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Relative bulk density as a measure of compaction and its influence on tree

height

Article  in  Canadian Journal of Forest Research · August 2010

DOI: 10.1139/X10-115

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 1724

Relative bulk density as a measure of compaction

and its influence on tree height
Yihai Zhao, Maja Krzic, Chuck E. Bulmer, Margaret G. Schmidt, and
Suzanne W. Simard
Can. J. For. Res. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Simon Fraser University on 11/12/11

Abstract: Soil compaction often limits conifer regeneration on sites degraded by landings and roads, but inadequate under-
standing of the relationship between compaction and tree growth could lead to inappropriate soil conservation and rehabili-
tation efforts. We tested liquid and plastic limits, oxidizable organic matter, total carbon, particle size distribution, and
iron and aluminum oxides on soil samples collected from five forest experiments in interior British Columbia. These data
were used to estimate soil maximum bulk density (MBD) and relative bulk density (RBD); our objective was to relate
RBD to tree growth. Height of interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Bessin) Franco) was limited when
RBD was >0.72. For lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) and hybrid white spruce
(Picea glauca (Moench) Voss  Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.), RBDs of 0.60–0.68 corresponded to maximum
height, whereas RBDs of 0.78–0.87 appeared to limit height growth. The presence of surface organic material mitigated
compaction and was often associated with lower RBD. Our results illustrate the usefulness of RBD to assess compaction
and suggest that soil rehabilitation should be considered on disturbed sites where soil RBD is >0.80.
Résumé : La compaction du sol nuit souvent à la régénération des conifères sur les sites dégradés par les jetées et les che-
mins mais une compréhension inadéquate de la relation entre la compaction et la croissance des arbres pourrait se traduire
par des mesures inappropriées de réhabilitation et de conservation du sol. Nous avons testé les limites liquide et plastique,
la matière organique oxydable, le carbon total, la distribution de la dimension des particules et les oxydes de iron et d’alu-
For personal use only.

minium sur des échantillons de sol prélevés dans cinq expériences établies en forêt dans la partie intérieure de la
Colombie-Britannique. Ces données ont été utilisées pour estimer la densité apparente maximale et la densité apparente re-
lative (DAR). Notre objectif consistait à relier la DAR à la croissance des arbres. La hauteur du douglas de Menzies bleu
(Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco) était réduite lorsque la DAR était > 0,72. Dans le cas du pin tordu la-
tifolié (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) et de l’épinette blanche hybride (Picea glauca (Moench)
Voss  Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.), une DAR de 0,60 à 0,68 correspondait à la hauteur maximale tandis qu’une
DAR de 0,78 à 0,87 semblait limiter la croissance en hauteur. La présence de matière organique en surface atténuait l’effet
de la compaction et était souvent associée à une DAR plus faible. Nos résultats illustrent l’utilité de la DAR pour évaluer
la compaction et indiquent que la réhabilitation du sol devrait être envisagée sur les sites perturbés où la DAR est > 0,80.
[Traduit par la Rédaction]

Introduction and landings. These areas may be unproductive unless soil

rehabilitation is carried out. Trees growing on compacted
The use of heavy machinery in forest management often soil are generally characterized by reduced root elongation
leads to soil disturbance and compaction, which in turn af- (Whalley et al. 1995) and, sometimes, by reduced height
fect ecosystem stability and site productivity (Froehlich growth (Greacen and Sands 1980; Ares et al. 2007; Bulmer
1979; Wronski and Murphy 1994; Kuan et al. 2007). Soil et al. 2007), but predictability varies. The variation in tree
disturbance and compaction can be particularly severe on growth responses reported in different studies could have
permanent and temporary access areas, such as forest roads been caused by selection of compaction indicators that were
Received 26 February 2009. Resubmitted 24 March 2010. not always successful in describing the relationship between
Accepted 15 May 2010. Published on the NRC Research Press soil compaction and tree growth or by the fact that compac-
Web site at cjfr.nrc.ca on 13 August 2010. tion treatments did not reach growth-limiting levels in some
studies. Because soil rehabilitation practices are expensive to
Y. Zhao. Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia,
apply, a compaction evaluation method to better understand
2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
M. Krzic1 and S.W. Simard. Faculty of Forestry, University of soil compaction effects on tree growth is needed.
British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Soil bulk density (BD) has been traditionally used as the
Canada. most common measure of soil compaction, but establish-
C.E. Bulmer. BC Ministry of Forests and Range, Research ment of growth-limiting BD thresholds is not straightfor-
Branch, Kalamalka Forestry Centre, 3401 Reservoir Road, ward. Any threshold value of BD depends on soil properties
Vernon, BC V1B 2C7, Canada. (e.g., texture, quantity and quality of organic matter, and
M.G. Schmidt. Department of Geography, Simon Fraser particle density), site characteristics (e.g., microclimate),
University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada.
and the criteria used to evaluate when growth is affected. A
1Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected]). review by Daddow and Warrington (1983) showed that

