Forest regeneration on nutrient-poor peatlands: effects of fertilization, mounding and sowing

Abstract

The effects of wood ash and PK fertilization on natural regeneration and sowing of Scots pine Pinus sylvestris were studied in field experiments. The study material was derived from three drained mires at Muhos, near Oulu, Finland. The experimental fields were laid out in 1985 and seedlings were inventoried in July-August 1991. Both sowing and fertilization significantly increased the number of pine seedlings, but not their height. Wood ash increased seedling number more than PH fertilizer. Mounding especially increased the number of birches Betula. The difference between PH fertilizer and ash was less pronounced than that for pine. In a greenhouse experiment, soaking in ash solutions strongly reduced seed germination, while the pH solution was less harmful. -from Author