article id 273,
                            category
                        Research article
                    
        
                                    
                                    
                            Abstract |
                        
                                    View details
                             |
                            
Full text in PDF |
                        
Author Info
            
                            Effects of combining lupin (Lupinus nootkatensis L.) establishment and  soil scarification on stem volume and stem biomass yield of lodgepole  pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.) were studied on a  poor boreal site in Sweden 18 years after plantation. A field randomized  block experiment was established with three different scarification  techniques (disc trenching, moulding and ploughing) followed by  establishment of lupins by either seeds or roots. There were three  blocks without and two blocks with lupins. Overall, on average for the  three soil scarification techniques, the lupin treatment significantly  increased the volume per hectare by 102%.The lupin treatment  significantly increased the stem volume per hectare by 236% for mounding  and 139% for disc trenching, whereas the 55% increase for ploughing was  not significant. The increase in the total stem biomass yield per tree  was more pronounced for larger trees; 46% for average trees and 106% for  dominant trees. However, there were no significant differences between  scarification techniques for the lupin treatment in total stem biomass  yield. Over the 18-year period, the increased growth rate following the  lupin treatment resulted in a significantly decreased average stem basic  wood density (on average 6%) for the sample trees. Because lupin is a  nitrogen-fixing plant species, the large increase in tree growth  following the lupin treatment was probably an effect of increased amount  of nitrogen in the soil. The results indicate that use of lupin is a  possible alternative to increase site productivity of lodgepole pine on  poor boreal sites.
                        
                
                                            - 
                            Mattson,
                            Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept of Forest Ecology and Management, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            sm@nn.se
                                                                                
- 
                            Bergsten,
                            Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept of Forest Ecology and Management, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            ub@nn.se
                                                                                
- 
                            Mörling,
                            Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept of Forest Ecology and Management, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            tommy.morling@ssko.slu.se
                                                                                        