Tree growth on rehabilitated haul roads in southeast British Columbia

Project number: EP 1209.13

District: Selkirk Forest District

Objectives

• To quantify tree growth on rehabilitated haul roads
• To provide preliminary information on the success of rehabilitation
• To test the null hypothesis that tree growth on rehabilitated haul roads does not differ from tree growth on adjacent undisturbed cut blocks

Treatment

The haul roads used in this study were rehabilitated operationally in the late 1980's and early 1990's. At that time, no attempt was made to separate top soil from subsoil, and rehabilitation consisted of simply rolling back the displaced material. No running-surface decompaction was attempted before rehabilitation.

Layout

• Two or three sections of a rehabilitated haul road were randomly selected
• Both Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine were planted, but only one location (Benton Creek) has both species
• One line of trees was planted on the undisturbed portion above the top-of-the-cut
• One line of trees was planted on the former inner track (typically about 1.8 m from the top-of-the-cut)
• One line of trees was planted on the former mid track (typically 1.8 to 3.5 m from the top-of-the-cut)
• One line of trees was planted on the former berm (typically 3.5 to 5 m from the top-of-the-cut)
• The first approximately 15 healthy trees in each line were measured periodically

History

• 1988 fall - Ranch Ridge planted
• 1990 spring - Bell Creek planted
• 1991 spring - Benton Creek, Hudu Creek and Dayton Creek planted
• 1997 fall - first assessment
• 1999 fall - second assessment
• 2000 data collection