Soil properties of a widely spaced, planted poplar (Populus deltoides)–pasture system in a hill environment

Abstract

Planting poplars is an effective technology for controlling hill soil erosion in New Zealand pastureland. However, the effects of widely spaced poplars on soil properties are not documented. Soil was sampled from 3 soil depths (0-75, 75-150, and 150-300 mm) in poplar-pasture (PP) and adjacent open pasture (OP) systems. Four sites were examined, 3 unreplicated sites with mature poplars (>29 years, 37-40 stems/ha) and a replicated experiment with immature poplars (5 years, 50-100 stems/ha). Pastures at all sites were dominated by low fertility species and were grazed by sheep and cattle. Pasture species were used in a glasshouse experiment to assess the production potential of the topsoil media (0-20 mm) from the PP and OP soils, and the OP topsoil amended with 5% poplar leaf litter.