TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of surface roughness and mulch on semi-arid revegetation success, soil chemistry and soil movement
AU - Beggy, Holly M.
AU - Fehmi, Jeffrey S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 The Authors.
Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - For the successful reclamation of disturbed land, the reduction of initial erosion risk must be balanced with later vegetation establishment. A combination of erosion control and revegetation practices was researched using commercial (full-sized) equipment on a semi-desert grassland site in southern Arizona, USA. Two soils with different parent materials were used to add a 30 cm cap on sites at two elevations: 1646 and 1403 m asl. There were two surface roughness treatments: smooth and rough. Three straw mulch treatments were applied: no mulch, mulch incorporated into the surface soil, and mulch tackified onto the surface. Plots were planted with a 10-species native mix dominated by perennial grasses. After two growing seasons, the incorporated mulch treatment resulted in significantly more seeded grass aboveground biomass than the no mulch treatment while the no mulch treatment had more forb and volunteer biomass than the surface mulch treatment. There was significantly higher erosion on the rough surface treatment compared to the smooth surface. Increasing perennial grass biomass was correlated with reduced erosion while forb and volunteer biomass showed no relationship with erosion. The smooth surface with surface mulch best established perennial grasses, minimized weeds, and reduced erosion. This combination of practices both minimized erosion as well as maximized vegetation establishment.
AB - For the successful reclamation of disturbed land, the reduction of initial erosion risk must be balanced with later vegetation establishment. A combination of erosion control and revegetation practices was researched using commercial (full-sized) equipment on a semi-desert grassland site in southern Arizona, USA. Two soils with different parent materials were used to add a 30 cm cap on sites at two elevations: 1646 and 1403 m asl. There were two surface roughness treatments: smooth and rough. Three straw mulch treatments were applied: no mulch, mulch incorporated into the surface soil, and mulch tackified onto the surface. Plots were planted with a 10-species native mix dominated by perennial grasses. After two growing seasons, the incorporated mulch treatment resulted in significantly more seeded grass aboveground biomass than the no mulch treatment while the no mulch treatment had more forb and volunteer biomass than the surface mulch treatment. There was significantly higher erosion on the rough surface treatment compared to the smooth surface. Increasing perennial grass biomass was correlated with reduced erosion while forb and volunteer biomass showed no relationship with erosion. The smooth surface with surface mulch best established perennial grasses, minimized weeds, and reduced erosion. This combination of practices both minimized erosion as well as maximized vegetation establishment.
KW - Arizona
KW - Bouteloua curtipendula
KW - Erosion
KW - Soil pH
KW - Warm-season perennial grasses
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U2 - 10.1016/j.catena.2016.04.011
DO - 10.1016/j.catena.2016.04.011
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84963948214
VL - 143
SP - 215
EP - 220
JO - Catena
JF - Catena
SN - 0341-8162
ER -