Evaluating a Seed Technology for Sagebrush Restoration Across an Elevation Gradient: Support for Bet Hedging

Davies, Kirk W.; Boyd, Chad S.; Madsen, Matthew D.; Kerby, Jay D.; Hulet, April

doi:10.1016/j.rama.2017.07.006

Cited by 48 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In addition, our focus here, and therefore our inference on what drivers are critical for restoration, was simply on the establishment of any sagebrush, and not the likelihood of returning to a preburn condition. Still, these results are supported by the limited number of empirical studies that have found that repeated seeding improves restoration success in arid and semi‐arid ecosystems more than other management interventions such as competitor control or seed preparation (Davies et al., ; Wilson, Bakker, Christian, & Li, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Still, these results are supported by the limited number of empirical studies that have found that repeated seeding improves restoration success in arid and semi-arid ecosystems more than other management interventions such as competitor control or seed preparation (Davies et al, 2018;Wilson, Bakker, Christian, & Li, 2004).…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…For example, identifying and quantifying environmental drivers that lead to successful plant establishment after seeding and the increasing skill of midrange weather forecasting (e.g., Kapnick et al., ) could allow managers to anticipate “good” years to increase success rates. Even in the absence of skillful multimonth predictions, understanding controls over regeneration could allow assessment of benefits of seeding over multiple years (Bradford, Betancourt, Munson, & Wood, ; Chambers et al., ; Davies, Boyd, Madsen, Kerby, & Hulet, ). Yet, most reported restoration outcomes typically focus on a handful of sites and rarely link observed restoration successes and failures to environmental conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands

Shriver

Andrews

Pilliod

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

125

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Restoration and rehabilitation of native vegetation in dryland ecosystems, which encompass over 40% of terrestrial ecosystems, is a common challenge that continues to grow as wildfire and biological invasions transform dryland plant communities. The difficulty in part stems from low and variable precipitation, combined with limited understanding about how weather conditions influence restoration outcomes, and increasing recognition that one-time seeding approaches can fail if they do not occur during appropriate plant establishment conditions. The sagebrush biome, which once covered over 620,000 km of western North America, is a prime example of a pressing dryland restoration challenge for which restoration success has been variable. We analyzed field data on Artemisia tridentata (big sagebrush) restoration collected at 771 plots in 177 wildfire sites across its western range, and used process-based ecohydrological modeling to identify factors leading to its establishment. Our results indicate big sagebrush occurrence is most strongly associated with relatively cool temperatures and wet soils in the first spring after seeding. In particular, the amount of winter snowpack, but not total precipitation, helped explain the availability of spring soil moisture and restoration success. We also find considerable interannual variability in the probability of sagebrush establishment. Adaptive management strategies that target seeding during cool, wet years or mitigate effects of variability through repeated seeding may improve the likelihood of successful restoration in dryland ecosystems. Given consistent projections of increasing temperatures, declining snowpack, and increasing weather variability throughout midlatitude drylands, weather-centric adaptive management approaches to restoration will be increasingly important for dryland restoration success.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands

Shriver

Andrews

Pilliod

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

125

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Importantly, this suggests that seeding introduced species is not necessary to achieve management objectives after fire in mountain big sagebrush communities. This is a stark contrast to Wyoming big sagebrush communities, where seeded native vegetation often fails to establish (Eiswerth et al ; Boyd & Davies ; Davies et al ); however, there are exceptions (see Davies et al ). Mountain big sagebrush communities are cooler and wetter than Wyoming big sagebrush communities (West et al ; Winward ; Hironaka et al ) and this likely explains why seeded native vegetation often successfully establishes in these communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…These studies were also limited as they only seeded sagebrush (Davies et al ; Davies & Bates ), included non‐native species (Davies et al ), or used small plot design (2 × 2 m) that did not include sagebrush (Sheley & Bates ). Seeding mountain big sagebrush is often successful (Davies et al , ; Davies & Bates ). Herbaceous vegetation, particularly non‐native species, may limit shrub establishment (Rinella et al , ; Davies et al ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postwildfire seeding to restore native vegetation and limit exotic annuals: an evaluation in juniper‐dominated sagebrush steppe

