Resumo: As matas ciliares são áreas diretamente afetadas por construção de hidrelétricas, e a sua destruição influencia a estabilidade das áreas que margeiam os rios, contribuindo para o assoreamento de reservatórios, o empobrecimento do solo e, consequentemente, a redução da biodiversidade local. Neste contexto desenvolveram-se várias pesquisas propondo diferentes modelos de recuperação. Sendo assim, o presente trabalho tem como objetivos estudar o comportamento silvicultural de várias espécies arbóreas em condições de mata ciliar e avaliar as propriedades físicas e químicas do solo do reflorestamento ciliar à margem do reservatório da Hidrelétrica de Ilha Solteira localizado na Fazenda de Ensino, Pesquisa e Extensão da UNESP, Campus de Ilha Solteira, no município de Selvíria (MS). O reflorestamento foi plantado em 1986 em módulos, existindo dois modelos com números diferentes de espécies. O modelo I é composto por 21 espécies, plantadas em 33 módulos, e o modelo II por 14 espécies em 13 módulos. O espaçamento utilizado para o plantio das espécies foi de 2 x 3 m. Os caracteres silviculturais avaliados foram: altura total das plantas (ALT, em m), diâmetro a altura do peito (DAP, em cm), área basal (G, em cm2) e a porcentagem de sobrevivência (SOB, em %). Na análise química do solo foi determinado: fósforo, potássio, cálcio e magnésio pelo método de extração com resina trocadora de íons, matéria orgânica e hidrogênio mais alumínio. As propriedades físicas do solo estudadas foram macroporosidade, microporosidade, porosidade total e densidade do solo. Realizou-se, também, o levantamento da regeneração natural que ocorreu dentro dos modelos de plantio. Concluiu-se que as propriedades físicas e químicas do solo sob o reflorestamento ciliar são semelhantes às propriedades do ...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The riparian forest is directly areas affected by hydroelectric power station construction, and its devastation harms the stability of the areas that shore the rivers, the impoverishment of the soil and, consequently, the reduction of the local biodiversity, what took it they develop researches in restoration models. Being like this, the present work has as objectives to study the behavior silvicultural of several arboreal species in conditions of riparian forest and to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of the soil of the riparian reforestation to the margin of the reservoir of hydroelectric power station of Ilha Solteira located in Fazenda de Ensino, Pesquisa e Extensão of UNESP, Campus of Ilha Solteira, in the municipal district of Selvíria (MS). The reforestation was planted in 1986 in modules, existing two models with numbers different from species. The model I is composed by 21 species, planted in 33 modules, and the model II for 14 species in 13 modules. The spacing used for the plantation of the species was of 2 x 3 m. The variable appraised silviculturais was: total height of the plants (ALT, m), diameter the height of the chest (DAP, cm), basal area (G, cm2) and the survival rising (SOB, %). In the chemical analysis of the soil it was determined: P, K, Ca and Mg for the extraction method with resin ions change, organic matter, aluminum hydrogen. The physical properties of the studied soil were macro porosity, micro porosity, total porosities and density of the soil. It took place, also, the rising of the natural regeneration that happened inside of the plantation models. It was ended that the physical and chemical properties of the soil under the riparian reforestation are similar to the properties of the soil without disturbance antrópica of this area and the species planted in the models ...(Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Orientador: Mário Luiz Teixeira de Moraes / Coorientador: Enes Furlani Júnior / Banca: Paulo Ernani Ramalho Carvalho / Banca: Ananda Virginia de Aguiar / Mestre

Litterfall in the UBG Research Forest was collected from traps randomly-placed in each of five half-acre plots of twelve year old Coastal Douglas fir of spacings ranging from 3 x 3 to 15 x 15 feet. Collections were also made from a half-acre plot of 3 x 3 feet spaced eleven year old western hemlock, and from an older, thinned natural stand of western red cedar and western hemlock. Forest floor accumulations and soil samples from each plot were also collected and analysed. The amount of litterfall in the Douglas fir spacing plots showed that the denser the stand the greater was the litterfall. The percentage of litter from broadleaved species present was in increasing order from the 3 x 3 to the 15 x 15 feet Douglas fir plots. The amount of litterfall in the Douglas fir was about 3,000 kg/ha more than that in the western hemlock plot of the same spacing. The litterfall in the cedar-hemlock stand showed a large amount of cones and twigs, but was not greater than the litterfall collected from the denser plantations of Douglas fir. It should be noted that the 3x3 and 6x6 feet Douglas fir plots of this study gave a much greater litterfall than the values reported by other authors for this species. However, judging from the literature, comparable data for stands of this age and density are not available. Since the variation of litterfall within a plot was very great, the number of traps needed will have to be increased to attain a precision of ± 10 gm at 5% probability level for an annual collection. The amount of forest floor decreased as spacing widened. It was shown statistically that two groups of plots existed: one with associated vegetation (12 x 12 and 15 x 15 feet) and the other without (3x3 and 6x6 feet plots). The weight of forest floor of western hemlock was less than that of Douglas fir of the same spacing. The weights of forest floor obtained in this study were well below the figures given by other authors in this field. The index of forest floor turnover, calculated from the ratio of litter-fall/forest floor showed that the closer-spaced plantations had a higher ratio than the wider-spaced. This suggests that faster circulation of nutrient elements is going on in the stand with a full canopy than in a more widely spaced stand. The chemical contents of the litterfall and forest floor were determined on composite samples from each plot. Nutrient concentration in litterfall and forest floor did not vary with spacing in the Douglas fir plots. The ground vegetation layer found only under the wider Douglas fir spacings showed greater concentration of phosphorus and potassium than the litter or forest floor of all the spacings. The calcium concentration in the western hemlock and cedar-hemlock plots was higher than that found in the Douglas fir plots, but phosphorus was found to be lower. However, the total amount of nutrients in litterfall and in forest floor under differently spaced Douglas fir plantations followed a distinct pattern: a higher content was present in the denser and lower in the wider plots. No clear relationship between litterfall or forest floor accumulations and growth as measured so far was observed. The importance of soil physical properties in affecting growth should be considered more closely, because the plots were different in soil texture and probably in other physical characteristics. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

