Evaluation of cambial electrical resistance for the appraisal of tree vitality on reclaimed coal lands

Abstract

Cambium electrical resistance (CER) is explored as a rapid-assessment method of measuring of forest vitality and disease damage. A five year study in a 10-year-old mixed plantation of Alder (Alnus glutinosa, L.) and Oak (Quercus petraea (Mattuschka) Liebl.) created for the reclamation of surface-coal mined land in South Wales found a negative correlation between CER and tree maturity and no correlation between CER and fertiliser treatment levels. However, it detected strong significant correlations between CER and both a tree vitality index and diameter breast height (DBH) after five years. In fact, CER shows very strong and significant negative correlations with DBH recorded in 2007 and 2002, while tree vitality correlates more strongly with DBH than CER. Partial correlation of the data finds that when these data are controlled for the effect of DBH–the correlation between CER and vitality is no longer significant, while partial correlations between vitality and DBH in both 2002 and 2007–controlled for CER–remain highly significant. The conclusion is that while CER may act as a useful measure and predictor of tree vitality–DBH is better.

Keywords:

• CER
• shigometry
• tree vitality
• Alnus glutinosa
• Quercus petraea
• opencast
• coal-spoils
• South Wales