This study was conducted across twelve agricultural locations in south-western Victoria, Australia, encompassing a range of soil types and climatic conditions. It investigated the addition of an open layer of coarse organic pine wood chip mulch (~70% surface cover) directly following direct seeding of native grassland species. The intent was to mimic positive effects of naturally occurring organic surface litter (which are typically depleted in such settings) on seedling emergence and establishment. Findings revealed negative results in that the use of an open layer of coarse pine chip mulch failed to improve native establishment at 12-months or to moderate soil temperature and moisture extremes in comparison to non-mulched plots. This outcome suggests the effectiveness of open surface mulches under the scenario of direct seeding may be highly site context, mulch-type, and application approach dependent. In situations where such mulch applications are not likely to be beneficial, significant costs relating to their purchase and application could be avoided.

中文翻译：

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粗糙的松树皮覆盖物作为开阔的表面覆盖物无法改善播种的原生草地的建立

这项研究在澳大利亚维多利亚州西南部的 12 个农业地点进行，涵盖了一系列土壤类型和气候条件。它调查了在直接播种本地草地物种后直接添加一层粗有机松木片覆盖物（约 70% 的表面覆盖）。目的是模拟自然产生的有机表面垃圾（通常在此类环境中耗尽）对幼苗出现和建立的积极影响。调查结果显示负面结果，因为与未覆盖的地块相比，使用粗松片覆盖物的开放层未能改善 12 个月时的本地建立或缓和土壤温度和湿度极端值。这一结果表明，在直接播种的情况下，露天覆盖物的有效性可能高度依赖于场地环境、覆盖物类型和应用方法。在此类覆盖物应用不太可能有益的情况下，可以避免与其购买和应用相关的大量成本。