Restoring Western (Basalt) Plains grassland. 2. Field emergence, establishment and recruitment following direct seeding

Abstract

au). This research arose from the need to progress the use of direct seeding in the restoration of threatened herbaceous plant communities.Summary Both reservation of small remnants and ecological restoration of degraded areas will be crucial if the Victorian Western (Basalt ) Plains grassland community is to be conserved in the long term. This study examined the potential of direct seeding as a technique for grassland restoration by recording the initial establishment and subsequent recruitment success of 64 (predominantly perennial) grassland species direct sown onto a constructed site. Forty-three (67%) of the sown species emerged and established during the 2-year study and a further three species were recorded in subsequent years. In the second year, 32 species increased their number either through seedling or vegetative recruitment and 30 species dispersed beyond their original sown plot. Seed size was not correlated with field emergence but life form did influence initial field success for some groups. The finding that many species are able to establish and recruit under the study conditions supports the need for further investigation of direct seeding in the restoration of grassland communities.

Enhancing plant diversity in a novel grassland using seed addition

“…Two species in this experiment did not establish at all ( A. minus , L. squamatus) and two species established but did not persist after the first year ( W. victoriensis , C. variabilis) , indicating that these species may not be able to persist under the novel conditions that they experienced, although other explanations are also plausible. The species that failed to establish have low germination capacity (Gibson‐Roy et al., ; Morgan, ), and have also failed to establish when there was low nutrient availability and no exotic competitors (Gibson‐Roy et al., ). The failure after the first year of the annual W. victoriensis occurred across the region and was presumably due to the dry spring (S. Sinclair, pers.…”

“…Sand alone was applied to the control plots. All plots were watered with 7 L of water shortly after seed addition, similar to previous successful forb restoration treatments (Gibson‐Roy, Delpratt, & Moore, ).…”

Native Grass Establishment in Grassy Woodlands with Nutrient Enriched Soil and Exotic Grass Invasion

“…There have been several studies conducted on plant reintroduction by seeding into grassy ecosystems in Australia (e.g. Gibson-Roy et al 2007;Prober & Lunt 2009). However, most of these techniques have been limited to small-scale experiments and no guidelines exist on the regeneration requirements of many ground-layer species (Clarke & Davison 2004).…”

Intraspecific Chromosome Number Variation and Prairie Restoration—A Case Study in Northeast Iowa, U.S.A

“…Grasslands in many parts of the world have been substantially lost or degraded, and in many areas are the targets for conservation and restoration (Gibson‐Roy et al 2007; Bond and Parr 2010). Our study area, the tallgrass prairie of northeast Iowa, is typical in this regard.…”