A new approach to evaluate site quality for reforestation programs

Abstract

Foresters have long applied the principle of matching site with trees in forestry. Finding suitable sites for a tree species, or finding suitable tree species for a given site, have typically been achieved through comprehensive understanding of plant–soil relationships by observations or correlation analyses. A recent study offered an eye–opening approach of using site calcium supply potentials to evaluate the site quality for tree plantations. When tree growth demand for calcium equals to site calcium supply, the site is then suitable for the tree species. Deviation from this calcium demand–supply balance leads to reduced suitability for the tree species. This “matching calcium with tree” approach reflects the simple facts that trees need carbon hydrates to build cells and calcium to glue these cells together, and that calcium is immobile between live cells. The new approach has apparent advantages of being simple in practice and using the same variables to evaluate site quality among locations, researchers, and temporal scales.

Citation

Huang, W; Zou X. 2018 A new approach to evaluate site quality for reforestation programs. Forest Res Eng Int J. 2(4):189‒190. https://doi.org/10.15406/freij.2018.02.00046