Research and thoughts on how tourism in Iceland can interact with and influence the icelandic nature in a positive way. The project focuses on the reforestation of Iceland and how buildings and architecture can invite tourists to have a positive effect on the island. The project combines the activity of hiking and the function of the tree nursery to result in a new kind of eco tourist. Where Tourists can become a helpful force to the Icelandic nature, planting one tree at a time.

The primary objectives of this study were to determine the relative effects of (1) changes in soil characteristics associated with old-field succession and (2) available moisture upon the growth of three upland tree species. / Master of Science

The present state and future prospect of the world's soil resources has prompted scientists and researchers to address the issue of soil quality and sustainable land management. Soil quality research has focused on intensively-managed agricultural and forest soils, but the concept and importance of soil quality is also pertinent to disturbed systems such as reclaimed mine soils. The restoration of soil function and mine soil quality is essential to long-term ecosystem stability. The objectives of this study were (i) to determine the comparative ability of topsoil, sawdust, and sewage sludge amendments, after 16 years, to positively affect mine soil quality using the following key soil quality variables: organic matter content, aggregate stability, and mineralizable nitrogen, (ii) to determine the effects of these key soil quality variables on plant productivity, and (iii) to determine the comparative ability of trees and herbaceous plants to persist and to conserve or maintain mine soil quality. In 1982, a mined site was amended with seven different surface treatments: a fertilized control (2:1 sandstone:siltstone), 30 cm of native soil + 7.8 Mg ha-1 lime, 112 Mg ha-1 sawdust, and municipal sewage sludge (SS) at rates of 22, 56, 112, and 224 Mg ha-1. Four replicates of each treatment were installed as a randomized complete block design. Whole plots were split according to vegetation type: pitch x loblolly pine hybrid (Pinus rigida x taeda) trees and Kentucky-31 tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). Soil analyses of composite samples for 1982, 1987, and 1998 were evaluated for changing levels of mine soil quality. The positive effect of these organic amendments on organic matter content, total nitrogen, and other soil parameters was most apparent and pronounced after 5 growing seasons. However, after 16 years, soil organic matter content and total nitrogen appear to be equilibrating at about 4.3 and 1.5%. There was a significant difference in organic matter content and nitrogen mineralization potential between vegetation types. Organic matter inputs by vegetation alone over the 16-yr period in the control plots resulted in organic matter and nitrogen mineralization potential values comparable to levels in the organically amended plots. The results suggest that about 15 years is needed for climate, moisture availability, and other edaphic features to have the same influence on overall organic matter decomposition, N accretion, organic nitrogen mineralization levels, system equilibrium, and overall mine soil quality as a one-time 100-Mg ha-1 application of organic amendment. Tree volume and biomass were measured as indices of the effects of organic matter content 16 years after initial amendment. Individual tree volumes of the sawdust, 22, 56, and 112 Mg ha -1 SS treatments retained 18 to 26% more volume than the control, respectively. Overall, fescue production was the same among treatments. Organic amendments improved initial soil fertility for fescue establishment, but it appears that they will have little or no long-lasting effect on plant productivity. / Master of Science

