[APWG] Ecosystem restoration Leymus sp? Re: Utah petri dish tests

[Wayne Tyson]

Dear Craig, Tony, and Forum:

I encountered a sterility problem with Leymus (Elymus) triticoides some 
years ago. To make a long story short, it turned out that they were sterile 
hybrids. I turned up papers (1950's) by G. L. Stebbins and another author 
whose name I can't remember that validated this. That might be one reason 
the wildrye seed is so scarce. If that is the reason, it would be 
interesting to have confirmation or refutation.

I agree with Craig that small test plots are the way to go. One might want 
to try both seeds and seedlings, but it is important that the growing medium 
can be compressed upon planting so they don't dry out before enough root 
system forms to render that issue moot. Small containers have worked best 
for me.

One elephant in the room here is that, by definition, indigenous species are 
good colonizers in areas where they have grown in the past; therefore they 
are the best choice as "competitors" for alien species. I am glad that there 
is someone out there driving the point home that cheatgrass can be licked if 
one gets the livestock off and plants indigenous species or otherwise 
facilitates their recolonization.

WT


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Craig Dremann - Redwood City Seed Company" <Craig at astreet.com>
To: <apwg at lists.plantconservation.org>
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 4:18 PM
Subject: [APWG] Utah petri dish tests


> Dear Tony and All,
>
> Thanks for your email.
>
> ============
> Tony wrote: Will this work with an allelopathic species like Secale
> cereale which has formed dense stands along what is left of the foothills
> of the central Wasatch Front in Utah?   Will the native grasses even be
> able to get a foothold absent removal of the cereal rye?
>
> Reply: Cereal rye is exactly what Dr. Liu was studying in his two papers
> written in the Journal of Chemical Ecology in 1994 and 1995.  What he
> discovered, is the drier the conditions that the cereal rye grows in, the
> more allelopathic chemicals it produces, which makes sense.
>
> The question for the area where the rye is growing in your area---where
> are the native grass seeds going to come from, and what species are
> currently growing amongst the cereal rye?  If it is mature Great Basin
> wild rye, it is unlikely that you will get seedlings without a lot of
> effort, but if it Bluebunch wheatgrass, there is a good chance.
>
> Bluebunch wheatgrass is what is in the pictures,  growing to the horizon,
> and cheatgrass-free, at http://www.ecoseeds.com/greatbasin.html  I would
> try some tiny sown test plots of various native grasses amongst the cereal
> rye, and see what you can do, at a lot of different sowing rates.
>
> ========
>
> Tony wrote: We are also inundated with two other particularly out of
> control plant species along our foothills (besides all of the normal ones
> and too many others to list) including Linaria dalmatica and Euphorbia
> myrsinities, both of which seem to like to grow over/under/in everything.
> How do we remove these from rock crevice habitats?
>
> Reply:  What would normally grow in those rock crevices?  Probably some
> native bunchgrass?  Our Western native bunchgrasses have a remarkably
> strong effect against weeds, especially the broadleaf weeds.  Perhaps
> Indian Ricegrass, Thurber's Stipa if they are local to your area, or a
> local native Poa might do the trick?   I would try some tiny test plots in
> the rock crevices with some of the native-rock-crevice grasses.
>
> ============
>
> Tony wrote: We do have a few precious places with relatively intact
> ecosystems where these weeds advance and invade nonetheless, i.e. a
> healthy ecosystem (contrary what was traditionally taught) does not
> necessarily seem to, sadly, be a defense against many of these invaders.
>
> Reply:  In doing my 1997 Megatransect at
> http://www.ecoseeds.com/megatransect.html from California to South Dakota
> and back, I also noted, what I called Pristine native areas, compared to
> the rest of the cow and sheep-chewed West.
>
> I call those Pristine relics, the Sacred-Places, that have been able to
> withstand everything that we have dished out to them, so they deserve a
> modicum of respect, able to survive our land-tsunami-like onslaught.
>
> However, there is always something in the ecosystem puzzle missing in
> those areas, anywhere where the Pristine relics occur in the USA in the
> lower 48, and those holes in the puzzle are exactly where the weeds find a
> place to get in.   The weeds fill an empty niche.
>
> For example, on the Shaw property, the 4-6 species of native clovers are
> missing, which allows the exotic clovers to fill that ecosystem vacancy,
> until Mr. Shaw is able to reintroduce the native clovers back onto his
> land.
>
> It is not enough for an ecosystem understory to be relatively intact.
> That is like the spark plugs in your car engine were relatively put in,
> maybe at the right number?
>
> Your car needs exactly the right number of spark plugs, torqued into the
> engine at the correct number of foot-pounds--and the ecosystem understory
> also has to be precisely fitted together to function properly, to hold its
> own against the weeds.
>
> That is why we need professionals in the future, who can survey land, and
> be able to give us the ecosystem understory recipe, of how much cover of
> what native species we need on the land, to hold the ecosystem together,
> against the weeds.
>
> The proper percentage of cover of each native species, within any
> non-riparian ecosystem, is a mathematical constant.
>
> Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333
>
>
>
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>
> Disclaimer
> Any requests, advice or opinions posted to this list reflect ONLY the 
> opinion of the individual posting the message.


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