Henderson, D.

Perez, J. C.

Schellenberg, Michael P.

Wilmshurst, John F.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress Does Pre‐Existing Vegetation Make a Difference for Re‐Establishing Native Shrubs? Michael P. Schellenberg Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada J. C. Perez Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, Canada D. Henderson Environment Canada, Canada John F. Wilmshurst Parks Canada, Canada Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/2-2/1 The 21st International Grassland Congress / 8th International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 瞯 ]346　 瞯 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅰ 　Grasslands/Rangelands Resources and Ecology ——— Soil Quality and Plant NutritionDoes pre‐existing vegetation make a difference for re‐establishing native shrubs ?Schellenberg , M .P .1 ,2 , Perez , J .C .2 , Henderson , D .3 , and W ilmshurst , J .41 Corresponding author , E‐mail : Schellenberg ＠ agr . gc . ca , 2 Semiarid Prairie A gricultural Research Centre , Sw i f tCurrent , Saskatchewan , Canada , S9H 3X2 , 3 Canadian W ildli f e Serv ice , Env ironment Canada , 115 Perimeter Road ,Saskatoon , Saskatchewan , Canada , S7N 0X4 , 4 Western and Northern Serv ice Centre , Parks Canada , 145 McDermotA venue , W innipeg , Manitoba , Canada , R3B 0R9Key word : native plants , re‐establishment , plant / soil interface , microbial populations , PLFAIntroduction There exists within the Canadian prairies large areas seeded to monocultures of introduced grass species .Introduced species cover large areas of land in North America . Smooth brome grass ( Bromus inermis ) is one of the moreplentiful . Chosen for agronomic reasons but is also known for its invasive potential for surrounding native grassland . This grassas a monoculture is susceptible to many of the shortcomings found with monocultures such as increased sensitivity toenvironmental events , low diversity in structure and species ( fauna and flora) , and lower long term productivity . There existsa need to increase diversity by replacing and/ or re‐establishing native species to increase biodiversity both from an ecologicalperspective as well as sustainability perspective . This work has set out to determine the differences which occur betweenalluvial soils beneath stands dominated by smooth brome , native grass ( dominated by A gropy ron ssp .) and buffalo berry( Sheperdia argentea) for establishment of two native shrubs ; silver sage ( A rtemisia cana) and buffalo berry .Materials and methods Topsoil was harvested from under stands of smooth brome ( Br) , native prairie ( N ) and buffalo berry(Bb) . The soil was air‐dried , large root fragments were removed , and then the soil was placed in １ litre cardboard milkcartons . Seedlings of buffalo berry and silver sage were placed within individual cartons using a ２ by ３ factorial randomcomplete block design with １０ replicates . Growing conditions within the greenhouse were : constant temperature of ２１ ℃ with１２ hr of light . One centimeter of sand was placed on surface of the soils to eliminate the possibility of cross contamination fromwind‐blown or water‐splashed soil among cartons . Water was applied daily . Soil microbial populations were characterized usingphospholipid fatty acid analysis ( PLFA) before and after plants were grown . Prior to germination seeds were surface sterilized .Plants were grown in cartons for a period of ４ months . Both above‐and below‐ground biomass data are presented and PLFAresults . ANOVA for statistical analysis of biomass and discriminant analysis for PLFA results were done . A correlation matrixwas calculated for plant variables and relative PLFA changes .Results and discussion Buffalo berry seedlings initially showed a response to the Bb soil but final shoot biomass was not different( P ＞ ０ .０５) w ith a mean of ２ .９ g for all soil types . Root biomass did differ ( P ＜ ０ .０５) with Bb soil having a root biomass of １ .１ g while Br and N both had ０ .８ g . Under buffalo berry most of the discrimination is explained by PLFA iso c１７ :０ ＋ c１７ andc１５ :０ . Also the changes occurring in c１５ :０ and c１６ :０ are important in distinguishing among soils . These phospholipids areabundant in bacteria of the genus Frankia , associated with the nitrogen fixing shrub buffalo berry . Sage seedlings differed inshoot biomass in all soil types ( P ＜ ０ .０５) : Bb １ .６g , Br １ .１ g and N ０ .８ g . Sage root biomass was greatest ( P ＜ ０ .０５) in Bb１ .２ g while Br had ０ .６ g which did not differ from ０ .４ g obtained from N . The correlation matrix among plant variables andrelative PLFA changes indicate that c１５ :０ was the most influential PLFA signature in the soil . Plant biomass was negativelycorrelated with c１５ :０ concentration across all soils . Bb soil contained the highest initial concentration of this marker suggestingthat sage grow th in this soil may have benefited from the presence of the nitrogen fixing bacteria associated with buffalo berryplants . Bb soil resulted in both shrub species having an initially greater ( P ＜ ０ .０５) grow th rate .Conclusions Our results indicate what covers the soil originally has an effect in grow th potential of re‐established species . Thisdifference is attributed to differences in soil microbial populations . The symbiotic relationship between Frankia and buffaloberry negated any advantage of soil type for this shrub摧s shoot biomass but a potentially higher initial concentration in Bb wouldappear to have benefited root grow th . Response of species to soil type in this work was species specific .

Does Pre‐Existing Vegetation Make a Difference for Re‐Establishing Native Shrubs?

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2513&amp;context=igc

Does Pre‐Existing Vegetation Make a Difference for Re‐Establishing Native Shrubs?

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