ScholarWorks at University of Montana

Restoring native plant diversity in the Upper Clark Fork Basin

We are developing novel ways to restore native plant species diversity in the uplands of the Upper Clark Fork Basin (UCFRB) in areas damaged by releases of hazardous substances by mining companies over more than 100 years. The desired future condition of upland plant communities in the UCFRB is to have sustainable plant communities that are diverse in native plant species and provide ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, wildlife habitat, soil conservation and weed resistance. We are in the sedond year of a three year demonstration project with objectives of increasing plant species diversity and developing plant communities resistant to invasion by exotic plant species (weeds). We are developing “forb sods” comprised of a diverse mixture of native forbs some grasses and some small shrubs. These sods will be planted in small patches that will serve as dispersal sources to spread diversity over larger areas. Patches may be placed on “micro-ridges” of clean soil placed on existing caps or reclaimed areas. To supply the necessary diversity we will collect seeds and propagate via tissue culture, native plants from remnant existing plant communities in the UCFRB near Butte. As we do this we will select plants that appear to be weed resistant (are healthy and growing among weeds). We will produce small seed orchards at Montana Tech for the species we use in the forb sods and for weed resistance.