Native Habitat Restoration in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas Tony Falk1,Dr. Timothy E. Fulbright1, Forrest S. Smith2, Dr. Alfonso Ortega-Santos1, &Steve Benn3 Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363 South Texas Natives, Kingsville, TX 78363 Texas Parks and Wildlife, Weslaco, TX 78596
Introduction • Less than 1% of the native prairie left(McGraw, J. B. 1987) • Restoration has been going on since the early 1900’s • Means of restoration • Allowing to go fallow • Addition of seed • Little work done in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas
Introduction • 3 reasons restoration has been unsuccessful in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas • No Native seed bank(Holl, K. D. et al. 2000) • Changes in disturbance regimes • Agricultural production • No locally adapted native seed (McGraw, J. B. 1987) • Many different Non-native Species to compete with (Masters, R. A. et al. 1996)
Goals • Establish a diverse native prairie that would be resistant to invasion from non-native species • Increase the species diversity of the area
Site Description • Temperature averages 23 C • 65 cm rain annually however highly variable • Harlingen Clay • South Texas Plains ecoregion • Previously managed for White wing dove and Bobwhite quail
Red = Prepared treatments Yellow = Prepared and seeded Green = Control
Treatments • Control • Nothing done
Treatments • Control • Nothing done • Prepared • trees removed, mowed, disked, moldboard plowed, disked, leveled
Treatments • Control • Nothing done • Prepared • trees removed, mowed, disked, moldboard plowed, disked, leveled • Prepared and seeded • trees removed, mowed, disked, moldboard plowed, disked, leveled, seeded with a Truax™ seed drill and a tube spreader
Seed mix • Seed mix made up of 31 locally adapted • Seeded according to NRCS rangeland guidelines • 8:2 ratio of grasses to forbs • Even distribution of succesional groups • Developed to completely repopulate seed bank • All land preparation and seeding was completed in March 2008
Statistical Analysis • Analyzed using repeated measures analysis SAS 9.1 • α ≤0.05 • Independent variable • Treatment • Dependent variable • Cover
Results • Establishment of 83% planted species • Several species have increased • Slender Grama (Bouteloua repens) • Plain Bristle Grass (Setaria spp.) • Establishment of several species that were ≤1% of the seed mix
discussion • Without seed any disturbance will end up as a non-native community • Little native seed bank (Smith Forrest 2009) • Nothing left to fill the void • Can not compete • Creates simplified plant community (Randall, J. M. 1996)
Discussion • Planting a diverse mix of native species prevents non-native species from establishing (Blumenthal, et al. 2003) • A diverse mix competes with non-natives • Provides good early competition • Provides year round competition • Potentially fills all available niches (Bakker, J. and S. Wilson 2004)
Conclusion • Are able to establish natives • Increase the species diversity of an area through seeding • Able to reduce the spread of non-natives through the addition of seed • This project fits into NRCS programs • WHIP, CRP, GRP
For The Future • Continued monitoring of this project (Fulbright, T. et al. 2006) • Adding management (Wilson, S. D. and M. Pärtel 2003) • Herbicide • Grazing • Burning
Acknowledgements • Texas Parks and Wildlife • South Texas Natives • Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Center • South Texas Chapter Quail Unlimited • Coauthors and committee members • Everyone that helped with data collection
Works Citied • Bakker, J. and S. Wilson (2004). "Using ecological restoration to constrain biological invasion." Journal of applied Ecology. • Blumenthal, D., N. Jordan, et al. (2003). "Weed control as a rationale for restoration: the example of tallgrass prairie." Conservation Ecology 7(1): 6. • Fulbright, T. E., J. A. Ortega-Santos, et al. (2006). "Establishing Vegetation on Migrating Inland Sand Dunes in Texas." Rangeland Ecology & Management 59(5): 549-556. • Haase, R. (1990). "Community Composition and Soil Properties in Northern Bolivian Savanna Vegetation." Journal of Vegetation Science 1(3): 345-352. • Holl, K. D., H. N. Steele, et al. (2000). "Seed Banks of Maritime Chaparral and Abandoned Roads: Potential for Vegetation Recovery." Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 127(3): 207-220. • Masters, R. A., S. J. Nissen, et al. (1996). "Imidazolinone Herbicides Improve Restoration of Great Plains Grasslands." Weed Technology 10(2): 392-403. • McGraw, J. B. (1987). "Experimental Ecology of Dryas octopetala Ecotypes. IV. Fitness Response to Reciprocal Transplanting in Ecotypes with Differing Plasticity." Oecologia 73(3): 465-468. • Simmons, M. T., S. Windhager, et al. (2007). "Selective and Non-Selective Control of Invasive Plants: The Short-Term Effects of Growing-Season Prescribed Fire, Herbicide, and Mowing in Two Texas Prairies." Restoration Ecology 15(4): 662-669. • Smith, Forrest. Coordinator South Texas Natives. Personal communication 6/2009. • Randall, J. M. (1996). "Weed Control for the Preservation of Biological Diversity." Weed Science Society of America 10: 370-383. • Wilson, S. D. and M. Pärtel (2003). "Extirpation or Coexistence? Management of a Persistent Introduced Grass in a Prairie Restoration." Restoration Ecology 11(4): 410.
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