Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #95965
Title: SIMPLE METHOD FOR RESEEDING OF RILLS IN DEGRADED RANGELAND

Author
item GUTIERREZ LUNA, RAMON - NEW MEXICO STATE UNIV
item Herrick, Jeffrey - Jeff
item DONART, GARY - NEW MEXICO STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Society for Range Management Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Traditional methods of reseeding degraded rangeland are expensive and frequently unsuccessful due to high rates of seed predation and seedling mortality. A method has been developed to increase the probability of seed germination and seedling establishment in "safe sites". Seeds are placed in three 1.3 cm-diameter x 10 cm pvc tubes. The small tubes are capped with crepe paper and glued inside of a 7.5 cm-diameter x 15 cm-long tube which. The large tubes are protected from seed predators with screens and chemical deterrent. The tubes are placed in small rills immediately above areas of high dispersion at the beginning of the rainy season. A small screen is placed 30 cm upstream from the tubes to deflect litter and sediment. Laboratory tests showed that the seeds are released within 15 +/- 2 seconds in artificial rills. In a series of preliminary field tests, seeds of sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) were deposited preferentially in microsites with relatively high levels of litter and grass cover at distances of up to at least 102 m down the rill from the seeder. Most seeds were deposited in lateral rills and not in the main channel.