[CANUFNET] Trees and Boulevards (Soils)

[Guy Shelemy]

Hello,

Soils for trees are one of my research areas and I have the deepest respect and 
appreciation for everyone involved in forestry research.

Pull out a soil map for your area and take a good look at it.

If every map was placed on the same table next to each other, you would notice  a 
different soil type, a different soil profile, different structure and chemistry. The soil may 
have originated from the parent rock below or been pushed for hundreds of kilometers by 
ancient glaciers. Soil even varies within dozens of meters. When I worked in BC 
silviculture, I would carry three tree species in my planting bags to match the varying soil 
microsite conditions.

I grew up in a farming community on the Canadian prairie believing that our rich, black 
chernozem soils were the best in the world. But even soil age has an influence on soil 
characteristics. When I was doing research in Europe and I encountered the rich, black 
chernozem soils of Ukraine, I was overcome with awe.

To para-phrase the late Richard F. Fisher 'Ecology and Management of Forest Soils'  /"Soils 
age like a fine wine."/  A 5,000 year old Canadian chernozem soil lacks the prized 
characteristics of a 1.5 to 2 million year old Ukrainian chernozem soil. There is such a high 
value on this soil it is being shipped and trucked out of Ukraine with alarming speed.

I spend thousands of dollars on textbooks, journals, scientific literature, webinars, 
conferences my research and field trips to other parts of the world. I work with my family 
trees (going back three generations) to see what works, doesn't work or to see what the 
likely outcome will be.

I can summarize my soil research into a single sentence quoted from the book I am 
writing on Rural Forestry (for publication in 2023):

/"The variation of soil characteristics within any geographic area will often require a 
prescription for a soil amendment that is specific to the geographic area."/

Again, I have the deepest respect for everyone involved in forest research. However, it is 
important to acknowledge that soil sciences and soil practices are most highly relevant to 
the specific geographic area of their original study. There is simply too much variation of 
soil characteristics to apply a 'one size fits all' approach to soil practices for trees. Yet, this 
seems to a tendency in Urban Forestry.

There is an illustration on the Research Page of my website. My prized specimen Delta 
Hackberry was planted in Manitoba's famed 'Red River Gumbo' which is a lacustrine, 
vertisolic, clay soil prone to heavy compaction. I developed a soil amendment for this 
specific geographic location which _involved the use of carefully selected soil mixes and 
strategic use of a tractor mounted roto-tiller._ The tree quickly established and has been  
growing at a rate of six feet per year for several years. I continue research work with this 
tree in the area of soil nutrient recycling.

Forestry is a craft supported by science and there are several sciences within forestry. I 
believe part of the forestry craft involves properly selecting and applying the right forestry 
science to each specific situation. This is most relevant to discussion of soil amendments 
and soil practices for trees within specific geographic areas.

_The 'one size fits all approach' is most ineffective_. We need to apply our own 
observational experience towards discerning what is relevant in textbooks and published 
scientific literature towards each specific forestry situation.

Most Sincerely,

Guy Shelemy

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