Can. J. For. Res. 40: 1724–1735 (2010) doi:10.1139/X10-115 Published by NRC Research Press
 Zhao et al. 1725

growth-limiting BD for sandy loams and loamy sands was tivity to degraded areas (Richardson et al. 1999). The objec-
near 1.75 Mg
m–3, whereas clay, silty clay loam, silty clay, tives of our study were to (i) determine RBD for soils on
and silt soils had growth-limiting BD around 1.40 Mg
m–3. heavily disturbed tree-growing sites, such as landings and
Similarly, the root growth-limiting BD for Douglas-fir roads, and (ii) assess the relationship between RBD and tree
(Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings grown on height. We also evaluated the influence of presence of sur-
sandy loam to loam soils varied from 1.70 to 1.80 Mg
m–3 face organic materials (i.e., wood waste mulches applied to
(Heilman 1981). However, an artificially created BD of disturbed sites or natural forest floors) on tree height.
1.59 Mg
m–3 for a sandy loam soil in pots stopped root pen-
etration of 2-year-old Douglas-fir seedlings (Heninger et al. Materials and methods
2002). These variable results illustrate why a single growth-
limiting BD threshold is unrealistic for all situations on all Site description
Can. J. For. Res. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Simon Fraser University on 11/12/11

sites. Five experiments (Table 1), including forest landings and

Efforts have been made to develop high-level integrated roads, were selected throughout interior British Columbia
soil parameters that can combine several soil properties and (BC). When selecting experiments for this study, we focused
relate them to plant growth. One of these parameters was the on those with a broad range of soil mechanical disturbance
least limiting water range (LLWR) introduced by da Silva et and rehabilitation treatments (Table 2), which enabled us to
al. (1994) based on earlier work by Letey (1985). The include a range of compaction levels in our study. Experi-
LLWR describes the range of soil water contents where ments 1, 2, 4, and 5 were established to evaluate the effec-
water availability, soil mechanical resistance, and air-filled tiveness of tillage and biological inoculation on conifer
porosity do not exceed assigned values associated with seedlings, and experiment 3 was established to determine
growth limitation. The LLWR has been shown to be a useful the effect of tillage and wood waste amendment on soil re-
indicator of soil physical quality (Zou et al. 2000; Lapen et habilitation (Teste et al. 2004; Bulmer et al. 2007; Campbell
al. 2004). However, relating LLWR to plant productivity re- et al. 2008). Each experiment was laid out as a randomized
quires monitoring of soil water dynamics and the testing of complete block design or randomized block split-plot design
field capacity and permanent wilting point, which are diffi- with three replicate blocks. One-year-old nursery-grown
cult for fine-textured soils. seedlings of interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var.
For personal use only.

Other high-level integrating soil parameters that were glauca (Bessin) Franco), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta
found to correlate well with plant growth include relative Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.), and hybrid white
bulk density (RBD) and degree of compactness (D). Both spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss  Picea engelmannii
parameters represent the ratio of field BD to a reference Parry ex Engelm.) were planted. Species distribution on the
BD, and they only vary in the method used to obtain the experimental sites selected for this study, year of the site es-
reference BD: the former method applies 600 kN-m
m–3 of tablishment, and tree age at the time of growth measurement
compaction force through rammer blows, whereas the latter are shown in Table 2. Planting densities ranged from 2000
uses 200 kPa static pressure to compact the sample (Carter to 5000 stems
ha–1 in experiments 2, 3, and 5. Seedlings
1990; Håkansson and Lipiec 2000). Relative bulk density were planted in rows on the roads at experiments 1 and 4,
was strongly correlated (R2 = 0.69) to the relative grain and row spacing was typically 2 m with an intraseedling dis-
yield of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and spring tance of 0.5 m. At the time of measurement, interactions
wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in a study by Carter (1990) among neighbouring trees were not considered to be a factor
carried out on a fine sandy loam Orthic Humo-Ferric Podzol affecting the results.
on Prince Edward Island. An RBD range of 0.77–0.84 was
associated with a relative grain yield ‡95%, whereas Field and laboratory methods
RBDs >0.89 corresponded to relative yields <80%, and aer- On the landings and plantations, three soil BD samples
ation porosity at that point impeded growth. Degree of com- per plot were randomly collected to a depth of 20 cm from
pactness was correlated to yield of spring barley grown on a the surface of the mineral soil, whereas randomization was
wide range of soil types in Sweden with clay contents be- restricted to the middle of the row of trees on road sites. On
tween 2% and 60% and organic matter contents between sites with coarse fragment (diameter >2 mm) content <25%,
1% and 11% (Håkansson 1990). The author found that the BD samples were collected in 518 cm3 cores using a slide
optimal degree of compactness (Dopt) was consistently at hammer. On sites with coarse fragment content >25%, BD
0.87, and this value was independent of soil particle size samples were collected by the excavation method
distribution and organic matter content. Because the refer- (Grossman and Reinsch 2002) and water was used to deter-
ence BD obtained by the uniaxial test in the study of mine the sample volume.
Håkansson (1990) was 7%–17% lower than that obtained Maximum bulk density (MBD) was derived using four
by the Proctor test in the study of Carter (1990), the Dopt of models developed by Zhao et al. (2008). These models re-
0.87 corresponded to an optimal RBD of 0.74–0.81. lated MBD obtained by the Proctor method (American Soci-
Although RBD has been used to relate soil compaction to ety for Testing and Materials 2000) to soil physical and
growth of annual plant species, its usefulness has not yet chemical properties using a subset of samples (n = 144)
been tested for assessment of tree growth in forest ecosys- from a wide range of sites in BC (Table 3). A nonplastic
tems. Development of such a high-level integrating parame- model was used for samples without plastic limit, a moder-
ter of soil compaction that can also be successfully related ately plastic model was used for plastic samples with liquid
to tree growth will be helpful to guide operational practices limit <0.50 kg
kg–1, and highly plastic and overall models
and to assess the viability of rehabilitation to restore produc- were used for plastic samples with liquid limit >0.50 kg
kg–1.

