Year of Award
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Science (MS)
Degree Name
Resource Conservation
Department or School/College
W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation
Committee Chair
Akasha Faist
Commitee Members
Anna Sala, Daniel Winkler
Keywords
Dryland restoration, native plant materials, perennial grass, germination, legacy effect
Subject Categories
Natural Resources and Conservation
Abstract
Globally, many drylands are in need of restoration due to anthropogenic land use changes, climate change-related biodiversity loss, and broad scale degradation. Within this degradation framework, many perennial grass species and populations have been lost from drylands. A common method of restoring vital perennial grass populations is through seed-based restoration. Using seed-based restoration, or the act of adding desirable seed to a system to restore plant populations, requires a depth of knowledge on species level responses, as well as seed sources within those species. My research examines three workhorse perennial grass species and associated seed sources for dryland restoration, especially in the face of changing climates. This work focuses on three species (Sporobolus cryptandrus, Bouteloua curtipendula, and Bouteloua gracilis) and three seed sources (Wild-collected, Cultivars, and Novel-composites). While Wild-collected and Cultivars have been previously used in seed-based restoration, Novel-composites are a recently emerging seed source that are developed by mixing seed from several wild populations, planting this mix, and then collecting the seed from this first generation. In the first chapter, I evaluate the germination characteristics of these species and seed sources in different environmental conditions. In the second chapter, I evaluate the evidence of a legacy effect due to emergence conditions within B. gracilis by associated seed source and environmental conditions. I found that the studied species and seed sources differ in their germination characteristics, such as germination proportion, time-to-germination, and seedling biomass, while warmer and wetter environmental conditions generally resulted in larger biomass and faster time-to-germination. I found that Cultivars generally germinated in greater proportions, had faster time-to-germination, and larger seedling biomass compared to the Wild-collected and Novel-composite seed sources. I did not find evidence of a legacy effect due to emergence conditions influencing biomass or leaf count in B. gracilis, but rather generally greater biomass in drier grow-out conditions. Overall, Cultivars generally out-performed Wild-collected and Novel-composite seeds in terms of greater germination proportion, faster time-to-germination, and biomass, as well as overall biomass at 3-months. With drylands inherently difficult to restore, my work showed species-specific and source-specific differences in germination that will aid in land managers plans.
Recommended Citation
Lasche, Sophia N., "Evaluating Early-Life Characteristics and Responses of Native Plant Materials for Dryland Restoration" (2024). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12420.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12420
© Copyright 2024 Sophia N. Lasche