Post-disturbance rangeland revegetation is hindered in areas of low precipitation facing invasion by annual grasses. �The invaders germinate earlier and deplete water resources available to native and introduced perennial species. �The use of polyacrylamide (PAM), a super absorbent polymer, is a possible solution because of its ability to hold water in the soil creating a potentially wider establishment window. Previous glasshouse studies indicated that PAM in bands in the soil increased the longevity of associated seedlings in drought conditions. The current study determined the optimal depth of PAM placement for water storage and seedling growth. �Bottlebrush squirreltail [Elymus elymoides (Raf.) Swezey] seed was planted in 10 cm x 10 cm x 24 cm pots containing PAM at rates of 0, 1500, and 3000 kg ha-1 placed in a layer at 0, 2.5, 7.5, and 15 cm below the soil surface. �Relative to the control, the 7.5 and 15 cm depth PAM treatments increased the time with elevated soil moisture by 17 and 7 days, respectively. At the high PAM rate applied at the 7.5 and 15 cm depths the seedling longevity increased by 15 and 11%, respectively. Seedling height was significantly affected by both PAM rate and depth, with a 7% increase at the 1500 kg ha-1 rate at the 2.5 cm depth and a 15% increase at the 3000 kg ha-1 rate at the 7.5 cm depth. �The number of blades per seedling was significantly influenced by rate, but not depth, with an 18% increase in blade number at the high rate, but the low rate produced an 8% decrease on day 77 after saturation. These data suggest that PAM has potential to improve seedling establishment in revegetation activities.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.