Published by NRC Research Press

 1726 Can. J. For. Res. Vol. 40, 2010

Methods used to determine total carbon, oxidizable organic

*Texture was for the 0–20 cm depth of the mineral layer. Experiment 1 had two soil textures, and experiment 4 had soil textures ranging from sandy loam to silty clay loam. L, loam; S, sand; Si, silt; C,
15.0–21.4
Table 1. Location of the five experiments in north-central British Columbia and associated elevation, mean annual precipitation (MAP), mean annual temperature (MAT), soil matter, oxides of aluminum and iron, particle size distribu-
tion, and plastic and liquid limits were described by Zhao et

Sx
—
—
—

—
al. (2008). Relative bulk density was calculated as the ratio
of field BD to the predicted MBD. Three nonplastic samples
with very high liquid limit were excluded in the MBD esti-

20.1

18.0
21.0
18.0
mation because the overall model and the specified model

—
Pl
provided very different estimates of MBD. With few excep-
tions, three RBD values at each plot were averaged to repre-

Note: Mean annual temperature and precipitation were estimated for all sites based on the Climate BC model and normal conditions from 1971 to 2000 (Wang et al. 2006).
Site index

sent the RBD of the plot. The highest RBD value (0.92)
18.0/21 from an untreated landing of experiment 5 was not included
21.0
—{
Can. J. For. Res. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Simon Fraser University on 11/12/11

Fd

— in the analysis because of incomplete tree growth data for

that plot.
01/06/07

The thickness of surface organic material was measured at

Series

each BD sampling location, and three measurements were

01
03
01

03

averaged to represent thickness of surface organic material

at each plot. Surface organic material thicker than 3 cm has
been reported to substantially change soil water and heat re-
SBSdw3/mk1

gimes (Bhatti et al. 2000; Parent et al. 2006), which would

BEC unit{

ICHmw2

alter the effects of soil compaction on tree growth. In our

SBSmk1

IDFdm1

IDFdk2

study, the presence of the surface organic material was used

as a dummy variable and its value was set at one when
thickness was >3 cm and zero when thickness was <3 cm.
Mean annual temperature and precipitation for Fort St. James were calculated by averaging values for the three replicates.

Tree height was measured at the end of the growing sea-

SL to SiCL

son (late September – early October), which corresponded

texture*
L, SL

with the time of BD sampling. Tree heights were measured

For personal use only.

texture, and site indices of interior Douglas-fir (Fd), lodgepole pine (Pl), and hybrid white spruce (Sx).

Soil

SL
SL

SL

from ground level to the terminal bud for all the live trees
present at the plot.
MAT
(8C)

Data analysis
3.0
4.7
4.8
2.4
3.4

We used the SAS REG procedure (SAS Institute 1990) to

carry out multiple regression analysis by experiment with
(mm)
MAP

RBD, presence of surface organic material, and variables de-

805
601
517
554
511

rived from presence of surface organic material and RBD

(e.g., RBD–1, RBD2, and presence of surface organic
material  RBD) as independent variables and height as the
790–1050
Elevation
(m a.s.l.)

818–900

dependent variable. A stepwise method was used to exclude

1100

1260

any independent variables that may have overlapping effects

820

on the dependent variable. The c2 significance level was set

at 0.25 for entry of variables into the regression and 0.10 for
Longitude

retention of variables, respectively.

123813’
118857’
119826’
124815’
119838’

Simple regression analysis was used for the relationship be-

(W)

tween height and RBD for the three species. To derive the re-
lationship between height and RBD, we used the curve-fitting
functions in SigmaPlot (SYSTAT Inc. 2000). For one experi-
Latitude

BEC, biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification.

ment with a poor relationship between height and RBD (i.e.,

54837’
50824’
49818’
54827’
50827’

spruce growth on experiment 4), studentized residuals were

(N)

calculated to remove outliers (SAS Institute Inc. 1990).

Height of Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine growing on experi-
Fort St. James§
Miriam Creek

ment 4 was always lower than that on the other experiments,

even when RBD was considered to be optimal. This experi-
Bear Lake

Will Lake
OK Falls
Location

ment is located in north-central BC and is near the northern

geographic limit for Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine (BC Min-
istry of Forests and Range 2006). The SAS GLM procedure
Not applicable.

(SAS Institute 1990) was used to carry out two-factor analysis

of variance of treatment effects on tree height for this experi-
Experiment

ment, with RBD being set at three levels (low, RBD < 0.70;
medium, RBD between 0.70 and 0.83; and high, RBD >
clay.
No.

