Add organic matter after tree planting

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 2
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

20%
Certainty

25%
Harms

50%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Adding wood residuals to the ground increases soil nutrient content and soil moisture. It can also stimulate increases in microbial populations that can stabilize the soil structure. That may help the establishment of planted trees.

Study locations

Key messages

Two replicated, randomized, controlled studies in the USA found that adding leaf litter or wood-chips before restoration planting increased seedling biomass, but decreased seedling emergence and survival.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A randomized, replicated, controlled study in 1989–1990 in a former arable field in New Jersey, USA (Facelli 1994) found that adding leaf litter to plots reduced tree of heaven Ailanthus altissima seedling emergence and survival, but increased their biomass if competing herbs were present. Plots with added leaf litter had lower seedling emergence than those without (litter: approx. 6; no litter: approx. 9 seedlings/plot). Seedling mortality in plots with litter was higher (approx. 31%) than in plots without (approx. 7%). Where competing herbs were present, seedling biomass was higher in plots with litter (no data provided). Where competing herbs were absent, biomass was similar with and without litter (no data provided). Sixteen plots (0.8 × 1 m) received dried, cleaned leaf litter from white oak Quercus alba at 150 g/m², held in place by chicken wire mesh. The remaining 16 plots received no leaf litter. In all plots, 20 seeds had been planted to ensure regeneration.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Facelli J. (1994) Multiple indirect effects of plant litter affect the establishment of woody seedlings in old fields. Ecology, 75, 1727-1735.
A replicated, randomized, controlled study in 1991-1995 in a degraded temperate coniferous forest in Idaho, USA (Walsh & Redente 2011) found that addition of wood-chips before restoration planting decreased the survival rate of planted western white pine Pinus monticola seedlings. Survival rate was lower with wood-chips (10-15%) than in untreated plots (72-75%). Untreated and wood-chip addition (at 90,000kg/ha) treatments were applied in 1991 to eight plots (3 × 10 m) at each of two hilltop sites. All sites were fertilized with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium at 112, 56 and 90 kg/ha respectively and were planted with western white pine trees, along with shrubs and grasses, before treatments in 1991. Data were collected in 1995.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Walsh J.R. & Redente E.F. (2011) Comparison of reclamation techniques to re‐establish western white pine on smelter‐impacted hillsides in Idaho. Restoration Ecology, 19, 141-150.

Please cite as:

Agra, H., Schowanek, S., Carmel, Y., Smith, R.K. & Ne’eman, G. (2020) Forest Conservation. Pages 323-366 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Forest Conservation

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Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Water seedlings Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link
Use pioneer plants or crops as nurse plants Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	0	Synopsis Link
Add lime to the soil after tree planting Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	2	Synopsis Link