Effect of backfill composition on shoot elongation (SE) (cm), leaf area (LA) (cm2), and leaf dry weight (DW) (g) of Quercus robur trees.
| Treatment | 1st year | 2nd year | 3rd year | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE | LA | DW | SE | LA | DW | SE | LA | DW | |
| Compost | 4.73 ns* | 20.85 b | 0.14 ns | 4.84 a | 20.91 b | 0.16 c | 6.98 bc | 30.88 ns | 0.22 b |
| Fertilization | 4.40 | 25.74 a | 0.18 | 4.19 b | 25.10 a | 0.22 a | 14.62 a | 37.43 | 0.29 a |
| Leonardite | 4.02 | 22.2 b | 0.16 | 4.82 a | 22.67 b | 0.18 b | 5.11 c | 32.53 | 0.23 b |
| Control | 3.89 | 20.63 b | 0.14 | 3.93 b | 22.18 b | 0.17 bc | 8.37 b | 33.33 | 0.24 b |
↵* Values differ significantly when followed by different letters at P ≤ 0.05 (LSD test); ns = not significant.