Establishing Forest Cover on Winter Landings in the Central Interior of British Columbia

In 1979, 1-0 container-grown and 2-0 bareroot lodgopole pine, Pinus contorta var latifolia (Engelm.), seedlings were planted on 20 winter landings using conventional and soil-auger planting techniques. Seedling survival and growth were assessed at the end of the first and fifth growing seasons and compared with the growth of naturally regenerated lodgepole pine seedlings on the adjacent cutover areas. Foliar nutrient content, soil bulk density, and soil nutrient pool were also compared between the two areas.Auger planting significantly improved early survival of bareroot stock but had no effect on initial survival rate of container-grown seedlings. The planting method had no significant effect on subsequent growth of either stock type. However, growth of seedlings that were planted on the landings was significantly poorer than that of natural regeneration on the adjacent cutovers. Higher soil density and a significantly reduced soil nutrient pool contributed one third and two thirds, respectively, to this...