Current Research Projects
How successful is strip seeding as a cost-effective method for establishing native perennial grasses?
Strip seeding has been proposed as a cost-effective method to establish native species. The method involves seeding desirable plant species in horizontal patches on a fraction of a field with the expectation that seeded species will disperse to unseeded areas in subsequent years (as reviewed by Rayburn and Laca 2013). Although the method has been used by practitioners, the effectiveness of the method has not been tested in western grassland systems.
Strip seeding has been proposed as a cost-effective method to establish native species. The method involves seeding desirable plant species in horizontal patches on a fraction of a field with the expectation that seeded species will disperse to unseeded areas in subsequent years (as reviewed by Rayburn and Laca 2013). Although the method has been used by practitioners, the effectiveness of the method has not been tested in western grassland systems.
How does the spatial legacy of strip seeding interact with grazing to alter the plant community?
Five years after strip seeding native perennial grasses, we found that there was still a spatial legacy of the strip seeding treatment with higher native cover in seeded areas and higher non-native annual grass cover in unseeded areas. We are implementing targeted sheep grazing to examine it's efficacy as a management tool to 1) reduce the cover of undesirable species and 2) disrupt exiting spatial patterns between seeded and unseeded areas through trampling and seed dispersal.
Five years after strip seeding native perennial grasses, we found that there was still a spatial legacy of the strip seeding treatment with higher native cover in seeded areas and higher non-native annual grass cover in unseeded areas. We are implementing targeted sheep grazing to examine it's efficacy as a management tool to 1) reduce the cover of undesirable species and 2) disrupt exiting spatial patterns between seeded and unseeded areas through trampling and seed dispersal.
Can the integration of targeted sheep grazing, prescribed burns, and strip seeding be used to reduce cover of the weedy invasive Elymus caput-medusae (medusahead grass)?
Medusahead grass is highly invasive in California grassland. It rapidly spreads through large areas by building up a silica-rich thatch layer that makes germination and establishment difficult for other plant species. The high silica-content also makes medusahead a poor forage species. We are using targeted sheep grazing (timed to the early boot phase when medusahead are most palatable to livestock) and prescribed burns (while seed are formed but not yet dispersed) to try to reduce the amount of medusahead seed added to the seedbank each year.
Medusahead grass is highly invasive in California grassland. It rapidly spreads through large areas by building up a silica-rich thatch layer that makes germination and establishment difficult for other plant species. The high silica-content also makes medusahead a poor forage species. We are using targeted sheep grazing (timed to the early boot phase when medusahead are most palatable to livestock) and prescribed burns (while seed are formed but not yet dispersed) to try to reduce the amount of medusahead seed added to the seedbank each year.
Side Projects
Ammophila arenaria, an invasive species, as a nurse plant at Bodega Marine Reserve
Publication: Ammophila arenaria as a Nurse Plant: Implications for Management of an Invasive Species
Publication: Ammophila arenaria as a Nurse Plant: Implications for Management of an Invasive Species
Restoring native forb diversity at Cache Creek Conservancy
Collaborators: Sarah A. Gaffney & James Mizoguchi
Collaborators: Sarah A. Gaffney & James Mizoguchi