 |
|
|
|
Project Methods
|
|
 |
|
|
South Texas shrub clippings
Photograph by Forrest Smith |
|
|
|
A healthy ecosystem consists of a diverse group of native plants that includes annual and perennial, cool-season and warm-season, and early colonizer and climax plants. Ultimately, we will produce regional native seed mixes that are genetically adapted to and representative of the diverse ecosystems from which they originate. This ecotype approach differs from local site-collected seed; resulting seed mixes that have been collected over a wider range will have increased long-term survival. This will provide landowners and managers with a readily available and practical choice when selecting seed mixes for re-vegetation and restoration of local native habitats.
|
|
 |
|
|
Checking seed for maturity
Photograph by Forrest Smith |
|
|
|
The Technical Committee selected a group of grasses, forbs, and shrubs based on criteria that emphasize wildlife value, livestock value, drought tolerance, successional stage, commercial potential, and range of each species. Native plants that have good survival rates, seedling emergence and vigor, good fruit and seed production, and persistence under drought conditions will result in consistent levels of field establishment. In restoring large areas, plants must have seed that can be harvested, processed, and planted by conventional mechanical equipment in order to warrant large-scale and economical commercial application.
|
|
 |
|
|
Seed stripper
Photograph by Paula Maywald |
|
|
|
Seed and plant materials will be collected for each species as they mature. At least 2 collections per species for each of the 33 counties in the South Texas region will be acquired if possible; not all species are found in every county. Collecting is highly dependent on rainfall and timing of seed maturation. Currently, most of our native seed is being collected by STN technicians and Texas A&M University-Kingsville student workers. Student youth organizations such as the 4-H Club, Future Farmers of America, and South Texas middle school science classes are also assisting through our Youth Seed Collection Program. Collected seeds will be catalogued by scientific name, collection location (including global position), collection date, soil type, and collector. These native seed collections will then be deposited and catalogued at the USDA-NRCS E. Kika de la Garza Plant Materials Center (PMC), and prepared for selection, testing, and cultivation.
|
|
 |
|
|
Seedling nursery
Photograph by Forrest Smith |
|
|
|
The seed will be cleaned and processed before storage and planting. Grass, forb, and shrub seedlings will be established in greenhouses through collaborative efforts with the PMC and The
Nature Conservancy of Texas. For grasses, approximately 50 transplants from each collection will be planted into field rows. Shrubs and forbs will be germinated and established in shrub nurseries, and then transplanted into field plots. Twenty collections or more of each species are targeted for each eco-region. Plots and nurseries will be irrigated and fertilized; plants will be isolated as necessary to maintain species integrity and diversity for each eco-region. Seeds will then be repeatedly hand harvested to ensure a complete genetic spectrum of seed.
|
|
 |
|
|
Grass plots at the PMC
Photograph by Forrest Smith |
|
|
|
Species will be screened at the PMC for their commercial seed potential, whose seedling transplants will then be used to establish larger 1-acre foundation fields. These fields will be located near the original collection areas to provide similar environmental conditions. The resulting seeds will then be turned over to seed dealers and farmers for commercial large-scale production. We will have at least 4 South Texas locations that represent the diverse soil, temperature and moisture gradients found within the 33 county area. The time frame for this process is 5-10 years.
|
|
