We sought to determine 1) the relationship between seedling
establishment rates of target native prairie species and field
levels of three soil nutrients (phosphate, nitrate, and ammonium)
recorded in fall, winter, and summer, 2) the effect of fire on
these three nutrients, and 3) the overall effect of fire on...
Reducing the cover of non-native species is one of the challenges of ecosystem restoration. The goal of this study is to identify native species traits that will increase native species cover and reduce non-native species cover in the first growing season at upland and wetland prairie restoration sites. Native and...
The Willamette Valley (Oregon) Prairie Plant Trait Dataset is a compilation of plant traits of species important in upland prairies, wetland prairies, vernal pools, and emergent wetlands, and in the restoration of prairies and wetlands of the Willamette Valley of Oregon. These species are also found widely throughout the Pacific...
The semi-arid sagebrush steppe ecosystem is one of the largest biomes in
North America. The steppe provides critical habitat and forage for wildlife and is
economically important to recreation and livestock industries. However, the ecosystem
is threatened primarily due to several negative effects associated with expansion of the
exotic annual...
Question: Most results of restoration efforts are species-specific and/or site-specific and therefore are not general enough to be easily applied to other species and other sites. Our research addresses the issue of species-specific results by investigating the feasibility of using plant traits instead of taxonomic species to characterize species responses...
In ecological restoration, species that are sown to increase the native plant
diversity range in establishment ability. Some species readily establish, while others
rarely do. This study set out to investigate some of the potential processes influencing
species establishment, as well as the traits that are associated with the success...
Questions: Are traits related to the performance of plant species in restoration? Are the relationships between traits and performance consistent across the functional groups of annual forbs, perennial forbs, and grasses? Do the relationships between traits and performance depend on neighboring functional groups? Location: A former agricultural field, being restored...
Explaining restoration failure can be as important as touting success. We used a series of studies to understand the failure of techniques commonly used to restore wetland prairies in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon. Burning, fallowing, and solarization (covering tilled plots with plastic sheeting to heat the soil) had...
Seed size, abundance, viability, dormancy, and germination requirements strongly influence plant establishment and therefore are important considerations in restoration of native vegetation. These characteristics provide criteria for selection of suitable species, development of collection and pretreatment methods, and determination of seeding densities. The first set of objectives of this study...
Willamette Valley wetland prairies are some of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States, and provide habitat for many federally listed species (Wilson et al. 1993, Noss et al. 1995, USFWS 2000, Schultz et al. 2003). A rigorous program of ecosystem restoration can protect and enhance wetland plants, animals,...