Use of auto‐germ to model germination timing in the sagebrush‐steppe

Richardson, William C.; Whitaker, Dallin R.; Sant, Kyler P.; Barney, Nicholas S.; Call, Ryan S.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Aanderud, Zachary T.; Madsen, Matthew D.

doi:10.1002/ece3.4591

Cited by 13 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…, Richardson et al. ). Warmer temperature with wetter soils can also increase nutrient uptake in sagebrush and nitrogen fixation by biocrusts (Belnap , Pregitzer and King , Schlaepfer et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Richardson et al. ). However, warmer soils without sufficient soil moisture can lead to seedling emergence failure (Bates et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sagebrush germinates better in warmer temperatures and has higher establishment success if seedlings are not exposed to freezing temperatures soon after germination (Boyd and Obradovich , Richardson et al. ). Darker soils found after a fire increase soil temperature which may provide a better microclimate for sagebrush establishment (Boyd and Obradovich , Boyd et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We planted in fall when germination can happen with more mild temperatures which have been predicted to increase sagebrush germination success (Richardson et al. ). Though well‐developed biocrusts can inhibit sagebrush germination (Schlaepfer et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Earlier fall precipitation and low severity fire impacts on cheatgrass and sagebrush establishment

et al. 2020

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In arid and semiarid ecosystems, invasion by exotic grasses may be driving state changes in vegetation defined by losses of native shrub communities. Changes in wildfire regimes and fall precipitation timing related to climate change may promote fluctuations in resource availability that reinforces invasion and state changes in vegetation. The objective of this study was to investigate how earlier fall precipitation timing and fire affected the germination, establishment, and growth of the dominant native shrub Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis), and one of the most problematic invaders, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) in the Great Basin. We extracted soil cores from Rush Valley, Utah (UT), USA, on the eastern side of the Great Basin ecoregion and placed them in a common garden in Provo, UT, and planted seeds of sagebrush and cheatgrass in individual cores. We measured the response of sagebrush and cheatgrass to experimental fire and two fall precipitation timing pulses in a full factorial design. Water was added for two weeks in early September (early fall treatment) and mid-October (late fall treatment). We measured seedling emergence, plant height, biomass, density, seed production, and survival. Early fall precipitation did not significantly affect the amount of cheatgrass or sagebrush seedling emergence. Early fall precipitation significantly increased cheatgrass density, height, biomass, and seed production, and sagebrush height and biomass, but not density. Surprisingly, cheatgrass did not respond positively to fire. In contrast, fire increased sagebrush density (twofold) and survival. These findings indicate that fire can have positive impacts on sagebrush establishment. The data suggest that projected increases in fall moisture in the Great Basin due to climate change are likely to have positive impacts on both cheatgrass and sagebrush. However, additional studies are needed to identify how fall precipitation timing and fire might impact competitive interactions between sagebrush and cheatgrass and the bearing on invasion success at influencing state changes in the Great Basin.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Richardson et al. ). However, warmer soils without sufficient soil moisture can lead to seedling emergence failure (Bates et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Earlier fall precipitation and low severity fire impacts on cheatgrass and sagebrush establishment

et al. 2020

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“…Using the program Auto Germ (Richardson, et al, ), linear and curvilinear regression was used to apply polynomial equations to the germination time data gathered from the experiment in the previous section. These equations, or wet‐thermal models, estimate germination rate (inverse of T x ) in relation to incubation temperature.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of an abscisic acid (ABA) seed coating on seed germination rate and timing of Bluebunch Wheatgrass

Richardson

Badrakh

Roundy

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Semi‐arid rangeland degradation is a reoccurring issue throughout the world. In the Great Basin of North America, seeds sown in the fall to restore degraded sagebrush ( Artemisia spp.) steppe plant communities may experience high mortality in winter due to exposure of seedlings to freezing temperatures and other stressors. Delaying germination until early spring when conditions are more suitable for growth may increase survival. We evaluated the use of BioNik™ (Valent BioSciences LLC) abscisic acid (ABA) to delay germination of bluebunch wheatgrass ( Pseudoroegneria spicata ). Seed was either left untreated or coated at five separate rates of ABA ranging from 0.25 to 6.0 g 100 g −1 of seed. Seeds were incubated at five separate constant temperatures from 5 to 25°C. From the resultant germination data, we developed quadratic thermal accumulation models for each treatment and applied them to 4 years of historic soil moisture and temperature data across six sagebrush steppe sites to predict germination timing. Total germination percentage remained similar across all temperatures except at 25°C, where high ABA rates had slightly lower values. All ABA doses delayed germination, with the greatest delays at 5–10°C. For example, the time required for 50% of the seeds to germinate at 5°C was increased by 16–46 d, depending on the amount of ABA applied. Seed germination models predicted that the majority of untreated seed would germinate 5–11 weeks after a 15 October simulated planting date. In contrast, seeds treated with ABA were predicted to delay germination to late winter or early spring. These results indicate that ABA coatings may delay germination of fall planted seed until conditions are more suitable for plant survival and growth.

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Improving dryland seedling recruitment using fungicide seed coatings

Hoose

Geary

Richardson

et al. 2022

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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The success of seed‐based restoration in dryland regions of the world is often low or sporadic, with most mortality occurring between germination and emergence. Fungal pathogenesis is one process that may reduce seedling emergence and limit restoration success. Our objective was to determine whether fungicide seed coatings constitute an economically viable strategy for increasing emergence by reducing fungal pathogenesis and mortality. We performed an experiment across two sites and three years, using bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) as a model species. We found that fungicide coatings increased germination by 8.8% and emergence by 54.0% on average compared to the control. A cost analysis indicated that the fungicide coating was economically viable with an average estimated effective cost reduction of 18.8% under the study conditions. There was a strong interaction (P < 0.001) between the effects of the fungicide coating, site and year on emergence. The fungicide coating increased emergence compared to the control in five of the six sites and years, with the effect ranging from a 33.7% decrease (P = 0.042) to a 150.9% increase (P = 0.004). The observed interaction was likely related to the effect of the hydrothermal microsite environment on disease severity. In the site and year that the fungicide coating performed worse than the control, prolonged periods of exceptionally low soil moisture may have reduced disease severity through a variety of individual and community scale mechanisms. Overall, these results indicate that fungicide seed coatings have the potential to improve dryland restoration efforts.

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Use of auto‐germ to model germination timing in the sagebrush‐steppe

Cited by 13 publications

References 38 publications

Earlier fall precipitation and low severity fire impacts on cheatgrass and sagebrush establishment

Earlier fall precipitation and low severity fire impacts on cheatgrass and sagebrush establishment

Influence of an abscisic acid (ABA) seed coating on seed germination rate and timing of Bluebunch Wheatgrass

Improving dryland seedling recruitment using fungicide seed coatings

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