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Long-term response of weed control intensity on Scots pine survival, growth and nutrition on former arable land

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Abstract

The effects of post-planting weed control intensity on the cover and composition of ground vegetation, and on growth, survival and foliar nutrient concentrations of 4-year old bare-rooted Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings were studied over a 15-year period with experimentation on former arable land. Weed control treatments with terbuthylazine and glyphosate were carried out 1–3 times during successive years, either as overall or as spot applications. The vegetation cover and the shading effect of vegetation decreased with increasing weed control intensity. The more intensive the weed control was, the better was the afforestation result in terms of tree seedling growth and survival. Overall application repeated three times increased seedling survival by 79 percentage points, and their final height, breast height, diameter, and stand volume after 15 years were increased by 183, 19, 15, and 822%, respectively. Weed control did not affect the foliage nutrient concentrations, except for magnesium. However, increase in weed control intensity was reflected in larger needle size 5 years after planting.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Seppo Vihanta for taking part in the establishment and measurement of the experiment as well for assistance with computing work. We appreciate the help of numerous other persons in establishing and taking field measurements. A grant from Metsämiesten Säätiö made the final measurement of the experiment possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Finnish Forest Research Institute, Kannus Research Unit, P.O. Box 44, 69101, Kannus, Finland

    Jyrki Hytönen & Paula Jylhä

Authors
  1. Jyrki Hytönen
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  2. Paula Jylhä
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jyrki Hytönen.

Additional information

Communicated by C. Ammer.

This article originates from the final conference of the Cost action E47 “European Network for Forest Vegetation Management: Towards Environmental Sustainability” in Vejle, Denmark, 4–7 May 2009.

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Hytönen, J., Jylhä, P. Long-term response of weed control intensity on Scots pine survival, growth and nutrition on former arable land. Eur J Forest Res 130, 91–98 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-010-0371-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-010-0371-6

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