Native plant species field evaluation in salt desert: good materials, bad situation

Abstract

The Bureau of Land Management’s McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area in partnership with the Upper Colorado Environmental Plant Center tested 30 native species and varieties of grasses and forbs in garden style plots, planted in rows within replicated rectangular plots, in a degraded salt desert setting in western Colorado. Our test site is dominated by the annual weeds cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L. [Poaceae]), annual wheatgrass (Eremopyrum triticeum (Gaertn.) Nevski [Poaceae]), and Russian thistle (Salsola kali L. [Chenopodiaceae]). While 25 of the 30 seeded plant materials, representing 14 grass and forb species emerged, emergence rates were generally low and individual plants did not persist in the system. Restoration of arid lands with native plant species can be difficult at best, especially when native species must be established in vegetative communities dominated by invasive annual species. In this study, we show that existing native plant materials are capable of emerging from seed and completing a life cycle in a degraded salt desert setting, but also highlight the need for more research on post-emergence pressures on native plant materials.