One of the major issues in surface coal mine land reclamation is the impact of total dissolved solids (TDS) on water quality. To address this issue, this study assessed whether vegetation could reduce TDS nutrient ion movement from the rooting zone in early reclamation stages when TDS generation is often highest. Vegetated and un-vegetated paired plots were established across eight sites with gradients in age, spoil material, and vegetative productivity. Ion exchange resin lysimeters were used to compare nutrient ion fluxes in soil solution that contribute to TDS between paired plots. Soil and vegetation properties (used as proxies for evapotranspiration and plant uptake) were characterized at each site and correlated with log ratios of common TDS contributing ions [i.e., base cations Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+ (RBC), sulfate (RSO42-), and total Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, SO42- (Rtotal)] between un-vegetated and vegetated plots. Strong Spearman correlations were found between RTotal, RBC, and RSO42- during the peak growing season, and were weakened overall during vegetative dormancy. Soil organic matter was shown to be a strong correlate through dormant periods. Correlations between TDS nutrient ions and vegetation suggest evapotranspiration in the growing season, and interception during dormant periods, exert an influence on nutrient ion fluxes. These findings indicate that aggrading forests may reduce TDS nutrient ion loading, through solute retention mechanisms driven by organic matter inputs and plant uptake. / Master of Science

Biochar is a form of stable organic carbon whose application to soils has the potential to sequester large amounts of atmospheric CO2 while improving the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. However, the optimal rates and methods of biochar application are unknown for many situations. Three experiments were performed to test methods of biochar application to soils as a stand-alone amendment, in combination with biosolids as a complementary amendment and in-situ through controlled landscape burning. The first was a greenhouse pot study, which involved combining biochar with spoil from an Appalachian surface coal mine to grow trees. Biochar combined with mine soil produced a much higher growth rate for trees, and pure biochar helped tree root growth, suggesting that it might be useful as a broadcasted amendment, as a nursery growing medium or as a backfill in tree planting holes. The second experiment explored methods to combine biochar and biosolids materials to form a granular product. Combining biochar and biosolids before applications reduced windborne losses of biochar as well as the nutrient leachate produced by the biosolids. Drum rolling was found to work best for producing aggregate granules. Wetting pure biochar to 100% gravimetric water content before applications reduced windborne losses from over 50% to under 5% as compared to when it was applied as a dry product. A series of controlled burns were conducted in the third experiment to determine the ideal range of meteorological conditions to produce the highest possible biochar yields in-situ. Relative humidity, forest litter moisture and ambient temperature were found to be the governing factors over the tonnage of biochar produced. Up to 3.0 Mg Ha-1 of biochar were produced under ideal conditions by controlled burning. Repeated high-yielding burns have the potential accumulate large amounts of biochar in the soil to improve soil properties. / Ph. D.

The Appalachian Region is a rich and diverse forest ecosystem impacted by present and past mining activities. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977 was enacted to resolve many of the environmental problems caused by surfacing mining, such as landslides, erosion, flooding, and poor water quality. As with many solutions, this one came with its own set of environmental problems due to compaction and the introduction of aggressive non-native grasses and shrubs altering hydrologic processes and ecosystem function. The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is a method for re-establishing forested ecosystems on mined lands. This project evaluated the effect of FRA on throughfall by comparing 10-, 20-, and 100-year old tree plots consisting of coniferous or deciduous trees. Throughfall rates were significantly impacted by tree type and age. Coniferous trees intercepted more rainfall than deciduous ones and the older trees tended to intercept the least. Presence/absence of leaves impacted throughfall depths for deciduous trees. Throughfall was significantly impacted by storm event characteristics. Results may help guide management of forested watersheds regarding strategies to reduce water yields on mined lands.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1964. / Typescript. Mounted photographs. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-109). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Reforesting harvested lands in southwestern Oregon has been difficult because of low rainfall, high evaporative demand, and competitive understory vegetation. Herbicides have been a preferred method to control competing vegetation but herbicide use on federal lands was curtailed in 1984. As a result, interest in livestock grazing as a vegetation control method has increased. I used prescribed cattle grazing from 1986-1990 to assess effects on reforestation. Treatments were established on a low-elevation (670 m) site to evaluate seedling survival and growth of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco.) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl.). Treatments were: a) seeding of palatable forage species (SU); b) seeding with grazing (SG); c) no seeding with grazing (NG); and d) no seeding or grazing, with paper mulch applied on Douglas-fir only (PM/C). Year 5 mortality among treatments ranged from 57 to 87% for Douglas-fir and 11 to 25% for ponderosa pine. Porcupine girdling and late-spring frost were major causal factors in ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir mortality, respectively. Competition from understory vegetation, browsing, and trampling were only minor causal factors in seedling mortality. Cumulative growth of both species was best in NG. Severe browsing by cattle in year 2 on SG resulted in reduced year 3 relative growth for ponderosa pine. However, year 2 browsing did not reduce long-term relative growth. By year 5, relative growth for ponderosa pine was greatest in SG and lowest in SU. During years 1-3, soil moisture availability was not enhanced on the grazed vs. ungrazed treatments. However, by year 4, xylem potentials and soil moisture indicated seedlings in SG were less water-stressed than those in SU. Reduced water stress probably resulted from reductions in roots of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerate L.) because of defoliation. Sampling with a root periscope indicated roots were reduced for defoliated (SG) plants compared with undefoliated (SU) plants. Leaf area and root growth reductions were apparent mechanisms permitting increased soil moisture availability. These results suggested that prescribed cattle grazing can facilitate reforestation. / Graduation date: 1992