Pipeline development in association with oil and gas exploration has many effects on rangelands in South Texas. Soil disturbance and loss of vegetation along pipelines right of ways is a concern of many landowners. From 2012-2015 we studied the effectiveness of standard planting techniques and the performance of various commercially available locally adapted native plant seed sources for use in pipeline right of way restoration. Two experimental plantings were conducted on two different ranches following pipeline installation within the Eagle Ford Shale. The Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas play is a geologic formation roughly 400 miles long by 50 miles wide that stretches from east Texas across South Texas into Mexico. At one location we compared hydroseeding, no-till drill seeding, and broadcast seeding followed by cultipacking, across three soil types using the same locally adapted native seed mix. At the other site we compared the effectiveness of two seeding mixes each seeded with both a no-till drill, and a Truax Trillion broadcast seeder, on two soil types. Results from these experiments show the ability to successfully restore pipeline rights of way with locally adapted native seed using several different planting methods and seed mixes. These results also demonstrate the ability of locally adapted native seed mixes to reduce the impacts of oil and gas activities across a variety of soils in the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas. We will present the results of these experiments as well as some key issues to address before reseeding pipeline right of ways.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.