Outplanting Wyoming Big Sagebrush Following Wildfire: Stock Performance and Economics |
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| Authors: | Eva Dettweiler-Robinson Jonathan D Bakker James R Evans Heidi Newsome G Matt Davies Troy A Wirth David A Pyke Richard T Easterly Debra Salstrom Peter W Dunwiddie |
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| Institution: | 1. PhD Student, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA;2. Associate Professor, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA;3. Affiliate Professor, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA;4. Stewardship Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy, Seattle, WA 98101, USA;5. Wildlife Biologist, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Burbank, WA 99323, USA;6. Lecturer, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, Crichton University Campus, Dumfries, Scotland;7. Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, OR 97321, USA;8. Research Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, OR 97321, USA;9. Ecologist, Salstrom & Easterly Eco-logic Botanical Consulting, Bellingham, WA 98229, USA.;10. Botanist, Salstrom & Easterly Eco-logic Botanical Consulting, Bellingham, WA 98229, USA.;1. Supervisory Research Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Snake River Field Station, Boise, Idaho 83706, USA.;2. Supervisory Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Snake River Field Station, Boise, Idaho 83706, USA.;1. Botanist, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Reno, NV 89502, USA;2. Assistant Professor of Plant Ecology, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA;3. Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA;4. Research Ecologist, USDA-ARS NPARL, Pest Management Research Unit, Sidney, MT 59270, USA;1. Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept of Ecology, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;2. Master Student, Dept of Ecology, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;3. Associate Professor Dept of Ecology, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China;4. Professor, Dept of Ecology, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China;5. Professor, Dept of Ecology, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China;6. Professor, Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China. |
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| Abstract: | Finding ecologically and economically effective ways to establish matrix species is often critical for restoration success. Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis) historically dominated large areas of western North America, but has been extirpated from many areas by large wildfires; its re-establishment in these areas often requires active management. We evaluated the performance (survival, health) and economic costs of container and bare-root stock based on operational plantings of more than 1.5 million seedlings across 2 200 ha, and compared our plantings with 30 other plantings in which sagebrush survival was tracked for up to 5 yr. Plantings occurred between 2001 and 2007, and included 12 combinations of stock type, planting amendment, and planting year. We monitored 10 500 plants for up to 8 yr after planting. Survival to Year 3 averaged 21% and was higher for container stock (30%) than bare-root stock (17%). Survival did not differ among container-stock plantings, whereas survival of bare-root stock was sometimes enhanced by a hydrogel dip before planting, but not by mycorrhizal amendments. Most mortality occurred during the first year after planting; this period is the greatest barrier to establishment of sagebrush stock. The proportion of healthy stock in Year 1 was positively related to subsequent survival to Year 3. Costs were minimized, and survival maximized, by planting container stock or bare-root stock with a hydrogel dip. Our results indicate that outplanting is an ecologically and economically effective way of establishing Wyoming big sagebrush. However, statistical analyses were limited by the fact that data about initial variables (stock quality, site conditions, weather) were often unrecorded and by the lack of a replicated experimental design. Sharing consistent data and using an experimental approach would help land managers and restoration practitioners maximize the success of outplanting efforts. |
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