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Effects of disking, bedding, and subsoiling on survival and growth of three oak species in central Mississippi

Informally Refereed

Abstract

A replicated split-plot design experiment to evaluate the effects of three site preparation methods (disking, bedding, and subsoiling plus bedding) on survival and growth of three oak species (cherrybark, Quercus pagoda Raf.; Shumard, Quercus shumardii Buckl.; and Nuttall, Quercus texana Buckl.) was established in 1994 in Madison County, MS. The study site was an abandoned agricultural field on a terrace of the Pearl River consisting of poorly drained, fragipan soils often saturated during wet periods and winter months. Differences among species for first and tenth year survival were statistically significant and were 92 and 79 percent for Nuttall, 95 and 66 percent for Shumard, and 85 and 60 percent for cherrybark. Tenth year diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) and height trends were similar for the three species within site preparation methods. Nuttall outperformed cherrybark and Shumard, but showed no significant differences for site preparation methods. In the driest replication, cherrybark and Shumard significantly benefited from the subsoiling plus bedding treatment, but bedding was not consistently significantly different from disking. It is believed that the use of a D6 Caterpillar® bulldozer and Symonds Blade Plow may have had a negative impact on soil compaction and growth in the two wettest replications.

Parent Publication

Citation

Jeffreys, J. Paul; Schultz, Emily B.; Matney, Thomas G.; Booth, W. Cade; Morris, Jason M. 2010. Effects of disking, bedding, and subsoiling on survival and growth of three oak species in central Mississippi. In: Stanturf, John A., ed. 2010. Proceedings of the 14th biennial southern silvicultural research conference. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–121. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 151-155.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/35588