Forest Sciences Commons^™

Tree-Compatible Ground Covers For Reforestation And Erosion Control, James Burger, Victor Davis, Jennifer Franklin, Carl Zipper, Jeff Skousen, Chris Barton, Patrick Angel

Jennifer Franklin

Productive native forests create economic value for landowners, produce raw materials for wood-based products, and provide benefits such as watershed control, water quality protection, carbon storage, wildlife habitat, and native plant diversity. Owners of lands mined for coal in Appalachia are increasingly interested in assuring that productive forests are restored after mining.

Sediment control is essential to coal mine reclamation under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). Here, we describe how mining firms can achieve good tree survival and restore forest productivity by using tree-compatible ground covers, when necessary, to control erosion and meet ground cover standards.

Early Teee And Ground Cover Establishment As Affected By Seeding And Fertilization Rates In Tennessee, Buckley David, Jennifer Franklin

Jennifer Franklin

Planted ground covers can compete strongly with planted tree seedlings, hindering reforestation efforts. Fertilization increases the growth of ground cover, but its effects on hardwood tree seedlings and competitive interactions between trees and ground cover species are unclear. A 3x3 factorial experiment with 3 levels of fertilizer application and 3 seeding rates wasestablished in 2006 to test for differences in tree seedling growth and survival, and for differences in ground cover establishment and composition. The ground cover was applied by hydroseeding a mixture of native warm-season grasses, annual rye and Korean lespedeza, along with lime, mulch and tackifier. Bareroot, 1-0 …