Step #3 Preparing a Site for Restoration (go back)

By: Rhett Johnson, Co-Director

Preparation of a site for planting can take many forms and vary considerably in intensity of site disturbance. There are two primary reasons to perform site preparation: planting access and control of unwanted vegetation. In the case of pastures and agricultural fields, scalping and subsoiling provide some measure of both. In improved pastures, an herbicide treatment is recommended prior to scalping to control introduced grasses like fescue, Bermuda, and bahia grass. Subsoiling or ripping is intended to break up the hardpan or plow pan common to many agricultural soils and allow drainage and root growth. Scalping can provide a weed-free zone immediately after planting, lessen disease and insect damage potential, and improve soil moisture conditions.

In situations following a timber harvest, coarse woody debris can be a problem for tree planters and it is usually desirableto concentrate the debris in windrows or piles and/or to reduce it by burning. It is also desirable to control unwanted vegetation on the site prior to planting to improve access and to reduce competition for the new stand. To that end, techniques like chopping, "3-in-1" plows, and herbicides, all used in conjunction with fire, can damage rootstocks of residual woody vegetation and allow the new stand early control of the site's resources. Modern herbicides are commonly selective in their effect on various plant species. For example, some herbicides selectively kill grasses while others kill legumes and still others kill only woody plants. This trait allows knowledgeable managers the opportunity to almost surgically extract undesired species and create room for desirables. The choice of herbicides or prescription should be made by a trained professional to best suit the vegetation to be controlled and to satisfy the landowner's objecitve.

Any or all of these techniques can be used in combination. Intensive site preparation enhances the survival and subsequent growth of the newly established stand. By the same token, intensive site preparation has the potential to destroy desirable components of the understory or to hamper their recovery. If understory restoration is a primary consideration for a landowner, a balance must be struck between maximizing site preparation intensity to increase tree growth and survival and minimizing the impact on other ecosystem components. Optimally, fire alone does little to retard understory development and, in fact, is likely to enhance it. Selective herbicides, used in conjunction with fire, offer some of the benefits of site control while sparing some of the desirable plant community. The landowner/manager should have a clear idea of what species he wants in the understory and a good inventory of what species are in place prior to choosing a chemical.

Chopping, a mechanical treatment which employs a heavy ribbed metal drum pulled across the site, creates minimal soil disturbance and seedbed disruption, but tends to stimulate sprouting of woody growth and can completely eliminate targeted groundcover plants such as wiregrass.

The following information will outline site preparation techniques that are effective on cutover, abandoned agricultural and pasture sites. Keep in mind the level of site preparation depends not on your starting points but also the landowners ending points.

Situation #1 Cutover Land

Situation #2 Abandoned Agricultural Land and Pastures