Objective:
The objective of this ESTCP project is to implement new germplasms and improved seeding methods, developed in a SERDP plant-breeding project, on Department of Defense (DoD) facilities and other federal lands by demonstrating and further validating the new plant materials and seeding methodologies. Researchers are investigating the release of cultivars, initiating seed contracts, and developing a planting guide for military facilities in the intermountain west.
Technology Description:
This project aims both to develop improved plants and to achieve growth of native plants under the military management style. Through the SERDP project, Identify Resilient Plant Characteristics and Develop a Wear-Resistant Plant Cultivar for Use on Military Training Lands (CS-1103), researchers bred native and introduced grass and forb germplasms with improved establishment and seedling vigor. The project's improved germplasms are adapted for a broad area of the northwestern U.S., and seeding methods have proven successful on eastern and western ranges (Fort Drum, New York and Fort Carson, Colorado). To identify better ways of establishing native plants and overcoming competition by noxious weeds, researchers developed the concept of "ecological bridges." In this innovative work, researchers investigated root growth and establishment relationships among various species and, from this knowledge, selected seed mixes of rapidly establishing introduced grasses and desired native grasses. When properly selected, the introduced grasses will quickly protect the soil and create an environment in which the native grasses would gradually establish and dominate the seeded stand. Current efforts are focused on further demonstration and validation of the germplasms and seeding methods as well as commercializing the improved seeds, making them available to land managers.
Expected Benefits:
This project will provide DoD with guidance for revegetation methods and more resilient plant species, which will help to increase training opportunities on existing training lands. Within the adapted area for the new plants, researchers have identified 42 DoD facilities that encompass more than 1.3 million acres of Army, National Guard Bureau, and Air Force land. The new germplasms also are appropriate for other federal, state, or local agencies, highway right-of-ways, mine spoils, rangelands, and other disturbed areas. The SERDP-selected natives can be used in areas where natives are now sown and, because of their better establishment rate, may also be used alone or in mixtures where introduced species are now sown. There are no additional costs associated with the use of the new materials and establishment methodology; they require no special equipment; and the seeds for the new plant materials are unlikely to differ greatly in cost from currently used cultivars. The real cost-benefit lies in (1) the ability to seed less frequently due to increased establishment rates and better resiliency, (2) the decreased need to consider other methods of controlling invasive weeds, and (3) the reduced downtime on ranges that should lead to cost efficiencies in scheduling training programs. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2007)
Principal Investigator:
Mr. Antonio Palazzo
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
ERDC/CRREL
72 Lyme Road
Hanover, NH 03755
Telephone: (603) 646-4374
Fax: (603) 646-4561
E-mail: antonio.j.palazzo@erdc.usace.army.mil |
