Productivity, stability, and resilience of cool‐season perennial grasses used for rangeland revegetation

Abstract

An analysis of biomass and ground cover data collected from six rangeland sites in the Intermountain and Northern Great Plains areas of the United States from 2000 to 2004 was undertaken to characterize the productivity, stability, and resilience of coolseason perennial grass species. Among the 13 included species, and the 48 cultivars, intermediate wheatgrass [Thinpyrum intermedium (Host) Barkworth & D.R. Dewey], tall wheatgrass [Thinpyrum elongatum (Host) D.R. Dewey], and to a lesser extent crested wheatgrass [Agropryon cristatum (L.) Gaertn. and A. desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) Schult.] possessed the greatest biomass productivity and ground cover. Basin wildrye [Leymus cinereus (Scribn. & Merr.) Á. Löve], thickspike wheatgrass [Elymus lanceolatus (Scribn. & J.G. Sm.) Gould], and bluebunch wheatgrass [Pseudoroegne-ria spicata (Pursh) Á. Löve] were least productive and stable. There were no differences among species or cultivars for biomass resilience and differences for ground cover resilience were limited. Overall, these three statistics provide an interesting comparison among rangeland species, but more long-term datasets are necessary for greater inferences and more definitive conclusions.

Using Genomic Selection to Develop Performance-Based Restoration Plant Materials

“…However, available plant materials are still suboptimal for reliable performance in rangeland seedings, particularly on sites at the low end (<310 mm) of the average annual precipitation range where BBWG is found [ 30 ]. Despite acceptable establishment [ 31 ], BBWG displays lower productivity [ 54 ] and persistence [ 31 ] in comparison with introduced Triticeae wheatgrasses. This grass has suffered reduced abundance due to susceptibility to grazing and annual weed invasion [ 47 ].…”

Breeding for Resilience to Water Deficit and Its Predicted Effect on Forage Mass in Tall Fescue

“…Related questions included: what is the genetic relationship between average productivity, stability, and resilience? Previously, Picasso et al [3] proposed a new resilience metric and along with Robins et al [39] showed that the metric could differentiate the resilience among alfalfa and grass cultivars. Our results add to their reports and indicate that genetic parameters for the Picasso et al [3] resilience metric can be estimated, and within the tested tall fescue population, resilience per se was heritable (Table 3).…”

Adaptation and forage productivity of cool‐season grasses in the central USA

“…Robins et al. (2020) reported on the productivity and resilience of cool‐season grasses across multiple locations that included Ithaca and Sidney, NE. Their report lacked the cultivar‐specific detailed evaluation for these ecoregions, did not report on any forage quality data, and included fewer species and experimental strains than reported in the current study.…”

“…Initial stand data from the two sites used in this study were reported in a multiple location report that included many other locations (Robins et al, 2013), but forage yield and quality, weed infestations, and disease incidence were not reported in that study. Robins et al (2020) reported on the productivity and resilience of cool-season grasses across multiple locations that included Ithaca and Sidney, NE. Their report lacked the cultivar-specific detailed evaluation for these ecoregions, did not report on any forage quality data, and included fewer species and experimental strains than reported in the current study.…”