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Restoring Abandoned Agricultural Lands in Cold Desert Shrublands: Tradeoffs between Water Availability and Invasive Species

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jeanne C. Chambers ,
Eric P. Eldredge ,
Keirith A. Snyder ,
David I. Board ,
Tara Forbis de Queiroz  and
Vada Hubbard
Jeanne C. Chambers*
Affiliation:
US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Reno, NV 89512
Eric P. Eldredge
Affiliation:
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Great Basin Plant Materials Center, Fallon, NV 89406
Keirith A. Snyder
Affiliation:
USDA Agricultural Research Service, Great Basin Rangelands Unit, Reno, NV 89512
David I. Board
Affiliation:
US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Reno, NV 89512 Reno, NV 89509
Tara Forbis de Queiroz
Affiliation:
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Minden, NV 89423
*
Corresponding Author's E-mail: jchambers@fs.fed.us
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Abstract

Restoration of abandoned agricultural lands to create resilient ecosystems in arid and semi-arid ecosystems typically requires seeding or transplanting native species, improving plant–soil–water relations, and controlling invasive species. We asked if improving water relations via irrigation or surface mulch would result in negative tradeoffs between native species establishment and invasive species competition. We examined the effects of sprinkler irrigation and straw mulch on native seed mixtures planted in two consecutive years in an abandoned agricultural field in a cold desert shrubland in southwestern Nevada, USA. Restoration effects differed among years because of contingency effects of growing season conditions. Precipitation was low during the first year and seeded plant density and biomass increased in response to irrigation. Precipitation was relatively high during the second year, seeded plant densities and biomass were generally high, and irrigation had inconsistent effects. Mulch increased native plant cover in the absence of irrigation during the dry year. Invasive plant biomass and cover also were influenced by year, but irrigation increased invasive plants regardless of precipitation. Positive effects of irrigation on seeded plant density, cover, and biomass outweighed negative tradeoffs of increases in invasive plants. In ecosystems with highly variable precipitation, the most effective restoration strategies will most likely be adaptive ones, requiring determination of timing and amount of irrigation based on precipitation, native plant establishment, and invasive species composition and abundance.

Keywords

2, 4-Ddimethylamine salt of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acidCompetitionirrigationmulchnative plant establishmentrevegetationsagebrush ecosystemsweed species
Type
Research Article
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 176 - 189
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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