Transcript poster04 - University College Dublin

BOGFOR RESEARCH PROGRAMME
Florence Renou, Project Manager and E.P. Farrell, Project Leader
Forest Ecosystem Research Group, University College Dublin
BACKGROUND
Peat harvesting has been carried industrially since the 1950s and gave birth to the ‘cutaway bogs’. Industrial cutaway
peatlands cover over 100,000ha and Bord na Móna plans to rehabilitate 50,000ha for forestry. The reclamation of this
land for forestry is a unique project in terms of both its scale and the difficulties it presents. In the past, there have been
conflicting results often due to the unknown climatic and edaphic conditions present and different site types being
considered. BOGFOR was initiated in 1998 to investigate the wood production potential of industrially milled cutaway
peatlands and aims to develop management tools and practices necessary to successfully establish new forests.
 Heterogeneity across short distances causing
variations in stands and growth
 Varying peat type, origin and depth
Species and provenance
suitability: 11 conifers and 9
broadleaves on 200ha of
experimental trials; clones
and provenance also tested
Good growth with Norway
spruce and Corsican pine
 Relation of moisture status, aeration, water table
and bulk density to root and tree growth
 Nutrient status of peat and microbiological activity
Sitka spruce under feral birch
Alder and birch for shelter,
site
improvement
and
biodiversity. Also as nurse
crop for Sitka spruce
(sensitive to late spring frost)
Health and disease: Pine
Shoot Moth on Lodgepole
pine and Scots pine
PROPERTIES OF
PEAT
SPECIES &
SILVICULTURE
Oak and larch on drier and
sheltered sites
Pedunculate oak after
5 growing seasons
under feral birch
Deep ploughing and levelling
CUTAWAY
PEATLAND
FORESTS
Alteration of moisture status
and physical properties by
drainage system and
cultivation: deep ploughing,
ripping, discing and mounding
Alteration of nutrient status by
split fertilisation, adequate
rates and methods, compatible
with environmental constraints
AMELIORATION
OF PEAT AS
PLANTING
MEDIUM
Effect of pioneer species and
early vegetation cover: lower
water table, alter runoff,
improve nutrient interaction
and microbial activity
Drains showing mineral soil
underlying shallow peat
FOREST
MANAGEMENT
Adapted planting season - cold storage
Planting stocks - bareroot or containers
Flail mower and quad used for
weeding new plantations
Weeding - mechanised flail and rotowiper
Pine shoot moth in Scots pine
Management of naturally regenerating birch
Acknowledgement:
Crop tending - foliar monitoring
Norway spruce seedling stocks
Naturally regenerated birch
FUTURE RESEARCH
This poster summarises how the many aspects of cutaway peatland forestry are inter-related and require a multipronged research approach in order to develop sound silvicultural practices for this type of land. While the project
has yielded useful results to date, long-term monitoring and additional studies will be required to maximise the
benefit from this research. It is only sensible to put sufficient effort into basic as well as applied research to maintain
the ability to produce answers for future political and economical circumstances which cannot be predicted.