Analysis reveals herbicide use enhances soil moisture levels in ponderosa pine areas, implying better growth outcomes.
Competing vegetation, especially perennial grass, takes soil moisture that is needed to reproduce ponderosa pine in the Southwest. Soil moisture trends were followed on herbicide-sprayed, scalped, and untreated plots near Flagstaff, Ariz., in 1961 and 1962. The study area was almost completely occupied by Arizona fescue and mountain muhly. Soil moisture was significantly higher on herbicide-sprayed plots, particularly for the 0- to 8-inch zone, than on the scalped or untreated plots. The differences were greater during an abnormally dry season than during a normal one.
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L. J. Heidmann (1969) studied this question.
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