[APWG] What caused surprise results in Poppy Project?--Test soil for soil nutrient thresholds

[craig at astreet.com]

Dear Robert and All,
Thanks for your question.
 
 
About testing for the soil nutrient threshold,
you can do it at least three ways:
1.) HOME TEST KIT. Use a simple
garden store soil test kit on at least three locations for a native
species--(a) Where you see native seedlings surviving, (b) Where you see
established native plants and no seedlings, and (c) No native plants
nearby existing native plants.  It costs about $10 to these three
tests.
2.) SOIL TESTING LAB. Do these same three tests but send them
to a lab and have the N-P-K-pH run and get the threshold for each species
in PPM for the nutrients.  That is what we did on the BLM land for
the 600 acres of pipeline north of Reno.
3.) WATCH THE PLANTS. Sow
native seeds or seedlings either on site or in ex situ test pots, and add
measured amounts of fertilizers to see the responses.  Use a native
that easily shows nutrient problems, so you can correct any problems
rapidly so the seedlings do not die on you before you can correct the
problem.  I use the California poppy and the broad-leaved California
brome, because they have a rapid response to nutrient problems.  A
species not to use, is the Stipas or the needlegrasses, because their
responses are slow and they have very narrow leaves that are hard to read.
 Broad leaved grasses or fast growing forbs are best.
Once you
find your native seedling soil nutrient thresholds, you can then take a
look at local weed infestations, and see if the root cause of their
spread, instead of being invasive plants, is that they are only Default
Weeds,  able to grow where the soil levels are too poor for local
native seedling survival, like cheatgrass, thistles, medusahead,
etc.
I also use this technique of checking for soil nutrient
problems by watching the leaves, for my Haiti farming project, with corn
to check N-P-K and pepper leaves to check calcium, that you can see
information at http://www.ecoseeds.com/clear.html and
http://www.haitiag.org.  
Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650)
325-7333
====================
> So, did you test the soils
for nutrient levels? Have you learned the

> optimal nutrient levels for the natives that you are trying to
reestablish

> and compared them to the soils you are now working with?

>

> ________________________________

 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/apwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20130918/fe345c77/attachment.html>