0.83) and presence of surface organic material at two levels

{

§
1
2
3
4
5

(surface organic material ‡3 cm and <3 cm).

Published by NRC Research Press

 Zhao et al. 1727

Table 2. Establishment time, treatments, number of soil samples, tree species, and year of tree height mea-
surements for the experiments included in this study.

Species and no. of growing

Experiment Year No. of soil Year of seasons at the time of
No. established Treatments* samples sampling measurement{
1 2000 B, DM, P, S, U 45 2001 Pl: 1, 2, 5{, 8
2 2000 P, DD, SD 27 2001 Fd: 1, 2, 5, 7
3 1998 D, DT, DSS, U 35 1998 Pl: 4, 5, 8
4 2001 B, P, U 81 2001 Fd: 4, 7; Pl: 4, 7; Sx: 4, 7
5 2000 P, D, DTBP, U 35 2001 Pl: 8§
Can. J. For. Res. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Simon Fraser University on 11/12/11

*B, burn; D, decompact; DD, deep till; DM, deep till and mulch; DSS, decompact and sortyard waste on surface; DT,
decompact and topsoil; DTBP, till and burnpile/topsoil; P, plantation adjacent to disturbance; S, scratch; SD, shallow till; U,
untreated.
{
Fd, interior Douglas-fir; Pl, lodgepole pine; Sx, hybrid white spruce.
{
There were no height data for this plantation.
§
Tree data were only available for treatments D and DTBP.

Table 3. Four regression models used to derive maximum bulk density (MBD).

Name* Model{ R2 n
Overall MBD = 2.02 – 1.35LL + 0.0005CL – 0.005oxOM – 0.16AlO + 0.0005VCS 0.92 144
Nonplastic MBD = 1.98 – 1.61LL – 0.11AlO + 0.0006VCS – 0.003TC + 0.0006CL 0.98 29
Moderately plastic MBD = 2.27 – 1.62PL – 0.003oxOM – 0.0005MSI – 0.003T – 0.0005FSI – 0.18AlO 0.92 99
Highly plastic MBD = 1.72 – 0.004TC – 0.82PL 0.87 16
*Nonplastic, soils with no plastic limit; moderately plastic, soils with a plastic limit when the liquid limit <0.50 kg
kg–1; highly plastic, soils with a
liquid limit >0.50 kg
kg–1.
For personal use only.

{
LL, liquid limit; PL, plastic limit (kg
kg–1); AlO, Al-oxide (%); oxOM, oxidizable organic matter; TC, total C (g
kg–1); CL, Clay; MSI, medium
silt; FSI, fine silt; VCS, very coarse sand (g
kg–1).

Table 4. Relative bulk density (RBD) and bulk density (BD) by treatment and surface organic
material thickness of the five experiments included in this study.

Experiment Surface organic

No. RBD range* BD range (Mg
m–3)* material thickness (cm)
1 0.54 (B) – 1.01 (U) 0.91 (B) – 1.85 (U) 0–10
2 0.48 (C) – 0.94 (SD) 0.65 (C) – 1.76 (SD) 0–5
3 0.50 (DSS) – 0.71 (D) 0.87 (DSS) – 1.46 (U) 0–11
4 0.54 (U) – 0.96 (U) 0.72 (U) – 1.63 (U) 0–16
5 0.63 (DTBP – 0.91 (D) 0.80 (P) – 1.45 (U) 0
*Treatment code for the respective RBD values are given in parentheses. See Table 2 for treatment codes.

Results Substantial variation in RBD was observed for soils with

BD values below approximately 1.70 Mg
m–3 (Fig. 1a). The
Relative bulk density, surface organic material, and tree plastic soils had higher overall RBD than the nonplastic
height soils, and the very loose soils with both low RBD and low
The RBD overall values ranged from 0.48 to 1.01 BD values tended to be nonplastic soils with no surface or-
(Table 4), with the highest value obtained in disturbed plots ganic material (Fig. 1a; surface organic material data not
without rehabilitation (e.g., experiments 1 and 4) and the shown). Among the plastic soils, a wider range of BD was
lowest on rehabilitated sites (e.g., experiments 2, 3, and 5). observed for soils that had <3 cm of surface organic mate-
The RBD values did not always match treatments as ex- rial, compared with those with thicker surface organic mate-
pected. For example, the unrehabilitated roads at experiment rial (Fig. 1b). The subgroup with surface organic
4 had very low RBD value (0.54), whereas a shallow tillage material <3 cm had significantly higher RBD values (P <
treatment in experiment 2 yielded an RBD of 0.94, which 0.001) than the subgroup with thicker surface organic mate-
was even higher than RBD of some unrehabilitated plots. rial (Fig. 1b), whereas no significant difference was ob-
The overall thickness of surface organic material varied served for the nonplastic soils between the subgroups with
from 0 to 16 cm (Table 4). Surface organic material was surface organic material >3 cm and <3 cm (data not shown).
not present on unrehabilitated plots, with the exception of Presence of surface organic material was the first covari-
several unrehabilitated roads and landings that had devel- able used in the multiple regression analysis in the years im-
oped a thin (1–2 cm) layer of fan moss (Rhizomnium glab- mediately after planting for experiments 1, 2, and 3
rescens (Kindb) T. Kop.) and juniper moss (Polytrichium (Table 5). For the experiments where presence of surface or-
juniperinum Hedw.). ganic material was strongly correlated with tree height, the

