Recently cleared lands on the Kenai Peninsula are not typically ready for direct seeding of forage or other crops.� Most agricultural sites on the Kenai Peninsula were previously dominated by white spruce and paper birch with soils consisting of ash influenced loess over sandy and gravelly drift.� These soils are low in organic matter and fertility.� Land managers are in need of methods for soil improvement.� Beginning in 2016, a three-year trial was initiated on three cleared locations across the Kenai Peninsula, seeded with a four-species cover crop mix to evaluate the potential of using cool season cover crops to improve soil health and as a potential forage for livestock.� The trial consisted of two fertilizer treatments to support cover crop establishment: conventional fertilizer and organic fertilizer (fish bone fertilizer).� Each treatment was replicated four times at each location with an individual plot size of 2.4 x 4.6 m.� Plots were seeded in early July each year, and the species included in the cover crop mix were buckwheat, field pea, tillage radish, and white oats.� Pounds of forage production, penetrometer resistance, as well as pre-treatment and post-treatment soil tests for nutrients, organic matter, and Solvita soil health were determined.� This poster will present the preliminary results from 2016 and 2017.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.