Effects of torrefied wood chip and vermicompost application on vegetation growth and nutrient uptake in the Saemangeum reclaimed land

Aung Aung,Si Ho Han,Jeong Min Seo,Woo Bin Youn,Byung Bae Park,Huong Thi Thuy Dao,Ji Young An

doi:10.1186/s13717-020-0212-6

Abstract

BackgroundIn reclaimed land, the growth environment for plants may be unfavorable and the initial establishment and growth of seedlings could be limited because of low nutrient and water availability. Fertilization and control of understory vegetation that competes with seedlings may be of help in ameliorating soil physical and chemical properties, resulting in better seedling growth and reclamation success. However, the amount of nutrients understory vegetation absorbs in this ecological process has been rarely studied. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effect of soil amendment on biomass production and nutrient uptake by weeds in the nutrient-poor reclaimed area. We applied three levels of torrefied wood chip (TWC; 0, 2.5, and 5 Mg ha−1) and two levels of vermicompost (VC; 0 and 2.7 Mg ha−1) as soil physical improvements and organic soil amendments in reclaimed land in the Republic of Korea, with Populus euramericana used as the crop tree.ResultsTWC did not influence weed biomass, but 2.7 Mg ha−1 VC significantly increased weed biomass by 21% compared to 0 Mg ha−1 VC treatments. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sodium (Na) concentrations in weeds were the highest in control, but there was no statistical difference among treatments. However, VC treatment did marginally increase nutrient uptake in weeds, especially P, K, Ca, and Na. No treatments influenced crop tree height.ConclusionWe conclude that VC can be used as an organic source of nutrients in reclaimed soil and that weed management is necessary to increase treatment effects on crop trees in this salt-affected reclaimed land.

Highlights

In reclaimed land, the growth environment for plants may be unfavorable and the initial establishment and growth of seedlings could be limited because of low nutrient and water availability
We applied three levels of torrefied wood chip (TWC; 0, 2.5, and 5 Mg ha−1) and two levels of vermicompost (VC; 0 and 2.7 Mg ha−1) as soil physical improvements and organic soil amendments in reclaimed land in the Republic of Korea, with Populus euramericana used as the crop tree
Weed biomass and nutrient uptake by weeds increased in 2.7 Mg ha−1 vermicompost treatment

Summary

Introduction

The growth environment for plants may be unfavorable and the initial establishment and growth of seedlings could be limited because of low nutrient and water availability. We applied three levels of torrefied wood chip (TWC; 0, 2.5, and 5 Mg ha−1) and two levels of vermicompost (VC; 0 and 2.7 Mg ha−1) as soil physical improvements and organic soil amendments in reclaimed land in the Republic of Korea, with Populus euramericana used as the crop tree. Korea has established 28,300 ha of reclaimed land in Gunsan and Buan in Jeollabuk-do on the west coast in April 2006 (Bitog et al 2009). This reclaimed land is considered suitable for producing large quantities of wood biomass, such as wood chips because the area is flat and accessible to forestry machinery (KREI 2010). Korea has established and (2020) 9:7 implemented a poplar afforestation plan in the Saemangeum reclaimed land for afforestation and biofuel production in response to climate change (KFS 2013)

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