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Minesoil Property Effects on the Height of Ten-Year-Old White Pine

Dep. of Forestry, 228 Cheatham Hall, Virginia Polytech. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA 24061;
Inst. of Forestry, Pokhara, Nepal;
Dep. of Agronomy, Penn State Univ., University Park, PA 16802.

^* Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

Thirty-four 10-yr-old white pines (Pinus strobus L.) growing on reclaimed minesoils in Virginia were selected to evaluate the effects of selected minesoil properties on tree growth. A 1-m deep backhoe pit was dug at the base of each tree to determine rooting depth, and surface soil samples (0–10 cm) were collected for analysis of selected physical and chemical properties. Multiple regression analysis was used to model the combined effects of minesoil properties on tree height. The minesoil variable that had the greatest influence on tree growth was rooting volume index, defined as depth to a restrictive layer times the soil-sized fraction (%) of the surface 10 cm. The next most influential minesoil property that affected height was soluble salt content; an inverse relationship existed between tree height and electrical conductivity of a 1:5 soil/water extract. A linear regression equation describing white pine site index (SI₅₀) as a function of the square root of depth to a restrictive layer was highly significant.

Key Words: Reclamation • Reforestation • Rooting volume • Site index • Soluble salts • Pinus strobus L.

Contribution from the Dep. of Forestry, Virginia Polytech. Inst. and State Univ.

The cooperation and financial support of the Power River Project and the Mining and Mineral Resour. Res. Inst. are gratefully acknowledged.

Received for publication July 15, 1987.