–128.
Gimingham, C.H. 1984. Ecological aspects of birch. pp. 65–72. In: Henderson, D.M., Mann, D. (Eds) Birches. A symposium held in Edinburgh, UK. 24–26 Sept. 1982. Proc. R. Soc. Edinb. Sect.B. 85.
Godman, R.M. and Krefting, L.W. 1960. Factors important to yellow birch establishment in Upper Michigan. Ecology 41: 18–28.
Hägglund, B. and Lundmark, J.E. 1977. Site index estimation by means of site properties. Scots pine and Norway spruce in Sweden. Stud. For. Suec. 138. 38 p.
Gustavsson, R. 1991. Lövträds inverkan på landskapsbilden. pp. 107–109. In: Lestander, T. (Ed) Björk och Asp. Skogsfakta konferens 15. Sver. Lantbruksuniv. Uppsala. Sweden (in Swedish).
Heikenheimo, O. 1944. Metsien luontainen uudistaminen. Toinen painos. Keskusmetsäseura Tapion käsikirjasia no 22. Helsinki. Finland (in Finnish).
Holm, S.O. 1994. Reproductive patterns of birches (Betula spp.) in northern Sweden. Dissertation. Department of Ecological Botany, University of Umeå. Sweden.
Horsley, S.B. and Abbott, H.G. 1970. Direct seeding of paper birch in strip clearcutting. J. For. 68: 635–638.
Houle, G. 1992. The reproductive ecology of Abies balsamea, Acer saccharum and Betula alleghaniensis in the Tantaré Ecological Reserve, Québec. J. Ecol. 80: 611–623.
ISTA, 1985. International rules for Seed Testing. Rules 1985. Seed Sci. Technol. 13: 299–513.
Johansson, T. and Karlsson, K. 1988. Yield of 30-year-old Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), planted on farm land in southern and central Sweden, and recommendations for planting Norway spruce on farm land. Swed. Univ. Agric. Sci., Dep. of Forest Yield Research, Rep. no. 21. 37 p. (in Swedish; English summary).
Johnson, E.A. and Fryer, G.I. 1992. Physical characterization of seed microsites-movement on the ground. J. Ecol. 80: 823–836.
Kalela, E.K. 1961. Über die natürliche Bewaldung der Kulturböden im sog. Porkkala-Pachtgebiet. Acta For. Fenn. 74(2): 1–83.
Karlsson, A. 1994. Farmland afforestation by natural regeneration and direct seeding of hairy birch and silver birch. Dissertation 1994. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Silviculture, Umeå. Sweden.
Kaunisto, S. and Päivänen, J. 1985. Forest regeneration and afforestation on drained peatlands. A literature review. Folia For. 625. 75 p. (in Finnish; English summary).
Kempe, G. 1991. Omfattningen av lövträd i Sverige. pp. 60–66. In: Lestander, T. (Ed) Björk och Asp. Skogsfakta konferens 15. Sver. Lantbruksuniv. Uppsala. Sweden (in Swedish).
Kinnaird, J.W. 1974. Effect of site conditions on the regeneration of birch (Betula pendula Roth and B. pubescens Ehrh.). J. Ecol. 62: 467–472.
Kinnaird, J.W. and Kemp, E. 1970. Effect of shade on the growth of birch. Nature Conservancy Res. Scotland. Rep. 1968–70. pp. 32–33.
Koski, V. and Tallqvist, R. 1978. Results of long-time measurements of the quantity of flowering and seed crop of forest trees. Folia For. 364. 60 p. (in Finnish; English summary).
Kumm. K.I. 1989. Skog på jordbruksmark. Problemidentifiering och orienterande lönsamhetskalkyler. Sver. Lantbruksuniv. Jordbrukstekniskainstitutet, JTI-rapport nr. 105. Uppsala. Sweden (in Swedish).
Ledgard, N.J. 1976. Research into the direct seeding of woody plants in high country revegetation. N. Z. J. For. 21: 253–264.
Linteau, A. 1948. Factors affecting germination and early survival of yellow birch (Betula lutea Michx.) in Quebec. For. Chron. 24: 27–86.
Marquis, D.A. 1969. Silvical requirements for natural birch regeneration. pp. 40–49. In: Larson, E.vH. (Ed) Proc. Birch Symp. Univ. of New Hampshire Durham NH 19–21 August 1969. USDA For. Serv., Northeast. For. Exp. Stn., Upper Darby, PA.