Published by NRC Research Press

 1728 Can. J. For. Res. Vol. 40, 2010

Fig. 1. Relationship between relative bulk density and field bulk 0.83 and >0.83 (Fig. 2). For sites lacking surface organic
density for (a) plastic and nonplastic soils and (b) plastic soils with material, the height of interior Douglas-fir was greater at
(‡3 cm) and without (<3 cm) surface organic material. Broken and low RBDs (<0.70) than at higher RBD ranges (0.70–0.83
solid lines are trend lines for plastic and nonplastic soils, respec- and >0.83) (Fig. 2a). Growth of lodgepole pine decreased
tively, in Fig. 1a and for plastic soils with surface organic material with increasing RBD for trees growing in soils with surface
thickness <3 cm and ‡3 cm, respectively, in Fig. 1b. organic material <3 cm (P < 0.03; Fig. 2b).

Relative bulk density and height: interior Douglas-fir

Height of interior Douglas-fir in experiment 2 did not
vary with soil compaction during the first growing season
(data not shown). After five growing seasons, 68% of varia-
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tion in the height was explained by RBD. For the seventh

growing season, about 70% of variation in height was asso-
ciated with changes in RBD, implying that there was an in-
creasing influence of compaction on growth (Fig. 3a). The
best-fit (quadratic) regression lines showed that RBD val-
ues >0.72 were associated with height lower than the refer-
ence height (i.e., the estimated growth for average
conditions on undisturbed soils of these site types) for these
sites from the fifth growing season onward. Bulk density
showed stronger relationships with height for both growing
seasons, whereas the growth threshold BD increased from
1.10 Mg
m–3 in the fifth growing season to 1.20 Mg
m–3 in
the seventh growing season (Fig. 3b).
For personal use only.

Relative bulk density and height: lodgepole pine

The RBD values from experiment 1 were distributed over
a wide range, and the relationships between lodgepole pine
height and RBD were relatively strong (Fig. 4a). During the
first growing season, height was not related to RBD (data
not shown). From the second growing season onward, height
varied with RBD, indicating that compaction affected
growth of lodgepole pine. During the second growing sea-
son, a linear regression best described the relationship be-
tween height and RBD, and better height than in
undisturbed conditions was obtained at RBDs <0.78. For
the fifth and eighth growing seasons, a second-order regres-
sion best described the relationship, and height was better
than reference height when RBDs were <0.80 (fifth growing
season) and <0.87 (eighth growing season). Height was
more closely related to BD than to RBD over these three
amount of variation in height explained by the presence of growing seasons with threshold BD varying from 1.20 to
surface organic material was generally found to decrease 1.50 Mg
m–3 (Fig. 4b).
over successive growing seasons (Table 5). Experiment 3 The RBDs of experiment 3 had a narrower range than ex-
had a narrow range of RBD, and surface organic material in periment 1 with the highest RBD being 0.71. Over the RBD
combination with RBD or RBD2 was positively related to range in this experiment, heights in the fourth and eighth
tree growth. For experiments with a wider range of RBD growing seasons were generally greater than in the reference
values (i.e., experiments 1, 2, 4, and 5), surface organic ma- condition (Fig. 4c). Although BD ranged from 0.75 to
terial was usually the second variable or was excluded from 1.52 Mg
m–3, height was not associated with BD, and a BD
the regression analysis in the older ages: RBD2 was the as high as 1.52 Mg
m–3 (associated with impeded tree
main variable negatively related to height (Table 5). The growth in experiment 1) did not limit tree growth in this ex-
ability of presence of surface organic material and RBD to periment (Fig. 4d).
explain height was not improved when soils were grouped Pooling lodgepole pine height–RBD data over experi-
according to the presence of surface organic material (data ments 1, 3, and 5 for the eighth growing season showed the
not shown) because grouping narrowed the RBD range and same trends as experiment 1 (Fig. 4e). Less than reference
decreased the number of observations. height was associated approximately with an RBD of 0.87,
The presence of surface organic material generally did not and the best growth occurred at lower RBDs of 0.55–0.75.
affect growth of interior Douglas-fir or hybrid white spruce, Height was weakly associated with BD (R2 = 0.30) with a
whereas improved growth of lodgepole pine was associated BD of 1.50 Mg
m–3 being the threshold that impeded growth
with increased surface organic material at RBDs of 0.70– for lodgepole pine (Fig. 4f).

Published by NRC Research Press

 Zhao et al. 1729

Table 5. Regression analysis of relative bulk density (RBD) and presence of surface organic material (FF) on height.

