A soil-conserving system for converting woodland to pasture

Economic use of land is increasingly important to landowners. Systems used to convert land to other uses must protect the ecosystem from deterioration. Soil loss during site preparation for land use conversion is a major problem in the Piedmont region of the southeastern United States. The research reported here sought to evaluate chemical site preparation for converting woodland to pasture. A single application of tebuthiuron {N-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl1)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-y1]-N,N1-dimethylurea} at 3.6 kg ai/ha effectively killed most of the woodland trees and controlled the invasion of broadleaf weed species for 2 years. A good stand of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea ‘K-31’) was established on the treated sites following burning 7 months after herbicide treatment. A good stand of tall fescue persisted throughout the study period even though the research area was not grazed and received no fertilizer applications. Chemical site preparation is effective for converting woodland to pasture and would result in less soil erosion than mechanical site preparation.