Is broad-scale smoke–water application always a useful tool for improving seedling emergence in post-mining restoration? Evidence from jarrah forest restoration in Western Australia

It has been widely advocated that smoke–water application to topsoil can substantially improve restoration success by enhancing seed germination. This is despite few studies having tested the effects of smoke–water on seedling emergence in field-scale restoration trials. Here we report the effects o...

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Main Authors: Daws, M., Downes, Katherine, Koch, J., Willyams, D.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30263
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author Daws, M.
Downes, Katherine
Koch, J.
Willyams, D.
author_facet Daws, M.
Downes, Katherine
Koch, J.
Willyams, D.
author_sort Daws, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description It has been widely advocated that smoke–water application to topsoil can substantially improve restoration success by enhancing seed germination. This is despite few studies having tested the effects of smoke–water on seedling emergence in field-scale restoration trials. Here we report the effects of applying a commercially available smoke solution (Regen 2000®), at rates between 0 and 100 mL m- 2, on jarrah forest sites being restored after bauxite mining in the southwest of Western Australia. Smoke solutions stimulated the seed germination of a range of species in laboratory experiments. In addition, smoke–water stimulated germination of Stylidium affine seeds sown directly into the first field experiment. However, apart from the effect on sown S. affine seeds, smoke–water application had no effect on subsequent seedling numbers, species richness or the relative proportion of seedlings in different growth-form categories in either of the two field experiments. These findings suggest that smoke–water application does not always ensure enhanced restoration outcomes.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T08:18:09Z
publishDate 2014
publisher Elsevier
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-302632017-09-13T15:31:39Z Is broad-scale smoke–water application always a useful tool for improving seedling emergence in post-mining restoration? Evidence from jarrah forest restoration in Western Australia Daws, M. Downes, Katherine Koch, J. Willyams, D. Germination Mine rehabilitation Seed Smoke–water It has been widely advocated that smoke–water application to topsoil can substantially improve restoration success by enhancing seed germination. This is despite few studies having tested the effects of smoke–water on seedling emergence in field-scale restoration trials. Here we report the effects of applying a commercially available smoke solution (Regen 2000®), at rates between 0 and 100 mL m- 2, on jarrah forest sites being restored after bauxite mining in the southwest of Western Australia. Smoke solutions stimulated the seed germination of a range of species in laboratory experiments. In addition, smoke–water stimulated germination of Stylidium affine seeds sown directly into the first field experiment. However, apart from the effect on sown S. affine seeds, smoke–water application had no effect on subsequent seedling numbers, species richness or the relative proportion of seedlings in different growth-form categories in either of the two field experiments. These findings suggest that smoke–water application does not always ensure enhanced restoration outcomes. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30263 10.1016/j.sajb.2013.10.015 Elsevier unknown
spellingShingle Germination
Mine rehabilitation
Seed
Smoke–water
Daws, M.
Downes, Katherine
Koch, J.
Willyams, D.
Is broad-scale smoke–water application always a useful tool for improving seedling emergence in post-mining restoration? Evidence from jarrah forest restoration in Western Australia
title Is broad-scale smoke–water application always a useful tool for improving seedling emergence in post-mining restoration? Evidence from jarrah forest restoration in Western Australia
title_full Is broad-scale smoke–water application always a useful tool for improving seedling emergence in post-mining restoration? Evidence from jarrah forest restoration in Western Australia
title_fullStr Is broad-scale smoke–water application always a useful tool for improving seedling emergence in post-mining restoration? Evidence from jarrah forest restoration in Western Australia
title_full_unstemmed Is broad-scale smoke–water application always a useful tool for improving seedling emergence in post-mining restoration? Evidence from jarrah forest restoration in Western Australia
title_short Is broad-scale smoke–water application always a useful tool for improving seedling emergence in post-mining restoration? Evidence from jarrah forest restoration in Western Australia
title_sort is broad-scale smoke–water application always a useful tool for improving seedling emergence in post-mining restoration? evidence from jarrah forest restoration in western australia
topic Germination
Mine rehabilitation
Seed
Smoke–water
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/30263