Seed mix matters! · 2020. 5. 20. · Seed mix matters! Jeff Ott and Francis Kilkenny U.S. Forest...
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Seed mix matters! Jeff Ott and Francis Kilkenny U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Boise, Idaho Danny Summers 1 , Tyler Thompson 2 , Steve Petersen 3 1 Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Ephraim, Utah 2 Utah Department of Natural Resources, Salt Lake City, Utah 3 Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah Special thanks: Kevin Gunnell, BLM staff, UDWR field crews, BYU field crews, members of the 1999-2002 study
Transcript of Seed mix matters! · 2020. 5. 20. · Seed mix matters! Jeff Ott and Francis Kilkenny U.S. Forest...
Seed mix matters!Jeff Ott and Francis Kilkenny
U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Boise, Idaho
Danny Summers1, Tyler Thompson2, Steve Petersen31Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Ephraim, Utah
2Utah Department of Natural Resources, Salt Lake City, Utah3Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
Special thanks: Kevin Gunnell, BLM staff, UDWR field crews, BYU field crews, members of the 1999-2002 study
Rangeland Ecology & Management 59:237-248 (2006)
Rangeland Ecology & Management 72:640-653 (2019)
5800-5900’ elev.12-14” precip.cobbly (sandy, silt) loamgrazed by cattle
5400-5500’ elev.10-12” precip.fine sandy loamgrazed by sheep
Mud Springs(Aerial Seeding)
Jericho(Drill Seeding)
• BLM Mix: crested wheatgrass, pubescent wheatgrass, tall wheatgrass, Russian wildrye, alfalfa, western wheatgrass, fourwing saltbush
• ARS Mix: Siberian wheatgrass, crested wheatgrass, Russian wildrye, alfalfa, forage kochia, bluebunch wheatgrass, western wheatgrass, thickspike wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass
• Native Low (NL) Mix: bluebunch wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, western wheatgrass, antelope bitterbrush, fourwing saltbush, Wyoming big sagebrush
• Native High (NH) Mix: bluebunch wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, western wheatgrass, Great Basin wildrye, needle and thread, Sandberg bluegrass, squirreltail, Wyoming big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, fourwing saltbush
Seed Mixes (Drill Seeding)
(introduced species) (native species)
• BLM Mix: crested wheatgrass, pubescent wheatgrass, tall wheatgrass, Russian wildrye, smooth brome, bluebunch wheatgrass, antelope bitterbrush, fourwingsaltbush
• ARS Mix: Siberian wheatgrass, crested wheatgrass, Russian wildrye, alfalfa, forage kochia, bluebunch wheatgrass, western wheatgrass, thickspike wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, antelope bitterbrush, fourwing saltbush
• Native Low (NL) Mix: bluebunch wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, western wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass, Wyoming big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, fourwingsaltbush
• Native High (NH) Mix: bluebunch wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, western wheatgrass, Great Basin wildrye, needle and thread, Sandberg bluegrass, squirreltail, Wyoming big sagebrush, antelope bitterbrush, fourwing saltbush
Seed Mixes (Aerial Seeding)
(introduced species) (native species)
Seed Mix Costs: 1999 vs. 2017
• Significant increase in seed-mix perennials in all treatments –Successful establishment and persistence of all seeding treatments
• Significant increase in seed-mix perennials in all treatments –Successful establishment and persistence of all seeding treatments
• Few non-seed mix perennials in all treatments, except in the unseeded controls – Seed mixes strongly affect succession, what you put in is what you get out (for the most part)
• Significant increase in seed-mix perennials in all treatments –Successful establishment and persistence of all seeding treatments
• Few non-seed mix perennials in all treatments, except in the unseeded controls – Seed mixes strongly affect succession, what you put in is what you get out (for the most part)
• Cheatgrass increased somewhat in the native seedings and a lot in the unseeded controls – Conventional seed mixes are effective at cheatgrass control, but native seed mixes also suppress cheatgrass in comparison to not seeding