Experiment No. and No. of

species* growing seasons Intercept Coefficient and variable R2 P
Experiment 1 (n = 15)
Pl 1 19.8 1.7FF  RBD2 0.20 0.096
Pl 2 57.7 –35.9RBD 0.75 <0.001
Pl 5 216.8 –168.3RBD2 0.74 <0.001
Pl 8 436.0 –321.7RBD2 0.78 <0.001
Experiment 2 (n = 9)
Fd 1 23.9 3.1FFRBD2 0.69 0.005
Fd 2 32.5 10.2FF – 9.4RBD 0.98 0.001
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Fd 5 93.7 –87.2RBD2 + 68.9FF  RBD2 0.86 0.003

Fd 7 188.6 –197.6RBD2 + 132.8FF  RBD2 0.83 0.005
Experiment 3 (n = 12)
Pl 4 63.0 44.7FF  RBD 0.62 0.002
Pl 5 93.8 106.1FF  RBD2 0.61 0.003
Pl 8 219.2 137.6FF  RBD2 0.33 0.052
Experiment 4 (n = 27)
Fd 4 –16.0 35.9RBD–1 0.30 0.006
Fd 7 –71.1 91.4RBD–1 0.38 0.001
Pl 4 90.8 –48.4RBD2 – 81.7FF  log(RBD) 0.43 0.002
Pl 7 213.4 –127.5RBD2 + 53.8FF  log(RBD) 0.44 0.002
Sx 4 25.3 –211.1log(RBD) 0.42 <0.001
Sx 7 262.9 –231.1RBD 0.41 <0.001
Experiment 5 (n = 6)
Pl 8 347.6 –274.1RBD2 0.83 0.011
For personal use only.

*Fd, interior Douglas-fir; Pl, lodgepole pine; Sx, hybrid white spruce.

Relative bulk density and height: hybrid white spruce better yield or growth of annual species relative to undis-
Growth of hybrid white spruce decreased linearly (P < turbed soil conditions (Carter 1990; Håkansson and Lipiec
0.001) with increasing RBD in the fourth and seventh grow- 2000), and the biological meaning of this value has been ex-
ing seasons, but the linear relationships only explained plained by the LLWR. For example, in a loamy sand soil in
25%–27% of the variation (data not shown). For both grow- Ontario supporting alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), an RBD of
ing seasons, there were nonlinear relationships between 0.80 was associated with high LLWR (corresponding with
height and RBD at RBDs <0.75, whereas no substantial aeration ‡10%, maximum available water, and penetration
change in height was observed at RBDs >0.75 (Fig. 5a). resistance <2500 kPa); however, when RBD was >0.80 there
For the fourth growing season, height over the observed was a sharp drop in LLWR (da Silva et al. 1994). Relative
RBD range was greater than the reference height. After the grain yield of spring barley and spring wheat started to de-
tree establishment (i.e., the seventh growing season), height crease at RBDs >0.80, and RBDs >0.89 was associated
was generally greater than the reference height when RBDs with <80% relative grain yield (Carter 1990); in contrast,
were <0.75; the peak model (SYSTAT Inc. 2000) best fit we found that tree growth was substantially impeded at the
the data distribution (R2 = 0.66), and the model indicated uppermost RBD value of 1.01 (i.e., lodgepole pine in experi-
that the height peaked within a narrow RBD range of 0.60– ment 1). On the other hand, the most common RBD values
0.68, and RBDs of approximately 0.78–0.80 were the thresh- reported for continuously tilled soils were approximately
old associated with less than the reference height (Fig. 5a). 0.66 (Arvidsson and Håkansson 1991), and values as low as
The peak growth was associated with a BD range of 0.90– 0.63 obtained in our study were seldom reported in studies
1.10 Mg
m–3 for both ages, and a BD of 1.30–1.40 Mg
m–3 with annual plant species. We found that RBD influenced
started to impede growth in the seventh growing season, growth through the seventh (Douglas-fir) or eighth (lodge-
whereas no substantial change in growth response was ob- pole pine) growing season, and some research suggests that
served at BDs >1.25 Mg
m–3 for the fourth growing season such effects may persist for many years or even decades.
(Fig. 5b). For example, Froehlich et al. (1985) reported that compac-
tion was restricting growth of trees planted on compacted
skid trails in west-central Idaho even 23 years after logging,
Discussion and these trees were lagging behind in their growth relative
In our study, the RBD threshold at which compaction lim- to trees growing on adjacent uncompacted plantations.
ited the height growth of both lodgepole pine and hybrid Hybrid white spruce generally did not grow well when
spruce was between 0.78 and 0.87, and maximum height of RBD was >0.80 and the trees were beyond the establishment
these two species occurred at RBDs of 0.60–0.68. In agricul- period. Hybrid spruce is a shallow-rooted species, often
tural ecosystems, an RBD <0.80 was reported to support forming >87% of its root mass in the top 15 cm of soil (in-

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 1730 Can. J. For. Res. Vol. 40, 2010

Fig. 2. Relationship between height and relative bulk density after Fig. 3. Relationship between height of interior Douglas-fir (Fd) and
7 years growth of (a) interior Douglas-fir (Fd), (b) lodgepole pine (a) relative bulk density and (b) bulk density in experiment 2. The
(Pl), and (c) hybrid white spruce (Sx) in experiment 4. Error bars reference height was estimated from SiteTools (Research Branch,
are standard errors. Height bars with the same letter are not signifi- Ministry of Forests and RamSoft Systems 2004) using the model of
cantly different at P = 0.05. Thrower and Goudie (1992), and data distributed above the lines
indicate better growth than in predisturbed conditions. Fd5 and Fd7,
five and seven growing seasons in the field, respectively. For the R2
values, asterisks indicate significant differences: **, P < 0.01.
Can. J. For. Res. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Simon Fraser University on 11/12/11
For personal use only.

