The 2008 Joint Meeting of the Society for Range Management and the America Forage and Grassland Council. |
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 - 8:00 AM
Assessment of Methods to Capture Seeds from Streams
Kristina Horn, Agricultural Sciences Program, Oregon State University and Eastern Oregon University, One University Blvd., La Grande, OR 97850 and Anne Bartuszevige, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center - Union, Oregon State University, P.O. E, 372 S. 10th St, Union, OR 97883.
Assessment of methods to capture seeds from streams
Kristina Horn & Anne Bartuszevige
Seed dispersal via streams and relationships between water- dispersed seeds and seed banks along streams banks have not been well documented. The purpose of this study was to identify methods of seed capture to enable further study of invasive plant dispersal via streams in easternOregon . First we selected 5 different types of fabric we hypothesized would collect seeds from the water. We tested each of these fabrics by scooping up 100 seeds per replication of Poa pratensis, Potentilla recta, and Descurainia sophia . After determining the 2 types of fabric that captured the most seeds, we placed nets with those fabrics in a drainage ditch with flowing water. We dropped 100 Poa pratensis seeds in water at different distances from the net (1, 5, 10 m) and counted seeds that were captured. Then we place 10 equally spaced nets of the 2 best fabric types in drainage ditch for a week. After one week we counted seeds captured in nets and germinated them in a greenhouse. In a related project, we collected soil samples from Catherine Creek riparian area to determine then number and types of seeds that may germinate from a riparian area.
We determined the mesh netting and cheesecloth fabrics captured the highest number of seeds. In the second test, cheesecloth captured 161/3000 P. pratensis seeds and mesh netting captured 95/3000 seeds. We counted 405 seeds in the cheesecloth nets and 237 seeds in the mesh nets after one week in the drainage ditch. Both ditch trials, mimicking real-life setting of eastern Oregon streams, verified successful net capture of seed. Three trials set the stage for future investigation in larger stream to determine water-dispersal of seeds and seed bank composition of riparian areas.
Kristina Horn & Anne Bartuszevige
Seed dispersal via streams and relationships between water- dispersed seeds and seed banks along streams banks have not been well documented. The purpose of this study was to identify methods of seed capture to enable further study of invasive plant dispersal via streams in eastern
We determined the mesh netting and cheesecloth fabrics captured the highest number of seeds. In the second test, cheesecloth captured 161/3000 P. pratensis seeds and mesh netting captured 95/3000 seeds. We counted 405 seeds in the cheesecloth nets and 237 seeds in the mesh nets after one week in the drainage ditch. Both ditch trials, mimicking real-life setting of eastern Oregon streams, verified successful net capture of seed. Three trials set the stage for future investigation in larger stream to determine water-dispersal of seeds and seed bank composition of riparian areas.