Some Weed Management Concepts For the Rio Grande Bosque

1. Some Weed Management Concepts For the Rio Grande Bosque From Observations by Greg Los Lunas Plant Materials Center USDA-NRCS Los Lunas, NM

2. Control weeds because they compete with desired plants for water, light , and nutrients Los Lunas Plant Materials Center

3. Methods for Controlling Invasive Woody Species Describes control treatments with cost. Treatments include: • Manual removal • Mechanical grubbing • Cut-stump herbicide application • Ground based foliar herbicide • Aerial herbicide By NM Interagency Weed Action Group (23 pages)

4. Identifies: 100 common invasive weed species 22 herbicides and rates for control by species Best time for herbicide application. Chemical Weed and Brush Control By: New Mexico State University (18 pages)

5. Weed Management Strategies for Vegetation Treatments • Minimize soil surface disturbances • Minimize surface irrigation • Control noxious weeds (NM List) as soon as possible after disturbance • Control invasive weeds as soon as possible after disturbance when possible • Wood chips help to control weeds

6. Minimize Soil Surface Disturbance to Minimize Weed Invasion • When removing invasive tree and shrub species consider cut stump method instead of extraction if possible • Use planting techniques that minimize surface disturbance (planting with a back hoe vs. auger which is preferred) • However, soil disturbances that re-connects a site with the hydrology of the river is desirable since most farm weeds do not tolerate ponding

7. Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Project Elevation of flood plain reduced to promote seasonal flooding to establish riparian plant species on the Rio Grande in Belen, NM Bureau of Reclamation Project Elevation of flood plain reduced to promote seasonal flooding to establish riparian plant species on the Rio Grande in Bernalillo, NM

8. Soil Moisture – The Key to Establishing Plants in Arid Regions • Precipitation–Limited in quantity, variable in intensity, and erratic in nature Infiltration – Soil cover (bare, minimal plant litter, and rocky), soil texture, water repellency, disturbance, compaction, micro-topography, pre-existing moisture, surface evaporation Percolation – Water loss to evaporation, drainage below root zone, transpiration; effected by soil texture and hydraulic redistribution Source: Department of Agriculture, 1998

9. Use Planting Techniques that Utilize Soil Moisture Reservoirs which Limit Surface Disturbance and Irrigation • Riparian Shrub and Tree Plantings – tap into shallow groundwater • Warm Season Grass Seeding– need a long pulse of shallow soil moisture for germination and early root extension, but also deeper soil moisture to allow establishment

10. Cottonwood and Willow Dormant Pole Plantings Rio Grande Cottonwood Rio Grande Cottonwood Gooddings Willow 8 – 6 – 4 – 2 – 0 – 2 -- Tree Guard Capillary Fringe

11. Planting Cottonwood Poles Planting cottonwood pole cuttings on an ephemeral stream bank near Santa Fe, New Mexico . Cottonwood pole cutting rooted near the soil surface and in the capillary fringe of the water table.

12. Along the Rio Santa Fe Near Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico Before planting in February 1994. Same site six years later.

13. Electric Rotary Hammer Drills for Planting Coyote Willow Whips Along the Rio Chama north of Espanola, New Mexico. Along the Rio Grande nearPilar, New Mexico.

14. More Willows Planted WithHammer Drills On the San Juan River near Waterflow, New Mexico. Same site seven months after planting willows.

15. Transplants Grown inTreepots and Tallpots (2 – 4 year stock) New Mexico olive grown in 14-inch treepots(7:1 shoot-to-root ratio) Skunkbush sumac grown in 30-inch tallpots(3:1 shoot-to-root ratio). New Mexico olive grown in 14-inch treepot(2:1 shoot-to-root ratio)

16. Deep-planted longstem treepot Deep-planted longstem 30” tallpot Longstem Transplant Root Systems Connected to the Capillary Fringe 30” Tallpot Embedded watering tubes Deep-planted longstem treepot Feet 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 0 – 1 – 2 - Watering tube inserted in case water table drops Treepot Root crowns Ground water Capillary fringe

17. Adventitious Root Development Indigobush by September of the fourth growing season New Mexico olive by September of the second growing season False willow by September of the fourth growing season

18. Burying the Root Crowns of Tallpot Transplants by Planting in Deep Holes to Reach Capillary Water On the Rio Grande in Bernalillo, New Mexico (December 2006) Same site by the 4th growing season Rocky Mountain Native Plants Riffle, Colorado Producing ‘Longstem’ Transplants

19. Successfully Deep-PlantedShrub Species • Golden currant (Ribes aureum) • Stretchberry (Forestiera pubescens) • Netleaf hackberry (Celtis reticulata) • Boxelder (Acer negundo) • Skunkbush sumac (Rhus trilobata) • Silver buffaloberry (Shepardia argentea) • Wolfberry (Lycium torreyi) • Western false Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) • Screwbean mesquite (Prosopis pubescens) • Emory baccharis (Baccharis emoryi)

20. Warm Season Grass Seeding in Belen, NM Hydro mulching a broadcast grass seeding in summer • Average precipitation - 8 inches • Soil surface texture - a sandy loam • Weed control - mechanical (pond bank was reshaped) • Seeding method - hand-broadcasted and hand-raked with volunteers • Seeding rate - 60 pls/sq. ft • Time of seeding - July • Species seeded - mainly warm-season grasses • Seeding depth - ½-inch (shallow) • Post treatment - wood fiber hydro-mulch Same site after 2 Years Same site after 7 years

