Revegetation Research on Coal Mine Overburden Materials in Interior to Southcentral Alaska

This report was reprinted from Focus on Alaska's Coal '86: Proceedings of the Conference MIRL Report Number 72. The pagination in the original publication has been retained. Focus on Alaska's Coal '86 was published in July 1987 by Mineral Industry Research Laboratory, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-1180.Plant material, and planting and fertilizer scheduling studies were conducted on coal mine overburden materials in the Nenana coal field at the Usibelli coal mine near Healy, in the Matanuska coal field at the Jonesville mine north of Anchorage, and at two test pits in the Beluga coal field west of Anchorage. With proper fertilization a number of grasses were found to maintain adequate cover for soil stabilization purposes over the five-to-seven-years of the various trials. The consistently good performers were entries of tufted hairgrass, Bering hairgrass, red fescue, hard fescue polar-grass, and Kentucky bluegrass. Most were native to Alaska. Some northern -selected materials of alfalfa did well on sites below timberline with near neutral soils. Fertilizer responses and indicated nutrient requirements indicated a preferred schedule of fertilizer applications in the first and third, and possibly fifth or sixth growing years. Seedings conducted from spring, in late May, into summer, in late July, produced equally satisfactory results

Circular 32

Management objectives of some revegetation plantings encourage the use of native species. Where reinstatement of a native flora is desired, the inclusion of suitable native materials can hasten the process. Further, properly adapted native plants may provide a persistent, winterhardy cover requiring little management. The use of poorly adapted introduced grasses can result in stand decimation, such as that experienced along southcentral Alaska’s roadsides after the severe winter of 1975-1976 (Klebesadel, 1977). Tests have revealed, however, that not all indigenous materials are suitable for revegetation purposes. Some have been insufficiently winterhardy for general use, as apparently their ability to persist in their native habitat is related to the particular set of conditions in which they occur. Susceptibility to diseases or failure to persist well in a dense stand militates against the use of certain native types. Growth form also must be considered. If the objective of a planting is to maintain a fairly uniform , turf-like growth, then tall, coarse-growing plants should be avoided. Patience is required in the use of native plants in that their seedling vigor is often low compared to that of m any commercially available cultivars, and the natives may be suppressed when seeded along with more vigorous cultivars. The investigations on revegetation in conjunction with the Prudhoe Bay oil field and trans- Alaska pipeline activities have resulted in the release o f three cultivars derived from indigenous Alaskan materials. Many o f the collections for these cultivars were made prior to 1969 and some date back to 1966. The establishment of this material in small nurseries at the Palmer Experiment Station prior to the oil field activity enabled seed to be obtained for the early testing programs. The three cultivars were developed primarily for revegetation purposes and are particularly important to arctic rehabilitation efforts (Mitchell, 1978) where the need for additional material is most pressing. One cultivar, Tundra, is recommended strictly for arctic use. The other two, Alyeska and Sourdough, can be applied throughout mainland Alaska in appropriate situations. The latter two may also have application as forage grasses in areas where other available materials may be poorly adapted.Preface -- Introduction -- Varieties: Tundra Glaucous Bluegrass, Alaska Polargrass, Sourdough Bluejoint Reedgrass -- Summary -- Acknowledgements -- Reference

2D and 3D Dense-Fluid Shear Flows via Nonequilibrium Molecular Dynamics. Comparison of Time-and-Space-Averaged Tensor Temperature and Normal Stresses from Doll's, Sllod, and Boundary-Driven Shear Algorithms

Homogeneous shear flows (with constant strainrate du/dy) are generated with the Doll's and Sllod algorithms and compared to corresponding inhomogeneous boundary-driven flows. We use one-, two-, and three-dimensional smooth-particle weight functions for computing instantaneous spatial averages. The nonlinear stress differences are small, but significant, in both two and three space dimensions. In homogeneous systems the sign and magnitude of the shearplane stress difference, P(xx) - P(yy), depend on both the thermostat type and the chosen shearflow algorithm. The Doll's and Sllod algorithms predict opposite signs for this stress difference, with the Sllod approach definitely wrong, but somewhat closer to the (boundary-driven) truth. Neither of the homogeneous shear algorithms predicts the correct ordering of the kinetic temperatures, T(xx) > T(zz) > T(yy).Comment: 34 pages with 12 figures, under consideration by Physical Review

Circular 45

This circular provides guidance on fertilizing native hay meadows of bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis) on the lower Kenai Peninsula. It is based on a num ber o f experim ental trials conducted by the authors on Kachemak silt loam soil at various sites near Homer

The economic impacts of climate change: Evidence from agricultural output and random fluctuations in weather: Comment

In a series of studies employing a variety of approaches, we have found that the potential impact of climate change on US agriculture is likely negative. Deschênes and Greenstone (2007) report dramatically different results based on regressions of agricultural profits and yields on weather variables. The divergence is explained by (1) missing and incorrect weather and climate data in their study; (2) their use of older climate change projections rather than the more recent and less optimistic projections from the Fourth Assessment Report; and (3) difficulties in their profit measure due to the confounding effects of storage

NVO-172

P R E P A R E D F O R T H E UNITED STATES ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION NEVADA OPERATIONS OFFICE Under Contract No AT(29-2)-20/Purchase Order DB-845A With Holmes and N arver, Inc.Revegetation studies commenced by the Alaskan Agricultural Experiment Station in 1970 on Amchitka Island culminated in 1973 with the seeding of disturbed areas associated with the nuclear testing program. Cool temperatures coupled with strong winds and a high incidence of fog and cloud cover impose a tundra aspect on Amchitka, one of Alaska's most southerly land areas. Natural revegetation is undependable for the near term. Twenty-two perennial grasses, two clovers, and four annual grasses were tested on different soil types at low to medium-high (480 ft) elevation sites. At higher elevations severe winds and frost action maintain a barren-ground aspect. Relatively humic, acidic sites were the least favorable, a test site gravel pad the most favorable. Cultivars of red fescue--Boreal, Pennlawn, and Highlight chewings— and an experimental entry of Bering hairgrass, taxa conspecific with species found on the island, and Engmo timothy performed the best. Kentucky bluegrasses and reed canarygrass grew moderately well. Wheatgrasses, wildrye, bromegrass, creeping foxtail, grandis alkaligrass, redtop bentgrass, and white and alsike clover performed unsatisfactorily at some or all of the sites. The revegetation seeding mix included Boreal red fescue, Highlight chewings fescue, Bering hairgrass, and annual ryegrass. Fertilization was necessary to establish plants on most sites. Plants responded erratically to added N on relatively humic, acidic soils, but more normally on gravelly and subsoil sites. Raising the P ration improved fertilizer response. Fertilization greatly enhanced growth on a disturbed site undergoing natural revegetation.Introduction -- Preliminary Investigations -- Procedures and Site Descriptions: Planting Sites, Planting Trials, Fertilizer Trial on Bare Area -- Results and Discussion: 1971 Performance, 1972 and 1973 Performance of Row Plantings, Ecotypic Differences, Broadcast Plots at Sites 1-4, Broadcast Plots at Galion Pit, Fertilizer Trial on Bare Area, Reproductive Fertility of Planted Materials, Recommendations for Revegetation -- Summary -- Acknowledgements -- Literature Cite