Davies

Bates

Boyd

2018

Restoration Ecology

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Reestablishment of perennial vegetation is often needed after wildfires to limit exotic species and restore ecosystem services. However, there is a growing body of evidence that questions if seeding after wildfires increases perennial vegetation and reduces exotic plants. The concern that seeding may not meet restoration goals is even more prevalent when native perennial vegetation is seeded after fire. We evaluated vegetation cover and density responses to broadcast seeding native perennial grasses and mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. spp. vaseyana [Rydb.] Beetle) after wildfires in the western United States in six juniper (Juniperus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis Hook)‐dominated mountain big sagebrush communities for 3 years postfire. Seeding native perennial species compared to not seeding increased perennial grass and sagebrush cover and density. Perennial grass cover was 4.3 times greater in seeded compared to nonseeded areas. Sagebrush cover averaged 24 and less than 0.1% in seeded and nonseeded areas at the conclusion of the study, respectively. Seeding perennial species reduced exotic annual grass and annual forb cover and density. Exotic annual grass cover was 8.6 times greater in nonseeded compared to seeded areas 3 years postfire. Exotic annual grass cover increased over time in nonseeded areas but decreased in seeded areas by the third‐year postfire. Seeded areas were perennial‐dominated and nonseeded areas were annual‐dominated at the end of the study. Establishing perennial vegetation may be critical after wildfires in juniper‐dominated sagebrush steppe to prevent the development of annual‐dominated communities. Postwildfire seeding increased perennial vegetation and reduced exotic plants and justifies its use.

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Developing extruded seed pellets to overcome soil hydrophobicity and seedling emergence barriers

Ritchie

Stevens

Erickson

2020

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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1. Globally, soil water repellency is a major constraint to plant establishment, restricting water infiltration and moisture retention in the seed zone which results in poor germination and seedling emergence. 2. To address this problem within an ecosystem restoration context, we investigated the use of a surfactant in extruded seed pellets to improve native plant recruitment in water-repellent topsoils of two proteaceous woodland species, Banksia menziesii R.Br (glasshouse trial) and Lambertia inermis R.Br (field trial). In this two-part study, we first examined B. menziesii seedling performance in detail under glasshouse conditions for differences in survival between the extruded pelleting formulations after an induced drought at 12 weeks. 3. We demonstrated that there was no difference in seedling emergence amongst control seed and pellet treatments in B. menziesii. Initially, B. menziesii seedlings emerged faster in the control treatment (non-pelleted control seeds) and had greater initial plant growth (leaf and root production), however by Week 12, seedlings generated from pellets were not significantly different from the control seeds and pellets + surfactant had the greatest number of leaf establishment. 4. Survival after drought of B. menziesii seedlings ranged from 14 to 31 days with pellet + surfactant surviving approximately 2.6 days (11.8%) longer than the control seeds. For the second species, L. inermis, seedling emergence under field conditions was approximately 24% greater in seedlings derived from extruded pellets; however, there was no difference in overall survival due to post-emergence predation. 5. This study provides a proof of concept that seedling emergence in water-repellent soils can be enhanced with extruded pellets containing surfactants. Our demonstration under in situ and ex situ conditions confirms the prospective use of seed enhancement technologies with future development and field-testing warranted.

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Evaluating a Seed Technology for Sagebrush Restoration Across an Elevation Gradient: Support for Bet Hedging

Cited by 48 publications

References 20 publications

Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands

Adapting management to a changing world: Warm temperatures, dry soil, and interannual variability limit restoration success of a dominant woody shrub in temperate drylands

Postwildfire seeding to restore native vegetation and limit exotic annuals: an evaluation in juniper‐dominated sagebrush steppe

Developing extruded seed pellets to overcome soil hydrophobicity and seedling emergence barriers

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