• Significant increase in seed-mix perennials in all treatments –Successful establishment and persistence of all seeding treatments
• Few non-seed mix perennials in all treatments, except in the unseeded controls – Seed mixes strongly affect succession, what you put in is what you get out (for the most part)
• Cheatgrass increased somewhat in the native seedings and a lot in the unseeded controls – Conventional seed mixes are effective at cheatgrass control, but native seed mixes also suppress cheatgrass in comparison to not seeding
• Exotic annual forbs decreased in all treatments, more in the seed-mix treatments – seeding is an effective control for exotic annual forbs
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Summary for part 1
1. Costs of native seed have come down substantially in the last 20 years
2. Seed-mixes have long-term effects on plant community composition
3. All tested seed mixes suppressed invasive species, including the native-only mixes
4. Species composition changed more in the native-only mixes, indicating a more dynamic successional trajectories
Outcomes of Tintic Valley seeding experiment…
• Results from continued monitoring (2015-2017)• Effects of seed mix on plant community succession• Successional trajectories in relation to reference communities• State-and-transition models and potential restoration pathways
Unburned Vegetation Sampled near post-fire treatments
(2017)
Mud Springs
Mud Springs
Mud Springs
Jericho
Mud SpringsBlocks 1-4
Ecological SitesMapped within 500 m of post-fire treatments
(USDA-NRCS Web Soil Survey)
websoilsurvey.nrcs.udsa.gov
Soil Series / Ecological SiteBgC / Upland Shallow Hardpan (Pinyon-Utah Juniper)DdE / Upland Stony Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush)DgC / Upland Loam (Bonneville Big Sagebrush) NorthFfD / Upland Stony Loam (Pinyon-Utah Juniper)HdE / Semidesert Gravelly Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush) NorthJaD / Semidesert Shallow Hardpan (Utah Juniper)JbC / Upland Loam (Bonneville Big Sagebrush) NorthMuB / Semidesert Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush)SfC / Upland Shallow Loam (Black Sagebrush)WbB / Semidesert Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush)
Mud Springs Aerial Seeding Jericho Drill Seeding
Post-fire Successional TrajectoriesIn relation to local unburned (UB) and ecological site description (ESD) reference states
Post-fire Successional TrajectoriesIn relation to local unburned (UB) and ecological site description (ESD) reference states
Jericho Drill SeedingMud Springs Aerial Seeding
Post-fire Successional TrajectoriesIn relation to local unburned (UB) and ecological site description (ESD) reference states
Jericho Drill SeedingMud Springs Aerial Seeding
Post-fire Successional TrajectoriesIn relation to local unburned (UB) and ecological site description (ESD) reference states
Jericho Drill SeedingMud Springs Aerial Seeding
Post-fire Treatment Similarity to Reference Communities
Post-fire Treatment Similarity to Reference Communities
State and Transition ModelSemidesert Gravelly Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush) North
websoilsurvey.nrcs.udsa.gov
State and Transition ModelSemidesert Gravelly Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush) North
websoilsurvey.nrcs.udsa.gov
State and Transition ModelSemidesert Gravelly Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush) North
websoilsurvey.nrcs.udsa.gov
State and Transition ModelSemidesert Gravelly Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush) North
websoilsurvey.nrcs.udsa.gov
State and Transition ModelSemidesert Gravelly Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush) North
websoilsurvey.nrcs.udsa.gov
?
State and Transition ModelSemidesert Gravelly Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush) North
websoilsurvey.nrcs.udsa.gov
ARS BLM
----NH---NL----
---USC----
UB
ESD State and Transition ModelSemidesert Gravelly Loam (Wyoming Big Sagebrush) North
websoilsurvey.nrcs.udsa.gov
Summary for part 2
1. Both burned and unburned communities deviated from reference states defined by ESDs
2. Native and conventional seed mixes followed different successional trajectories
3. Communities arising from native seed mixes were ultimately most similar to ESD reference states
4. Outcomes differed by site, indicating differences in restoration potential
