Bureau of Reclamation Grant: Advancing Native Seed Bank and Plant Establishment at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge

Task 1
Conduct a seed bank study to test the effects of tilling/watering/tilling cycles on reducing weed species in the seed bank. Half of the field will be tilled and watered then tilled again 3 or more times throughout the first year. Soil will be collected before each scheduled cycle to document changes in the seed bank. This will allow comparisons between treatment (with tilling cycles) versus no treatment (no tilling cycles) and how “clearing” the seed bank multiple times before planting may increase success of native grass and forb establishment.

Task 2:
Develop techniques to establish native grasses and herbaceous perennial forbs while suppressing establishment of invasive species. Following the completion of the seed bank study, planting, seeding, and weed suppression treatments will begin. This task will be conducted in the research greenhouse facility at UNLV. The soil will be placed in pots and watered to promote germination of any seeds that are in the soil samples. All plants will be counted and identified by species as they develop. When germination slows, gibberelic acid will be applied to encourage more germination.

This modification is enhancing Task 2 from the original agreement. To include the following enhancements:
• Phase 1 – Experimental seeding: Seed plots species of native grasses and forbs (monocultures and mixes)
• Phase 2: Collecting and cataloging native seed: Establish a collection of locally adapted native seed useful for future restoration efforts
• Phase 3 – Native forb and grass planting: Determine effective planting techniques that may increase the survival of native plantings while testing different methods of weed suppression and control.