because of the greater density of surface roots. At

RBDs >0.80, the fact that hybrid spruce attained height
equivalent to undisturbed soils in some cases may be attrib-
uted to the presence of cracks and fissures along which roots
could grow and the presence of lateral roots close to the sur-
face of the roads.
Environmental conditions on the experimental sites lo-
cated in north-central BC were not suitable for optimal
growth of Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine. These sites were
near the northern limit of the geographic distribution for
Douglas-fir and were characterized by medium- and fine-
textured soils. Those two conditions combined with the fact
cluding both forest floor and an A horizon) (Safford and that these sites occurred in low-lying portions of the land-
Bell 1972; Kimmins and Hawkes 1978), suggesting that this scape with low aeration might restrict the growth of Doug-
species is sensitive to surface soil compaction. The effect of las-fir and lodgepole pine. Despite this, the relative
compaction likely becomes more pronounced as spruce ages magnitude of the growth effects of these three species may

Published by NRC Research Press

 Zhao et al. 1731

Fig. 4. Relationship between height of lodgepole pine (Pl) and (a) relative bulk density in experiment 1; (b) bulk density in experiment 1;
(c) relative bulk density in experiment 3; (d) bulk density in experiment 3; (e) relative bulk density in experiments 1, 3, and 5; and (f) bulk
density in experiments 1, 3, and 5. The reference height was estimated from SiteTools (Research Branch, Ministry of Forests and RamSoft
Systems 2004) using the model of J.S. Thrower & Associates (1994), and data distributed above the lines indicate better growth than in
predisturbed conditions. Pl2, Pl5, and Pl8, two, five, and eight growing seasons in the field, respectively. For the R2 values, asterisks indi-
cate significant differences: *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001.
Can. J. For. Res. Downloaded from www.nrcresearchpress.com by Simon Fraser University on 11/12/11
For personal use only.

Published by NRC Research Press

 1732 Can. J. For. Res. Vol. 40, 2010

Fig. 5. Relationship between height of hybrid white spruce (Sx) and ditions may have reinforced the detrimental effect of com-
(a) relative bulk density and (b) bulk density in experiment 4. The paction on early growth for interior Douglas-fir on these
reference height was estimated from SiteTools (Research Branch, sites where the roads, landings, and trails were characterized
Ministry of Forests and RamSoft Systems 2004) using the model of by forest floor removal.
Goudie (1984), and data distributed above the lines indicate better Lodgepole pine showed more resistance to compaction
growth than in predisturbed conditions. Sx4 and Sx7, four and se- than spruce. Not only did lodgepole pine have increasing
ven growing seasons in the field, respectively. For the R2 values, threshold RBD values over successive growing seasons
asterisks indicate significant differences: ***, P < 0.001. (e.g., 0.87 in the eighth growing season), but its growth also
declined more slowly than for hybrid spruce when RBD
was >0.68. On blade-scarified sites with forest floor incor-
poration into the mineral soil, McMinn (1978) reported that
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lodgepole pine developed a root system larger than spruce

by the second growing season, and this trend continued dur-
ing the rest of the 5 year experiment. In compacted soils,
lodgepole pine develops a dual root system with the lateral
roots growing largely within the top 30–60 cm and with ver-
tical roots extending to the rock layer at a depth of 100–
120 cm (Berndt and Gibbons 1958; Bishop 1962). After
seven growing seasons in our study, many of the lodgepole
pine trees may have developed a root system that extended
deeper than the level of our soil measurements. Although
we did not measure rooting depth, our results are consistent
with but do not prove the conclusion that the effect of sur-
face soil compaction on growth was reduced as the trees
could be deriving a greater proportion of their resources
from relatively undisturbed soils at depth.
For personal use only.

The presence of surface organic material on disturbed

soils has been associated with lower bulk density and RBD,
which may reflect redistribution of the compactive forces
caused by machine traffic (Page-Dumroese 1993). In con-
trast, removal of surface organic material is associated with
higher RBD because of increased disturbance of the mineral
soil or slow recovery of soil physical properties. Kabzems
and Haeussler (2005) showed that soils that were compacted
without organic material present at the surface achieved
higher bulk density values than those that were compacted
in the presence of 7–8 cm of forest floor. The presence of
surface organic material also substantially alters the tree
rooting environment by reducing water evaporation and
changing soil temperature (Bhatti et al. 2000). These
changes were substantial on a site with 5–10 cm of forest
floor but not when the surface organic was thinner. We con-
sidered that the presence of thin (i.e., <3 cm) surface or-
ganic material would not significantly protect the mineral
provide insight into their relative susceptibility to compac- soil from compaction or provide a significant improvement
tion in north-central BC, particularly during the seedling es- in the rooting environment.
tablishment phase when the majority of roots are confined to Although the presence of surface organic material miti-
surface soil layers. For Douglas-fir, the best performers were gated the negative influence of compaction on growth, our
about 6.2 times as tall as the poorest performers, suggesting study showed that tree height was more strongly related to
that this species is particularly vulnerable to compaction. RBD than to presence of surface organic material. When
The best performing spruce trees were 3.8 times as tall as soils were severely compacted, factors such as poor aeration
the poorest whereas the magnitude of the height growth re- and high mechanical resistance associated with high RBD
sponse was 2.6 times for pine. were more likely to limit plant growth (da Silva et al.
In experiment 2, which is located in the middle of 1994). Therefore, it may be important to reduce soil com-
Douglas-fir’s geographic range in BC, growth of seedlings paction below a limiting level so that the presence of surface
appeared to be impeded at RBDs >0.72 during the fifth and organic material can enhance tree growth.
seventh growing seasons. On the other hand, Douglas-fir in Calculated as a ratio of field BD to the maximum BD of
the north-central interior sites showed a continuous decrease the same soil, RBD removes influences of intrinsic soil
in its growth over the RBD range, and height after 7 years properties (i.e., particle density and texture) on BD that are
was always less than in experiment 2 when RBDs not directly affected by compaction. Based on our study, an
were <0.72. Our results imply that climate or other site con- RBD of 0.80 appears to represent a growth-limiting thresh-

