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Restoration projects that involve revegetation efforts are often confronted with problems of
desiccation. Several studies have shown that mulching, or laying organic material over the surface
of the soil, can be very effective in helping to retain soil moisture and avoid desiccation. To
determine the effects of moisture retention in soil that is influenced by mulch, we equally distributed
two treatments—bark and slash mulch, and a control, across 72 one meter square plots, and
measured relative soil moisture 20 days after treatment. Soil moisture was found to be significantly
higher in subplots with bark mulch application, and slightly higher in subplots with juniper/pine
slash applications than in control plots. This study shows that mulch applications can help prevent
soil desiccation which may improve seedling survival. |
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