Transplanting Sedges (Carex spp.) in Southwestern Riparian Meadows

Abstract

The success of revegetation efforts in southwestern U.S. riparian meadows has been limited because natural recolonization is often poor and little is known about establishment of transplanted native meadow species such as sedges. To evaluate their potential use in riparian restoration, the survival and growth of transplanted wildlings of three sedge species, Carex lanuginosa (woolly sedge), C. nebrascensis (Nebraska sedge), and C. rostrata (beaked sedge), were assessed. Transplanting occurred during two seasons (summer and fall) using two transplant sizes (295 and 680 cm3) at seven montane meadow sites in Arizona. Survival was similar among species, but shoot numbers were greater for C. lanuginosa (12.7 shoots/wildling) compared with C. nebrascensis (5.5 shoots/wildling) and C. rostrata (7.9 shoots/wildling). Survival was significantly greater for the summer transplant season (55.1%) versus fall (24.1%). Survival and growth were greater for the larger transplant size (46.1% large vs. 33.0% small; 8.1 shoots/wildling large vs. 6.4 small). Wildling survival was related to depth to groundwater for each species. Survival was highest for C. lanuginosa (78.6%), C. nebrascensis (88.2%), and C. rostrata (64.3%) where the groundwater depth was −48 to −60, −28 to −47, and −8 to −27 cm, respectively. These results suggest that restoration will be most successful if transplanting occurs in summer, using large wildling transplants when under stressful conditions such as waterlogged or dry soils, and when species are planted at appropriate groundwater depths.

Tools for Carex revegetation in freshwater wetlands: understanding dormancy loss and germination temperature requirements

“…Carex is a globally important genus with more than 2000 species worldwide (Bernard 1990) and has been the focus of restoration research in regions such as temperate North America and the Arctic (e.g., Budelsky and Galatowitsch 2004;Forbes 1993;Galatowitsch and Biederman 1998;Hurd and Shaw 1992;Jones et al 2004;Martin and Chambers 2002;Steed and DeWald 2003;van der Valk et al 1999). In the prairie pothole region of the mid-continental United States, thousands of acres of wetlands have been restored since the mid-1980s, but many native Carex species common to natural prairie pothole wetlands are rare or absent in unplanted restorations, even 12 years after reflooding (Galatowitsch and van der Valk 1996a, c;Mulhouse and Galatowitsch 2003).…”

Factors affecting the establishment of Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (C.C. Gmel.) Palla in urban lakeshore restorations

“…We observed the greatest survival from bulrush planted early in the growing season (June) and the greatest mortality from those planted at the end of the growing season (September). Likewise, aquatic Carex (also Cyperaceae) survive best if transplanted early in the growing season (Yetka and Galatowitsch 1999;Steed and DeWald 2003). Sedge shoots grow rapidly in spring due to both the translocation of materials from belowground rhizomes and photosynthesis (Bernard 1975;Bernard and Solsky 1977).…”

“…The interaction between planting month and rootstock type was the only combination of factors that proved significant for post-winter survival (F = 3.245, P = 0.0214) a primary factor responsible for low survival rates of C. lacustris fall transplants. Steed and DeWald (2003) similarly suggested that the lower belowground reserves of sedges may have been offset by above and below ground plant growth prior to fall that replenished those reserves. Fall transplants have limited carbohydrate, nutrient, and water reserves on which to survive the winter before initiating new growth in spring.…”

“…and terrestrial species (e.g., Calamagrostis rubescens) is known to be linked to transplant size (Davies et al 1999;Steed and DeWald 2003;Page and Bork 2005). Steed and DeWald (2003) suggested that the smaller Carex transplants had smaller and less developed root systems as compared to larger Carex transplants, which contributed to greater mortality of smaller plants after transplanting. Though pre-planting biomass appears to be an important determinant of planting success, other factors are clearly important.…”

A comparative study of the water budgets of lawns under three management scenarios

“…are C 3 species of riparian meadows (Winward 1986) and their transpiration rates can be quite high (up to 8.8 mm per day) (Busch 2001). In addition, their survival is related to soil moisture and groundwater depth (Steed and DeWald 2003). Thus, whether native sedges have low rates of water use in urban landscapes needs to be assessed.…”