Published by NRC Research Press

 Zhao et al. 1733

old for lodgepole pine and hybrid spruce during their early Conclusions
growth stages regardless of soil texture and particle density.
On the other hand, BD thresholds varied substantially with Relative bulk density should be considered as an indicator
species and soil texture. For example, in our study, BD as of forest soil compaction with consequences for tree height
high as 1.52 Mg
m–3 was not impeding lodgepole pine growth and site productivity. Relative bulk density values
growth at experiment 3, and threshold BD ranges for interior observed in this study ranged from 0.48 to 1.01, and reha-
Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, and hybrid white spruce at bilitated roads, landings, and undisturbed soils were often
other experiments were 1.10–1.20, 1.25–1.50, and 1.30– associated with low RBD values. Although soils with thin
1.40 Mg
m–3, respectively. Daddow and Warrington (1983) surface organic material had high BD and RBD values, un-
reported BD thresholds of 1.60–1.80 Mg
m–3 for sandy rehabilitated soils did not always have high RBD values
loam and 1.40 Mg
m–3 for silt loam. and, thus, did not always require rehabilitation. The pres-
ence of surface organic material mitigated the severity of
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Although closely related to BD, RBD did not always

compaction and was associated with lower RBD values.
agree with BD. For example, at experiment 1 of our study,
When interior Douglas-fir was planted close to the northern
the burn and deep-till treatments at one plot had the same
limits of its geographic range in BC and where lodgepole
low BD value (0.74 Mg
m–3), but the RBD (0.68) of the
pine was planted on low-lying areas and clay-rich soils,
deep till treatment differed substantially from that of the
these species did not grow well, and RBD was weakly re-
burn treatment (0.42). Similarly, a deep-till treatment and a
lated to height. Height of interior Douglas-fir was limited
burn treatment from another plot had quite different BD val-
when RBD was >0.72. Threshold RBD values associated
ues (1.03 and 1.26 Mg
m–3, respectively), yet the RBD did
with limited growth of lodgepole pine increased from 0.78
not differ (0.73). Where machine traffic and soil disturbance
to 0.87 as the trees grew older. The threshold RBD associ-
lead to subtle differences in BD, expected compaction levels
ated with limited height for spruce was 0.80. An RBD of
would not be reached because BD does not necessarily indi-
0.60–0.68 corresponded to the maximum height of lodge-
cate level of compaction. As a result, determination of the
pole pine and hybrid white spruce. To obtain good seedling
RBD may provide additional insight into the factors affect-
establishment, rehabilitation involving soil decompaction
ing forest productivity on compacted soils compared with
should be considered as a measure to improve productivity
BD alone.
For personal use only.

when RBD is >0.80. The relationships found in our study

Our findings suggest that BD may not always be a good have implications in assessing forest soil compaction and its
indicator of soil compaction, and it is especially beneficial effect on site productivity. The results will also help predict
to characterize compaction by RBD for forest soils, which and monitor soil behaviour and associated tree growth in re-
are often characterized with heterogeneity of textures and sponse to timber harvesting and site rehabilitation.
complexity of site conditions. For example, Bulmer et al.
(2007) studied the effects of tillage and wood waste amend- Acknowledgements
ment on lodgepole pine seedling growth in the same site as
our experiment 3, and they found that rehabilitation methods This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and En-
did not result in an expected increase in growth. In this ex- gineering Research Council of Canada and the Forest Invest-
perimental plot, we found that the untreated plots already ment Account – Forest Science Program. We thank Dr.
had a very low RBD (0.70), and growth was not reduced. Shannon Berch who provided the tree growth data before
This low RBD value implied that rehabilitation using tillage 2007. Technical assistance of George Franssen with soil
was not necessary; this finding could not be made based on sampling and tree measurement is greatly appreciated. We
BD values alone (Bulmer et al. 2007). also greatly acknowledge two anonymous reviewers for their
For lodgepole pine and spruce in their early growth very constructive comments and suggestions.
stages, rehabilitation involving soil decompaction should be
considered as a measure to improve productivity when RBD
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Published by NRC Research Press

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