Charles Ernest Bulmer
Published: 1998
Total Pages: 60
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This report summarizes issues and problems in forest soil rehabilitation in British Columbia, presenting an up-to-date review of the scientific literature and the activities of rehabilitation specialists and practitioners working for the forest industry and government. The focus is on techniques for restoring soil productivity, with the implied objective of re-establishing a productive forest ecosystem on a site that has suffered degradation. The first two sections of the report provide an overview of soil rehabilitation in the province and review the productivity of degraded and rehabilitated forest soils. This is followed by a section on soil physical process and nutrient cycling, describing how an understanding of growth-limiting conditions can guide practitioners to strategies for effective and cost-efficient rehabilitation. The next section reviews rehabilitation techniques, including tillage, topsoil conservation and replacement, reforestation and revegetation methods, and soil amelioration using fertilizers, amendments, and mulches. Finally, information gaps and research needs are identified.