Comparison of Postfire Soil Water Repellency Amelioration Strategies on Bluebunch Wheatgrass and Cheatgrass Survival |
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| Authors: | Matthew D. Madsen Steven L. Petersen Bruce A. Roundy Bryan G. Hopkins Alan G. Taylor |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Ecologist, USDA-ARS, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Burns, OR 67826, USA;2. Assistant Professor, Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84642, USA;3. Professor, Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84642, USA;4. Associate Professor, Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84642, USA;5. Professor, Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, Geneva, NY 14456, USA;1. Professor, Department of Agriculture, Food, and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P5, Canada;2. Research Scientist, Lethbridge Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB T1J 4B1, Canada;3. Graduate Student, Department of Agriculture, Food, and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P5, Canada;4. Provincial Rangeland Specialist, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Lands Division, Pincher Creek, AB, T0K 1W0 Canada;1. Soil Scientist, US Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit, Reno, NV 89512, USA;2. Research Technician, US Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit, Reno, NV 89512, USA;1. Assistant Professors and Professor, Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA.;2. Assistant Professors and Professor, Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA.;1. Professor of Range Management Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.;2. Assistant Scientist in Range Management, Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. |
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| Abstract: | Soil water repellency can limit postfire reseeding efforts and thus increase the susceptibility of a site to weed invasion. We evaluated the effectiveness of wetting agents and simulated anchor chaining for improving seedling growth and survival in water-repellent soil, for the native perennial bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) and invasive annual cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Research was performed in a glasshouse, on 20-cm-diameter soil cores that were excavated from underneath burned Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) trees. The experiment was arranged as a randomized split-plot design, with the two grass species sown separately under four soil treatments: 1) no treatment (control), 2) simulated anchor chaining (hereafter referred to as “till”), 3) wetting agent, and 4) till plus wetting agent. Soil water content was highest in the wetting agent treatment, lower for till, and lowest in the control. Overall, the response of bluebunch wheatgrass and cheatgrass was similar among treatments. At the conclusion of the study, wetting agent cores had twice as many seedlings as the control, while the till and control were similar. Despite a lower number of seedlings, tilling in general resulted in the same level of biomass as the wetting agent treatment. Overall, biomass in the till and wetting agent treatments was at least twofold higher than the control. No benefit was found in applying both till and wetting agent treatments together in comparison to just applying wetting agent. Because of a lack of correlation between glasshouse and field settings the results of this study need to be interpreted with caution. Our data may indicate that if cheatgrass is not already present on the site, anchor chaining or treating the soil with wetting agent can increase establishment of seeded species. |
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