Day 058 - 30 Nov 94 - Page 26


     
     1        A.  Yes.  A soil which is deficient in phosphates or
     2        nitrogen is not going to be a healthy starting place for
     3        forestry.
     4
     5   Q.   Also, the actual quantity of the soil, the actual soil -- I
     6        do not know what you call it, the soil base?
     7        A.  Depth.
     8
     9   Q.   Depth -- the fallen trees play an important part in that,
    10        do they, or the brash?
    11        A.  The brash is what is removed during the process of
    12        felling and left in the forest.  Fallen trees contribute in
    13        their own part but a very small part compared with the
    14        brash.
    15
    16   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What sort of fertilizers are used
    17        predominantly?
    18        A.  My Lord, precisely which ones are used by name?
    19
    20   Q.   No, what types are they, do you know?
    21        A.  Well, fundamentally, the fertilizer is not spread,
    22        either natural fertilizer or chemical fertilizer, is not
    23        spread unless there is a great necessity because it is a
    24        very small part -----
    25
    26   Q.   I see you say it is more common in the uplands where soil
    27        conditions for new planting are deficient ---
    28        A.  Yes
    29
    30   Q.   -- but what are they putting on the land in the uplands?
    31        A.  They are putting chemical fertilizers rather than
    32        natural fertilizers, yes.
    33
    34   MR. MORRIS:  When you say in the last paragraph:  "10 per cent
    35        of the amount of phosphate applied on forest land can be
    36        expected to be lost in run-off", that is run-off into water
    37        table, yes?
    38        A.  The run-off that is measurable in some form, yes, and,
    39        therefore, the water table is significant, yes.
    40
    41   Q.   If we move on to the next page:  When you say, "the
    42        biological effects are usually undetectable", there is,
    43        though, is there not, a recognised problem of the
    44        cumulative reaching of all these chemicals that are used
    45        into streams, the water table and maybe eventually into the
    46        seas, so although it is not maybe detectable in the actual
    47        area where it is used, it contributes to the cumulative
    48        effect in the seas such as the North Sea, or whatever,
    49        would that be a reasonable statement?
    50        A.  I think this is -- what is being stated here is that it 
    51        has not had any detectable effect and the amounts that we 
    52        are concerned with related to forestry of the use of 
    53        anything such as phosphates or nitrogen or amonia or urea
    54        or any of the chemicals that might be used in specific
    55        cases reaching into the sea and doing damage has not been
    56        identified.
    57
    58   Q.   But it makes a contribution?
    59        A.  That is not to say that any use of chemical fertilizers
    60        on agricultural land has not had effect, but that these

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