TY - JOUR
T1 - Rock structures improve seedling establishment, litter catchment, fungal richness, and soil moisture in the first year after installation
AU - Martyn, Trace E.
AU - Barberán, Albert
AU - Blankinship, Joseph C.
AU - Miller, Mary
AU - Yang, Ben
AU - Kline, Albert
AU - Gornish, Elise S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - Grasslands are essential natural and agricultural ecosystems that encompass over one-third of global lands. However, land conversion and poor management have caused losses of these systems which contributed to a 10% reduction of net primary production, a 4% increase in carbon emissions, and a potential loss of US $42 billion a year. It is, therefore, important to restore, enhance and conserve these grasslands to sustain natural plant communities and the livelihoods of those that rely on them. We installed low cost rock structures (media lunas) to assess their ability to restore grasslands by slowing water flow, reducing erosion and improving plant establishment. Our treatments included sites with small and large rock structures that were seeded with a native seed mix as well as sites with no seed or rock and sites with only seed addition. We collected summer percent cover for plants, litter, and rock and spring seedling count data. We also collected soil for nutrient, moisture, and microbial analysis. Within the first year, we found no change in plant cover between rock structures of two rock sizes. We did find, however, an increase in soil moisture, litter, fungal richness, and spring seedling germination within the rock structures, despite a historic drought. This work demonstrates that rock structures can positively impact plants and soils of grasslands even within the first year. Our results suggest that managers should seriously consider employing these low-cost structures to increase short-term plant establishment and possibly, soil health, in grasslands.
AB - Grasslands are essential natural and agricultural ecosystems that encompass over one-third of global lands. However, land conversion and poor management have caused losses of these systems which contributed to a 10% reduction of net primary production, a 4% increase in carbon emissions, and a potential loss of US $42 billion a year. It is, therefore, important to restore, enhance and conserve these grasslands to sustain natural plant communities and the livelihoods of those that rely on them. We installed low cost rock structures (media lunas) to assess their ability to restore grasslands by slowing water flow, reducing erosion and improving plant establishment. Our treatments included sites with small and large rock structures that were seeded with a native seed mix as well as sites with no seed or rock and sites with only seed addition. We collected summer percent cover for plants, litter, and rock and spring seedling count data. We also collected soil for nutrient, moisture, and microbial analysis. Within the first year, we found no change in plant cover between rock structures of two rock sizes. We did find, however, an increase in soil moisture, litter, fungal richness, and spring seedling germination within the rock structures, despite a historic drought. This work demonstrates that rock structures can positively impact plants and soils of grasslands even within the first year. Our results suggest that managers should seriously consider employing these low-cost structures to increase short-term plant establishment and possibly, soil health, in grasslands.
KW - Grassland
KW - Media luna
KW - Plant cover
KW - Restoration
KW - Soil microbial
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U2 - 10.1007/s00267-022-01651-6
DO - 10.1007/s00267-022-01651-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 35487980
AN - SCOPUS:85129132220
SN - 0364-152X
VL - 70
SP - 134
EP - 145
JO - Environmental Management
JF - Environmental Management
IS - 1
ER -