Impacts of Various Intensities of Site Preparation on Piedmont Soils after 2 Year&'

--Six levels of site preparation were applied to replicated 0.8-hectare plots at the Hitchiti fZ;~Z;i~ntal Forest on the Piedmont Plateau in central . Treatments ranged in intensity from handclearing to shearing and chopping to rootraking and disking with fertilization and herbicides. Soils were sampled before treatment applications and after 1 and 2 years. Composited bulk samples from O-15 and 15-6Ocm were analyzed for texture, pH, organic matter, and available phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Six core samples (O-On) per plot were used to determine bulk density, available moisture holding capacity, and total pore space. The early trends of soil impacts are: I) soil organic matter and available nutrients are not different among treatments; 21 pH of surface soils increased slightly with increasing intensity of treatment in the first year; and 3) bulk density significantly decreased with disking while pore space increased.