Rangeland Ecology & Management

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COMPARISON OF NATIVE PLANT SEEDING TECHNIQUES ON BURNED WYOMING BIG SAGEBRUSH SITES
Author
Johnson, Douglas A.
Macadam, Jennifer W.
Connors, Kevin J.
Stettler, Jason M.
Bushman, Shaun
Eggett, Dennis L.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2014
Body

Rangelands in the Intermountain West are routinely seeded to stabilize soils and restore vegetation after wildfire. On public lands, policy has shifted from seeding non-native perennial grasses towards mixtures of native grasses, shrubs and forbs, necessitating the development of non-conventional seeding techniques. Interest in minimizing impacts to soils and residual biota during seeding operations has likewise favored newer developments such as minimum-till rangeland drills. We carried out an operational-scale experiment to test the effectiveness of newer techniques for establishing native species following wildfire across 4 Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata var. wyomingensis) sites in Idaho, Oregon and Utah. We compared a conventional rangeland drill with a minimum-till drill; both drills were equipped with extra boxes for small seeds that were broadcast on the soil surface in combination with chains or imprinters to enhance soil-seed contact. These ‘drill-broadcasting' techniques were compared against conventional broadcasting carried out in the fall and winter. Seedling density and cover measurements from the first 2 years after treatment revealed that (1) large-seeded species established equally well with the minimum-till compared to the conventional drill, (2) small-seeded species established equally or better when broadcast using drills compared to conventional broadcasting, (3) drill-broadcasting using the minimum-till drill + imprinter units was equally or more effective than using the rangeland drill + chains, (4) fall broadcasting resulted in greater establishment than winter broadcasting for many small-seeded species, (5) the minimum-till drill maintained higher density of residual native plants than the conventional drill, and (6) variation among sites could be attributed to differences in elevation and precipitation following seeding. We conclude that these seeding techniques, when properly selected to account for site conditions and rehabilitation objectives, are viable options for establishing native plants following fire.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Orlando, FL