• Baldwin, Bruce L.
  USDA Forest Service, Cooperative Forestry, Atlanta GA
  

A system was developed for measuring the quality of tree planting as part of the management of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This paper  describes the results of reviews held in the 13 southern states in 1987 and 1988. The measurement of tree planting quality, and the addition or improvement of program elements such as vendor training and on-site inspection, resulted in a South-wide tree planting quality improvement of 31% in 1988 over 1987. Analysis indicates that the banning of root pruning in the field, making on-site inspections during planting operations and the requiring of vendors to take formal training had the greatest impact on improving overall tree planting quality.