A. Costantini et al., SITE PREPARATION FOR PINUS ESTABLISHMENT IN SOUTH-EASTERN QUEENSLAND .1. TEMPORAL CHANGES IN BULK-DENSITY, Australian journal of experimental agriculture, 35(8), 1995, pp. 1151-1158
In south-eastern Queensland, Australia, standard site preparation prac
tices used for Pinus plantation establishment are mounding (bedding) o
n poorly drained soils and blade cultivation (subsurface, wing rip) on
well-drained soils. This paper reports the impacts of both site prepa
ration treatments on soil bulk density over time. Following site prepa
ration, the extent of bulk density reduction and the nature of bulk de
nsity consolidation was affected by soil type, soil depth and the site
preparation technique used. On high strength, hardsetting soils, bulk
density reductions from both mounding and blade cultivation persisted
throughout the 28-month period, and contrasted with non-hardsetting s
oils in the plantation estate, which consolidated more rapidly and had
higher bulk densities relative to precultivation levels for the perio
d 4-28 months following site preparation. The studies reported in this
paper were the first in south-eastern Queensland to investigate the i
mpact of site preparation for Pinus establishment on the nature and lo
ngevity of bulk density reductions. Previously, plantation managers as
sumed that positive site preparation impacts would be relatively short
-lived, and therefore developed a prudential policy of planting Pinus
seedlings immediately following site preparation. For the soils studie
d, delays of 2-4 months, and perhaps up to 6 months, between site prep
aration and planting would not compromise Pinus growth, but would assi
st management planning.