Eight-Year Survival and Growth of Sakhalin Fir ( Abies sachalinensis ) Seedlings with One Weeding Operation: Impact of Mechanical Site Preparation, Vegetation Release, Summer Planting, Stock Type, and Forwarder Trail

In Hokkaido, northern Japan, bareroot Sakhalin fir seedlings are conventionally planted in spring and fall, following strip site preparation that alternates managed and unmanaged strips. However, this method requires seven years of weeding due to encroachment of evergreen dwarf bamboo. Given diminis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forests
Main Authors: Hisanori Harayama, Ikutaro Tsuyama, Takeshi Yamada, Mitsutoshi Kitao, Naoyuki Furuya, Kenichi Yazaki, Tetsuto Sugai, Akira Uemura, Shozo Sasaki, Hajime Utsugi
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024
Subjects:
bareroot seedlings
container seedlings
height growth
root collar diameter growth
soil compaction
weeding
Plant ecology
QK900-989
Sakhalin
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/f15061012
https://doaj.org/article/cdcc4975ef31445ca510f9464c657708
Description
Summary:In Hokkaido, northern Japan, bareroot Sakhalin fir seedlings are conventionally planted in spring and fall, following strip site preparation that alternates managed and unmanaged strips. However, this method requires seven years of weeding due to encroachment of evergreen dwarf bamboo. Given diminishing forest labor availability, a shortage of workers for planting and weeding operations has become a problem in reforestation following clearcutting. We examined whether comprehensive mechanical site preparation (MSP) could reduce weeding frequency by preventing regrowth of dwarf bamboo and whether container seedlings could extend the planting season into summer. Over eight years, the survival and growth of summer-planted bareroot and container seedlings were examined on a fully MSP-treated site with only one weeding operation in the fifth year. Full-site MSP resulted in a shift of the vegetation from dwarf bamboo to deciduous plants, leading to high survival and growth rates of Sakhalin fir seedlings despite minimal weeding. Container seedlings exhibited superior establishment and maintained higher survival rates over eight years than bareroot seedlings. However, planting on the forwarder trail decreased seedling growth, and ultimately decreased survival under rare summer drought. Our findings indicate that container seedling summer planting and full-site MSP may represent an alternative approach to reforestation of Sakhalin fir, potentially reducing the need for weeding and extending the planting season.

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