Evaluation of Enhanced Panicum amarum Establishment through Fragment Plantings and Humic Acid Amendment

Abstract

The ability of the dune grass Panicum amarum to resprout from vegetative fragments as well as the response of this species to a commercially available soil conditioner (humic acid) were evaluated using a factorial design in a greenhouse setting. A general trend of greater P. amarum biomass production with humic acid amendment was noted. Panicum amarum growth did not demonstrate either an asymptote or decline with the highest level of humic acid addition, indicating that its growth may potentially be further enhanced by humic acid levels greater than those used in this study. The survivorship of P. amarum fragments (belowground fragment material only and aboveground material fragment only) were comparable with whole-plant planting success with high survivorship noted for all three planting approaches. As anticipated, the whole-plant planting treatments resulted in the greatest total biomass, followed by the belowground-only plantings, which had greater biomass production than the aboveground-only plantings. Overall, the addition of commercial humic acid to the soil during the planting of P. amarum appears to have the potential for enhancing establishment and growth. Importantly, this research demonstrates that the use of P. amarum fragments may be a successful alternative approach in projects where it may be desirable to double planting densities or in situations where whole plant transportation is logistically difficult. Further evaluations of these restoration methods under more realistic field scenarios with longer monitoring of effects are required to determine fully the benefits of these techniques.