TREE SURVIVAL AND GROWTH ON LAND RECLAIMED IN ACCORD WITH PUBLIC-LAW-95-87

The objective of this study was to determine survival and growth of black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) and northern red oak (Quercus alba L.) 12 yr after planting on a surface-mined site in southern Indiana reclaimed according to specifications of Public Law 95-87, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. A stocking level adequate to meet the requirements for forest land use (1112 trees/ha, or 450 trees/acre) was attained only for black walnut and only if competing ground cover vegetation was controlled in the tree rows. Height of both tree species was significantly greater when ground cover vegetation was controlled during the first 2 yr, but the growth rate, approximately 10 cm/yr, was very slow.