21. Control Weeds Before Seeding Since they compete for water, light, and nutrients Available Tools Include • Application of pre-emergence or post-emergent herbicides • Mowing or burning. Los Lunas Plant Materials Center

22. Adapted LLPMC Plant Material Releases(plant populations from service area) Drought Common Name Species Cultivar Tolerance Indian ricegrass* Achnatherum hymenoides Paloma High Blue grama Bouteloua gracilisHachita High Galleta Pleuraphis jamesii Viva High Alkali sacaton Sporobolus airoides Salado High Sideoats grama Bouteloua curtipendula Vaughn Medium Alkali muhly Muhlenbergia asperifoliaWestwater ---------- Seeded at 60 pls/sq ft. (included 20 pls/sq ft. of Indian ricegrass with 79 % dormant seed) http://plants.usda.gov Seed Mix

23. Shrub Species that MaybeEasily Established by Seeding Fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens Winter fat Krascheninnikovia lanata

24. Adventitious Root Development Warm-Season versus Cool-Season Grasses Warm-Season Grass Panicoid Development Cool-Season Grass Festucoid Development Coleoptile Adventitious Roots ½” Mesocotyl (Subcoleoptile Internode) Seminal Roots Seed Primary Root System Los Lunas Plant Materials Center

25. “Inverse Texture Effect” • The storage capacity is 4 to 9% for sands, 11 to 15% for sandy loams, and 17 to 23% for fine-textured soils • A one inch infiltration event might penetrate 12” in a sand (rapid), 8” in a sandy loam, and 5” in a silty-loam (very slow) • Coarse-textured soils hold less water per unit depth but much of the water is sufficiently deep to avoid evaporation whereas in a fine-textured most of the water can be lost to evaporation • Therefore, sandy soils often have more useable soil moisture in arid environments than fine textured soils.

26. Time of Seeding During a Period of Adequate Moisture This requires a series of precipitation events (pulse) that produce a sufficient amount of soil moisture to allow germination and enough root extension to survive succeeding dry periods(at this seeding location, a minimum of 20 days)

27. Time of Seeding, Continued • Warm-season grasses (C4) – July – October(Growth optimum near 90° F with minimal growth below 60° F, (T.A. Jones, 1997) • Cool-season grasses (C3) – July – March (Growth optimum near 70° F and continue as low as 35° F [T.A. Jones, 1997]) Fall seedings are generally preferred (ETs are low, soil temps warm enough to allow growth) • Grass mixes (warm-season and cool-season) – July – October • Note: Generally avoid seeding in the months of May and June because they are usually hot, dry, and very windy

28. Thirty Year Average Precipitation at Los luans, NM (12 miles northwest form the grass seeding) Precip. Min. (in) PrecipMax (in) Mean (in) Actual Precip(2004) January 0.31 0.44 0.38 Establishment Year 2004 February 0.31 0.46 0.38 March 0.33 0.54 0.44 April 0.34 0.52 0.43 May 0.46 0.50 0.48 June 1.18 0.70 0.94 1.54 July 1.64 2.35 2.001.98 August 0.89 2.47 1.68 0.92 September 0.36 1.56 0.96 0.94 October 0.44 1.25 0.84 0.73 November 0 0.54 0.27 1.05 December 0 0.57 0.27 0.46 Total 6.26 11.9 6.96 7.62 Fall killing frost = 10/28 Last spring killing frost = 4/15 Source: NMSU LL Science Center

29. Soil Moisture Distribution inArid Environments • Upper 24-inches of soil dries out rapidly by evaporation following a precipitation event (little water available for plant uptake) • Soil moisture in the top 412-inches can persist for several weeks • Moisture under unsaturated conditions at depths below 12-inches is primarily lost by plant transpiration (no evaporation and no drainage)

30. Patterns of Soil Water Loss over TimeSandy Loam Surface Soil (0.4 to 1.2 inch depth) Soil Water Content (% vol.) Gravel Mulch ¼” Source : Roundy et al. 1997 Drying Time (hr) Los Lunas Plant Materials Center

31. Some Preferred Types of Mulches • Native grass hay (weed free) • Straw hay (without seed and weed free) • Wood fibers (hydro-mulching) • Erosion control mats (slopes,3:1 or steeper) • Mulch must be anchored to the ground (mechanically or with a tackifier [glue])

32. Mulching is a Required Post-Seeding Technique for the Southern Desert • Reduces soil surface evaporation and seedling evapotranspiration • Lowers soil temperatures • Protects soil surface and seedlings from raindrop impact • Protects seedlings from desiccation by wind and sandblast damage • Reduces surface erosion • Improves Infiltration

33. Currently Evaluating Products with Potential to Increase Available Surface Soil Moisture for Seedling Establishment • Wood straw® Mulch Trial – Resistance to movement by wind and water and persists longer than hay $514/Ton • Granular hydrogels(starch-based) deposited (dry) into the furrow during seed drilling at a rate of 10, 20, and 30 Lbs/acre in replicated studies Open furrow for demonstration

34. An Alternative to Large-Scale Seeding Seed Source Islands • Because of the expense of most native seed, the cost of seed dispersal operations, and the limited success of such seeding in arid regions often makes large scale seeding difficult to justify.

35. Publications Native Plants Journal (Spring 2010) Available Planting Guides • www.nm.nrcs.usda.gov/plants http://plant-materials.nrcs.gov gregory.fenchel@nm.usda.gov

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