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Environmental benefits inferred from impact of reforestation of deforested creek bank on soil conditioning: a case study in Victoria, Australia

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Abstract

Information regarding changes in soil condition after reforestation may help in inferring environmental and ecosystem benefits. A case study was undertaken in Victoria State, Australia, to investigate the changes in soil condition after reforestation of a deforested creek bank to infer environmental benefits. The study was conducted at four sites in a large farm. At each site a ~150 m strip of land that ran perpendicular to a creek from the bank to cropping area was selected. The results show that total organic carbon (TOC) and total mineral nitrogen (TN) in the cropped segment (CS) of a strip at a given site were significantly higher than in the corresponding reforested segment (RS) which in turn was higher than in the bare segment (BS) whilst the electrical conductivity (EC) and bulk density (BD) were in the order BS > RS > CS. Six years after reforestation, TOC and TN in the RS increased by 30 and 24 %, respectively, compared with 9 and 8 % for 3 years. The EC, BD, and pH decreased by 26, 14, 14 %, respectively, 6 years after reforestation. Creek bank reforestation associated improvements in TOC, TN, BD, EC, and pH may have positive impact on pollutant and salinity abatement.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded through the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CO0910.06.051). The authors thank the landholders for site access and Dr. Phil Moody (Environment and Resource Sciences) for discussions and soil sample analyses. We also thank Bob Smith (Federation University Australia) for assisting us with the soil sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science and Technology, Centre for Environmental Management, Federation University Australia, PO Box 663, Victoria, 3350, Australia

    Velu Rasiah, Singarayar Florentine & Peter Dahlhaus

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  1. Velu Rasiah
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  2. Singarayar Florentine
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  3. Peter Dahlhaus
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Correspondence to Velu Rasiah.

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Rasiah, V., Florentine, S. & Dahlhaus, P. Environmental benefits inferred from impact of reforestation of deforested creek bank on soil conditioning: a case study in Victoria, Australia. Agroforest Syst 89, 345–355 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-014-9771-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-014-9771-9

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