Marquis, D.A., Bjorkbom, J.C. and Yelenosky, G. 1964. Effect of seedbed condition and light exposure on paper birch regeneration. J. For. 62: 876–881.
Miles, J. 1973. Early mortality and survival of self-sown seedlings in Glenfeshie, Invernessshire. J. Ecol. 61: 93–98.
Miles, J. and Kinnaird, J.W. 1979. The establishment and regeneration of birch, juniper and Scots pine in the Scottish Highlands. Scott. For. 33: 102–119.
Moilanen, M. and Issakainen, J. 1981. Effect of fertilization and soil preparation on the regeneration of birch and spruce on thick peat soils in Kainuu. Folia For. 481. 61 p. (in Finnish; English summary).
Mork, E. 1944. Über Bau, Reifen und Keimen der Birkenfrucht. Medd. Nor. Skogsførsøksves. 8: 421–471 (in Norwegian; German summary).
Mork, E. 1951. Factors influencing germination of seed from Pinus silvestris, Picea abies, Betula verrucosa and B. pubescens. Medd. Nor. Skogsførsøksves. 11: 159–173 (in Norwegian; English summary).
Nash, R.W., Duda, E.J. and Gray, N.H. 1951. Studies on extensive dying, regeneration and management of birch. Maine For. Serv., Bull. no. 15. 82 p. Augusta, Maine.
Örlander, G., Gemmel, P. and Hunt, J. 1990. Site preparation: A Swedish overview. B. C. Ministry of Forests. FRDA Report 105.
Palo, I. 1986. Vårtbjörkens fröspridning, frögroning och plantetablering. Sver. Skogsvårdsförb. Tidskr. 5: 21–27 (in Swedish).
Penner, E. 1957. The nature of frost action. pp. 234–243. In: Proc. Convention of the Canadian Good Road Association, Canada.
Perala, D.A. and Alm, A.A. 1989. Regenerating paper birch in the Lakes States with the shelterwood method. North. J. Appl. For. 6: 151–153.
Perala, D.A. and Alm, A.A. 1990a. Reproductive ecology of birch: a review. For.Ecol.Manage. 32: 1–38.
Perala, D.A. and Alm, A.A. 1990b. Regeneration silviculture of birch: a review. For.Ecol. Manage. 32: 39–77.
Pohtila, E. 1977. Reforestation of ploughed sites in Finnish Lapland. Commun. Inst. For. Fenn. 91.4 98 p.
Raulo, J. and Mälkönen, E. 1976. Natural regeneration of birch (Betula verrucosa Ehrh. and B. pubescens Ehrh.) on tilled mineral soil. Folia For. 252. 15 p. (in Finnish; English summary).
Sabin, T.E. and Stafford, S.G. 1990. Assessing the need for transformation of response variables. Forest research laboratory, Oregon State University, Corvallis. Special publication 20. 31 p.
Safford, L.O. 1983. Silvicultural guide for paper birch in the Northeast (revised). USDA For. Serv., Northeast. For. Exp. Stn., Res. Pap. NE-535, 29 p.
Sarvas, R. 1948. A research on the regeneration of birch in south Finland. Commun. Inst. For. Fenn. 35 (4). 91 p. (in Finnish; English summary).
Sarvas, R. 1952. On the flowering of birch and the quality of seed crop. Commun. Inst For. Fenn. 40 (7). 38 p.
SAS Institute Inc. 1988a. SAS/STAT User's Guide, Release 6.03 Edition. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc. 1028 pp.
SAS Institute Inc. 1988b. SAS Procedures Guide, Release 6.03 Edition. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc. 441 pp.
Seppälä, K. and Keltikangas, M. 1978. Occurrence of understory seedlings in drained Betula pubescens stands in Ostrobothinia. Suo 29(1): 11–16 (in Finnish; English summary).
Sharma, P.P. and Gupta, S.C. 1989. Sand Detachment by Single Raindrops of Varying Kinetic Energy and Momentum. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 53: 1005–1010.
Steel, R.G.D. and Torrie, J.H. 1980. Principles and Procedures of Statistics: A Biometrical Approach, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill, New York. 633 p.
Vaartaja, O. 1954. Factors causing mortality of tree seeds and succulent seedlings. Acta For. Fenn. 62. 31 p.
Winget, C.H. and Kozlowski, T.T. 1965. Yellow birch germination and seedling growth. For. Sci. 11: 386–392.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Karlsson, A. Initial seedling emergence of hairy birch and silver birch on abandoned fields following different site preparation regimes. New Forest 11, 93–123 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00033407
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00033407