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Can we improve restoration success in the Great Basin?

Can we improve restoration success in the Great Basin?. Elizabeth Leger University of Nevada, Reno. Restoration in the Great Basin. How can we improve restoration success in the Great Basin?. Putting the pieces together. Reduce cheatgrass seed production and seed bank

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Can we improve restoration success in the Great Basin?

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  1. Can we improve restoration success in the Great Basin? Elizabeth Leger University of Nevada, Reno

  2. Restoration in the Great Basin

  3. How can we improve restoration success in the Great Basin?

  4. Putting the pieces together • Reduce cheatgrass seed production and seed bank • Select the best seed mix • Seed at the optimum time, with the best technology • Use the best post-restoration management

  5. 1. Reduce cheatgrass seed production

  6. 1. Reduce cheatgrass seed production • Wild fire • Herbicides • Cheatgrass beer brewing • High intensity, short duration grazing • Biocontrol • Take advantage of cheatgrass die-offs

  7. 2. Reduce cheatgrass seed bank • BFOD, Pyrenophorasemeniperda 1% of 40,000 is still a lot of seeds Dr. Susan Meyer, USFS Dr. Julie Beckstead, Gonzaga University

  8. 3. Pick the best seed mix • Early seralspecies, best competitors • Local sources • Populations with the best suite of traits Amsinckia sp. Ericameria nauseosa Elymus elymoides, multisetus Poa secunda

  9. Annual forbs can suppress cheatgrass AB A AB C Goergen, Leger, & Forbis; in review

  10. AMTE and BRTE

  11. Where do our seeds come from?

  12. What are good traits?

  13. Seedling traits strongly affect survival Growth rate Leaf area Leaf number Leaf biomass Seed weight Emergence Root:shoot Root forks Root branching Root tips Specific root area, length Fine roots Root length, by size class Average root diameter Total root length Coarse roots

  14. 4. Seed with the right technology

  15. Seedlings do better with neighbors Clustered seedlings Single seedling Matt Madsen, USDA ARS, Burns, OR

  16. Higher densities of grouped seeds Idaho fescue single seedling agglomeration Bluebunch wheatgrass single seedling agglomeration Idaho fescue Bluebunch wheatgrass Matt Madsen, USDA ARS, Burns, OR

  17. 5. Best post-fire management

  18. Can we put the pieces together? • Will require a coordinated efforts among researchers, seed centers, managers • Multi-year effort, many investigators! • May require changes in management practices • More expensive, but maybe more effective • Seed smaller areas, seeding without fires

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