| The LSU landscape is unique in that the major tree species on campus is southern live oak, Quercus virginiana, and more than one thousand of these trees are a minimum of 70 years old and have diameters of 60 cm (23.6") minimum at 137cm (53.9") from grade. They are in competition with all other vegetation and the built environment for water, nutrients, and sunlight. Maintaining health and ecosystem functions for the benefit of Q. virginiana is difficult due to urbanization resulting in soil compaction, structure and nutrient degradation, erosion, event related abuse, construction and utility repair and expansion, pollution, and weather related stress. There is need to understand the management practices that best fit the unique environment of the massive, mature live oaks planted on the LSU campus to assure multi-generational survival.;The first of four objectives in this study is the development of a comprehensive inventory. The second is an analysis of growth over six years for live oaks having 10cm (3.9") of wood mulch compared to those with a living ground cover consisting of either Trachelospermum asiaticum (Asian jasmine) or Liriope muscari (lireope or lily grass) over the root zone. The third objective is an analysis of rhizosphere (root zone) soil from trees mulched with 10cm (3.9") of mixed urban wood mulch for six years to those without. The fourth, and final, objective is the development of an Urban Forestry Management Model that recognizes the unique requirements of the large population of Q. virginiana at LSU.;ANOVA revealed that there was not a significant difference in the mean deviation for the mulched live oaks compared to those with ground covers of T. asiaticum or L. muscari at an alpha of 0.05 but the growth trend for the mulched trees was in the direction of significance indicating further testing needed. ANOVA revealed significant differences for mulched soils in levels of P, K, C, N, and Organic Matter confirming the literature on the benefits of mulching as an effective urban arboricultural practice. The Management Model developed is a composite of practices at LSU in arboriculture care that have proved effective to the benefits of an urban landscape planted heavily with Q. virginiana.;Key Words; LSU; Quercus virginiana; dominate species; urban forest; ecosystem; UFORE; inventory; Trachelospermum asiaticum; Liriope muscari; ground cover; mulch; urban soils; management model; practices. |
