Watershed Restoration Manager David Wise presented highlights of Stroud Water Research Center’s research on reforestation methods, particularly for forested stream buffers, at the 2022 Keystone 10 Million Trees Annual Partner Meeting.
Research topics covered in the presentation include:
- The center-hole method for installing bird nets to avoid tangling tree leaders.
- Stone mulch as an alternative to herbicide spots for protecting seedlings from rodents.
- Pre-emergence herbicide use inside tree shelters to prevent invasive plant growth.
- Comparison of survivorship, height growth, and stem diameter growth for four leading types of tree shelters.
- The effects of mowing frequency on survivorship and growth of trees.
- A study confirming that forested buffers can be successfully established without first removing the legacy sediments.
Case studies (not formal science) cover whether/how/when to remove tree shelters, how to protect shrubs from herbivores, and how to establish successful buffers on sites with multiflora rose or reed canary grass.
