We asked the following three questions.
First, how would a wide variety of fertilization techniques affect early growth and
survival of planted koa seedlings?We hypothesized that increasing
fertilization would promote growth, until the highest application
rates where phytotoxicity would be observed. We also hypothesized
that survival would increase with CRF application relative
to IAF because CRF provide a more consistent supply of nutrients.
Second, can CRF maintain or improve growth and survival relative
to IAF in spite of lower overall amount of nutrients delivered? We
hypothesized that CRF would maintain growth increases of IAF relative
to the control despite lower overall application rates.
Finally, will response to fertilization be consistent across two contrasting
sites? We hypothesized that growth and survival would be highest
at Pahala, but that fertilization would be more important at Volcano
because of its relatively lower site quality.