Abstract
Abstract The USDA Forest Service built terraces on the Bitterroot National Forest in the 1960s and 1970s as a means of mechanical site preparation prior to machine-planting ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) in clearcuts. We examined the influence of terracing on planted ponderosa pine and soil characteristics more than 20 yr after site treatment and planting. Replicated plots at three separate paired (terraced/unterraced) sites were measured for tree diameter at breast height (dbh), total tree volume, planted tree volume and height, and understory biomass. Soil samples were analyzed for total C, Bray-1 extractable P, exchangeable K, soil pH, soil water-holding capacity, and particle size distribution. Terraced sites had significantly higher tree volumes, heights, and dbh, and higher silt contents than unterraced sites. Two of the three terraced sites also had greater understory biomass than the unterraced sites. Soil C and nutrient concentrations on terraced and unterraced pairs were generally similar. West. J. Appl. For. 14(1):35-40.
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