BOGFOR RESEARCH PROGRAMME Florence Renou, Project Manager and E.P. Farrell, Project Leader Forest Ecosystem Research Group, University College Dublin CUTAWAY PEATLAND FORESTS PROPERTIES OF PEAT FOREST MANAGEMENT SPECIES & SILVICULTURE AMELIORATION OF PEAT AS PLANTING MEDIUM  Heterogeneity across short distances causing variations in stands and growth  Varying peat type, origin and depth  Relation of moisture status, aeration, water table and bulk density to root and tree growth  Nutrient status of peat and microbiological activity  Adapted planting season - cold storage  Planting stocks - bareroot or containers  Weeding - mechanised flail and rotowiper  Management of naturally regenerating birch  Crop tending - foliar monitoring  Alteration of moisture status and physical properties by drainage system and cultivation: deep ploughing, ripping, discing and mounding  Alteration of nutrient status by split fertilisation, adequate rates and methods, compatible with environmental constraints  Effect of pioneer species and early vegetation cover: lower water table, alter runoff, improve nutrient interaction and microbial activity  Species and provenance suitability: 11 conifers and 9 broadleaves on 200ha of experimental trials; clones and provenance also tested  Good growth with Norway spruce and Corsican pine  Alder and birch for shelter, site improvement and biodiversity. Also as nurse crop for Sitka spruce (sensitive to late spring frost)  Oak and larch on drier and sheltered sites  Health and disease: Pine Shoot Moth on Lodgepole pine and Scots pine Acknowledgement: BACKGROUND Peat harvesting has been carried industrially since the 1950s and gave birth to the ‘cutaway bogs’. Industrial cutaway peatlands cover over 100,000ha and Bord na Móna plans to rehabilitate 50,000ha for forestry. The reclamation of this land for forestry is a unique project in terms of both its scale and the difficulties it presents. In the past, there have been conflicting results often due to the unknown climatic and edaphic conditions present and different site types being considered. BOGFOR was initiated in 1998 to investigate the wood production potential of industrially milled cutaway peatlands and aims to develop management tools and practices necessary to successfully establish new forests. FUTURE RESEARCH This poster summarises how the many aspects of cutaway peatland forestry are inter-related and require a multi- pronged research approach in order to develop sound silvicultural practices for this type of land. While the project has yielded useful results to date, long-term monitoring and additional studies will be required to maximise the benefit from this research. It is only sensible to put sufficient effort into basic as well as applied research to maintain the ability to produce answers for future political and economical circumstances which cannot be predicted. Sitka spruce under feral birch Pedunculate oak after 5 growing seasons under feral birch Naturally regenerated birch Pine shoot moth in Scots pine Norway spruce seedling stocks Drains showing mineral soil underlying shallow peat Flail mower and quad used for weeding new plantations Deep ploughing and levelling