Agricultural Experiment Station, School of Agriculture and Land Resources Management, University of Alaska
Abstract
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