Sammanfattning

The Vaccinium myrtillus L. - feather moss vegetation community immobilizes nutrients in surface organic layers and suppresses growth of coniferous seedlings in northern boreal forests. On a site dominated by this type of vegetation, a new site preparation technique, involving steam treatment to kill ground vegetation, was tested and compared with conventional site preparation techniques such as soil scarification and burning. Steam treatment was as efficient as burning and soil scarification in reducing competing vegetation. After 4 years, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings planted in the burned and scarified treatments had lower growth, needle dry weight, and nitrogen contents compared with seedlings in sites treated with steam. Soil microflora recovered quickly after steaming, suggesting that steaming does not directly cause long-term soil sterilization. We interpret the superior growth of P. sylvestris seedlings in steamed plots as being due to both strongly reduced resource competition and enhanced release of nutrients in the remaining humus. We conclude that steam treatment has the potential to be an efficient and environmentally acceptable method to reduce the negative influences that ericaceous ground vegetation has on the growth of planted coniferous seedlings.

Publicerad i

Canadian Journal of Forest Research
1997, Volym: 27, nummer: 12, sidor: 2026-2033
Utgivare: NATL RESEARCH COUNCIL CANADA

SLU författare

• Norberg, Gisela

  • Institutionen för skoglig vegetationsekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Jäderlund, Anders

  • Institutionen för skoglig vegetationsekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Zackrisson, Olle

  • Institutionen för skoglig vegetationsekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Nilsson Hegethorn, Marie-Charlotte

  • Institutionen för skoglig vegetationsekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Dolling, Ann

  • Institutionen för skoglig vegetationsekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Nordfjell, Tomas

  • Institutionen för skogsteknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Wardle, David

  • Institutionen för skoglig vegetationsekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Markvetenskap
Skogsvetenskap


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-27-12-2026

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/115300