Promising results in central Alberta with rough fescue (Festuca hallii) seeding following disturbance

Abstract

Plains rough fescue (<i>Festuca hallii</i> (Vasey) Piper [Poaceae]), once dominant in rough fescue grasslands of central Canada and the northern US, recovers poorly if disturbed by cattle grazing or oil and gas production soil handling techniques. This long-lived bunchgrass requires 3 to 5 y to become established, during which time it may be exposed to competition from faster-growing species. Our first research objective was to assess the recovery of <i>F. hallii</i> by comparing a monoculture seeding to a mixed seeding of native grass (Poaceae) species including <i>F. hallii</i>, <i>Koeleria macrantha</i> (Ledeb.) Schult., <i>Elymus trachycaulus</i> (Link) Gould ex Shinners ssp. <i>subsecundus</i> (Link) Á. Löve &amp; D. Löve, <i>Pascopyrum smithii</i> (Rydb.) Á. Löve, <i>Nassella viridula</i> (Trin.) Barkworth, <i>Hesperostipa comata</i> (Trin. &amp; Rupr.) Barkworth, and <i>Bouteloua gracilis</i> (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths. Our second objective was to evaluate plant community development of both seeding mixes. We established seeding experiments on 3 field sites in central Alberta, Canada. When seeded as a monoculture, the <i>F. hallii</i> plant community that resulted included native species re-established from the seedbank or seed rain, such as <i>Helictotrichon hookeri</i> (Scribn.) Henr. (Poaceae). In the native species seed mix, wheatgrasses (<i>E. trachycaulus</i> ssp. <i>subsecundus</i> and <i>P. smithii</i>) dominated in the first 3 y with low <i>F. hallii</i> cover. We recommend seeding <i>F. hallii</i> with few or no aggressive species, such as wheatgrasses, in the seed mix.