Abstract
In 2010, 58 plant material accessions of 35 species of native and introduced grasses, forbs, and shrubs were outplanted in a replicated study at the Curlew National Grassland (CNG) in Oneida County in southern Idaho. Introduced bunchgrasses, Russian wildrye (Psathyrostachys juncea (Fisch.) Nevski [Poaceae]), Siberian wheatgrass (Agropyron fragile (Roth) P. Candargy [Poaceae]), and meadow brome (Bromus biebersteinii Roem. & Schult. [Poaceae]), as well as early-successional native grass species including bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides (Raf.) Swezey [Poaceae]) and slender wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus (Link) Gould ex Shinners [Poaceae]), had exceptional establishment. After 10 y, many introduced grasses maintained high plant densities, while plant density of early-seral species such as bottlebrush squirreltail and slender wheatgrass had declined significantly, and late-seral grasses, especially those with rhizomatous growth, increased. Our results show several accessions of all plant groups to be well-suited to conditions at CNG and other semi-arid sites of the sagebrush steppe. Long-term data also suggest that including a diversity of species of multiple seral stages in restoration seed mixes could be beneficial to occupying available niches in space and time and lead to desirable restoration results.
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