FERTILIZATION TO OPTIMIZE GROWTH OF TREE SEEDLINGS ON RECLAIMED OIL SANDS SITES
Successful establishment of boreal tree seedlings like trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss.) in reclaimed oil sands mining sites is often limited by low nutrient availability and competition from the ground cover vegetation like planted cover crop...
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ftusaskatchewan:oai:harvest.usask.ca:10388/ETD-2014-01-1368 2023-05-15T16:17:41+02:00 FERTILIZATION TO OPTIMIZE GROWTH OF TREE SEEDLINGS ON RECLAIMED OIL SANDS SITES Rahman, Md Noabur Kimaro, Anthony Schoenau, Jeff Knight, Diane Si, Bing January 2014 http://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2014-01-1368 eng eng University of Saskatchewan http://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2014-01-1368 TC-SSU-2014011368 Reclamation Fertilization Aspen and Spruce text Thesis 2014 ftusaskatchewan 2022-01-17T11:50:49Z Successful establishment of boreal tree seedlings like trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss.) in reclaimed oil sands mining sites is often limited by low nutrient availability and competition from the ground cover vegetation like planted cover crops and weeds. Competing vegetation can adversely affect seedling establishment by augmenting the impacts of moisture and nutrient stress. Despite high potential of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and oats (Avena sativa) as cover crops in oil sands reclamation, it was not well known how these crops interact with fertilization to influence early survival and growth of tree seedlings. This study evaluated the potential of fertilization and other silvicultural practices to improve revegetation success in oil sands sites reclaimed with peat-mineral mixture. Fertilizer application significantly increased height and root collar diameter (RCD) of tree seedlings in controlled environment greenhouse conditions, but not at a field research site near Fort McMurray, Alberta. In a greenhouse study, alleviating soil moisture stress significantly increased height, RCD, and biomass of tree seedlings. Vigorous growth of ground cover vegetation stimulated by fertilizer addition in both the greenhouse and field, largely controlled survival and growth responses of tree seedlings. Survival rates of tree seedlings were significantly decreased with increased fertilizer application rates, and no positive growth responses were observed in the field. Maximum seedlings survival (92%) was recorded without fertilization. Trembling aspen was sensitive to ground cover competition, whereas white spruce was unaffected. The inherent fertility of the peat-mineral mixture appeared sufficient for establishment and early growth of planted tree seedlings in recently reclaimed oil sands sites. Fertilization appeared to increase competition between tree seedlings and cover vegetation by promoting increased growth and competition for other resources like water. Effects on growth over the longer term (several years) should be evaluated in future studies. Thesis Fort McMurray University of Saskatchewan: eCommons@USASK Fort McMurray |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Saskatchewan: eCommons@USASK |
op_collection_id |
ftusaskatchewan |
language |
English |
topic |
Reclamation Fertilization Aspen and Spruce |
spellingShingle |
Reclamation Fertilization Aspen and Spruce Rahman, Md Noabur FERTILIZATION TO OPTIMIZE GROWTH OF TREE SEEDLINGS ON RECLAIMED OIL SANDS SITES |
topic_facet |
Reclamation Fertilization Aspen and Spruce |
description |
Successful establishment of boreal tree seedlings like trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss.) in reclaimed oil sands mining sites is often limited by low nutrient availability and competition from the ground cover vegetation like planted cover crops and weeds. Competing vegetation can adversely affect seedling establishment by augmenting the impacts of moisture and nutrient stress. Despite high potential of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and oats (Avena sativa) as cover crops in oil sands reclamation, it was not well known how these crops interact with fertilization to influence early survival and growth of tree seedlings. This study evaluated the potential of fertilization and other silvicultural practices to improve revegetation success in oil sands sites reclaimed with peat-mineral mixture. Fertilizer application significantly increased height and root collar diameter (RCD) of tree seedlings in controlled environment greenhouse conditions, but not at a field research site near Fort McMurray, Alberta. In a greenhouse study, alleviating soil moisture stress significantly increased height, RCD, and biomass of tree seedlings. Vigorous growth of ground cover vegetation stimulated by fertilizer addition in both the greenhouse and field, largely controlled survival and growth responses of tree seedlings. Survival rates of tree seedlings were significantly decreased with increased fertilizer application rates, and no positive growth responses were observed in the field. Maximum seedlings survival (92%) was recorded without fertilization. Trembling aspen was sensitive to ground cover competition, whereas white spruce was unaffected. The inherent fertility of the peat-mineral mixture appeared sufficient for establishment and early growth of planted tree seedlings in recently reclaimed oil sands sites. Fertilization appeared to increase competition between tree seedlings and cover vegetation by promoting increased growth and competition for other resources like water. Effects on growth over the longer term (several years) should be evaluated in future studies. |
author2 |
Kimaro, Anthony Schoenau, Jeff Knight, Diane Si, Bing |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Rahman, Md Noabur |
author_facet |
Rahman, Md Noabur |
author_sort |
Rahman, Md Noabur |
title |
FERTILIZATION TO OPTIMIZE GROWTH OF TREE SEEDLINGS ON RECLAIMED OIL SANDS SITES |
title_short |
FERTILIZATION TO OPTIMIZE GROWTH OF TREE SEEDLINGS ON RECLAIMED OIL SANDS SITES |
title_full |
FERTILIZATION TO OPTIMIZE GROWTH OF TREE SEEDLINGS ON RECLAIMED OIL SANDS SITES |
title_fullStr |
FERTILIZATION TO OPTIMIZE GROWTH OF TREE SEEDLINGS ON RECLAIMED OIL SANDS SITES |
title_full_unstemmed |
FERTILIZATION TO OPTIMIZE GROWTH OF TREE SEEDLINGS ON RECLAIMED OIL SANDS SITES |
title_sort |
fertilization to optimize growth of tree seedlings on reclaimed oil sands sites |
publisher |
University of Saskatchewan |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2014-01-1368 |
geographic |
Fort McMurray |
geographic_facet |
Fort McMurray |
genre |
Fort McMurray |
genre_facet |
Fort McMurray |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2014-01-1368 TC-SSU-2014011368 |
_version_ |
1766003574084468736 |