Project update October 31, 2012 Danielle Johnston

Transcription

1 Restoring Energy Fields for Wildlife Project update October 31, 2012 Danielle Johnston

2 elevation Eliminate seed bank Eliminate natural dispersal Apply Herbicide seed Grasses heavily seed grasses lightly Apply Brush as mulch Forgo seeding Mountain Top Experiment Encourage natural dispersal Strategy Choice and Competition Experiments Pipeline and Gulley Experiments Competition Part 2 and Horsethief Demonstration site

3 Precipitation (mm) March-June Precipitation GVM YC1 MTN SPG

4 Competition Experiment Cheatgrass (annual) Perennial wheatgrasses vs. 300 seeds/m seeds/m 2 Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

5 Competition Experiment 1. Soil Binding Treatment None Low (175 gal/ac) High (440 gal/ac) No Rolling 2. Rolling treatment Rolled 5X None 3. SAP Treatment Luquasorb

6 Super Absorbent Polymer Treatment -O O O OH K + 2 Sites: SGE (6.7 g/m 2 ) WRR (30.8 g/m 2 )

7 Density (plants/m 2 ) or cover (%) SAP no SAP SGE WRR SGE WRR SGE WRR 2010 (density) Cheatgrass and SAP 2011 (cover) 2012 (cover)

8 Competition Experiment Strategy Choice Experiment H L N N L H L H N L H N N H L N H L L N H L H N H N L H L N N H L L H N H L N N L H N H L L N H N L H H N L N L H H N L Tramfloc Competition Part 2 Tramfloc Tramfloc LC LC HC HC HC HC LC LC HC HC LC LC

9 Competition Part 2

10 Competition Part 2 Variety common name Genus Species Seeds/m2 Nezpar indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides 130 Hachita Blue Gramma Bouteloua gracilis 65 Toe Jam Creek bottlebrush squirreltail Elymus elymoides 65 San Luis slender wheatgrass Elymus trachycalus 52 cedar Sandberg Bluegrass Poa sandbergii 182 Anatone Bluebunch wheatgrass pseudoregneria spicata 104 VNS Sulphur flower buckwheat Eriogonum umbellatum 130 Timp Utah sweetvetch Hedysarum boreale 26 Maple Grove Lewis flax linum lewsii 91 Cedar Palmer penstemon pestemon palmeri 104 Arriba western wheatgrass Pascopyrum smithii 39 "co native" Fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens 195 VNS Wyoming Big Sagebrush Artemisia tridentata 150 forb bunch grass rhizomatous grass shrub

11 Strategy Choice Experiment GVM 5451 ft. SGE MTN WRR 6573 ft ft ft.

12 Strategy Choice Experiment 1. Seed Mix treatment High Competition Seed mix Low Competition Seed mix 2. Soil surface treatment Rough surface with brush mulch Flat surface with straw mulch 3. Herbicide treatment Plateau herbicide No herbicide (GVM and MTN only)

13 Seed mix treatment High Competition mix Low Competition mix WRFO mix 538 seeds/m seeds/m seeds/m 2

14 Plateau treatment

15 Surface treatment

16 Flat 2011 photos Rough

17 Biomass Data Collection Estimated weight (g) Actual weight (g)

18 Wagon Road Site Plot Number 3 July 11, 2011 July 2, 2012

19 Seed mix treatment Biomass (g/m 2 ) * * High Competition Low Competition 0 grass forb shrub annual grass annual forb

20 Plateau treatment Biomass (g/m 2 ) * grass forb shrub Plateau No Plateau annual grass annual forb * MTN site

21 Surface treatment grass forb shrub GVM grass forb shrub * * SGE grass forb shrub * MTN grass forb shrub WRR * Biomass (g/m 2 ) Flat Surface Rough Surface

22 Cheatgrass and Soil Surface Treatment Annual Grass Cover (%) Flat Surface Rough Surface Plateau * No Plateau

23 Cheatgrass and Soil Surface Treatment Biomass (g/m 2 ) Plateau Flat Rough * no Plateau

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26 Horsethief Demonstration Project

27 Horsethief Demonstration Project

28 Horsethief Demonstration Project

29 Horsethief Demonstration Project common name Genus Species Seeds /m2 PLS/acre Western yarrow Achillea millefolium Indian ricegrass Achnatherum hymenoides Wyoming Sagebrush Artemisia tridentata Fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens Blue Gramma Bouteloua gracilis yellow rabbitbrush Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus bottlebrush squirreltail Elymus elymoides Streambank wheatgrass Elymus lanceolatus ssp. psammophilus slender wheatgrass Elymus trachycalus Thickspike wheatgrass Elymus lanceolatus ssp. landeolatus rubber rabbitbrush Ericameria nauseosa Aspen fleabane Erigeron speciosus Sulfur-flower buckwheat Eriogonum umbellatum Utah sweetvetch Hedysarum boreale needle and thread Hesperostipa commata winterfat Krascheninnikovia lanata Lewis flax linum lewsii western wheatgrass Pascopyrum smithii Dusty Penstemon Penstemon comarrhenus Palmer penstemon pestemon palmeri Sandberg Bluegrass Poa sandbergii bluebunch wheatgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata forb bunchgrass rhizomatous grass shrub

30 Horsethief Demonstration Project Tramfloc Tramfloc

31 Acknowledgements Funding: WPX Energy Encana Oil and Gas Shell Oil Company Marathon Oil Access: ConocoPhillips BLM WRFO BLM CRVFO Many field technicians