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A Workshop on the Uses and Importance of Native Plants of Saskatchewan

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A Workshop on the Uses and Importance of Native Plants of Saskatchewan A WORKSHOP ON THE USES AND IMPORTANCE OF NATIVE PLANTS OF SASKATCHEWAN PROCEEDINGS September 21 and 22, 1994 Travel Lodge Inn Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration Ducks Unlimited Canada Pasture and Grazing Technology Program A WORKSHOP ON THE USES AND IMPORTANCE OF NATIVE PLANTS OF SASKATCHEWAN PROCEEDINGS Compiled and Edited by Michel Tremblay September 21 and 22, 1994 Travel Lodge Inn Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration Ducks Unlimited Canada Pasture and Grazing Technology Program WORKSHOP ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Dr. Thomas O. Dill Grazing and Pasture Technology Program Canada Centre Building P.O. Box 4752 Regina, Sask. S4P 3Y4 Keith LePoudre Ducks Unlimited Canada Box 4465, 1606-4th Ave Regina, Sask. S4P 3W7 Chris Nykoluk Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration 1800 Hamilton St. Regina, Sask. S4P 4L2 Michel Tremblay Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food 3085 Albert St. Regina, Sask S4S 0B1 WORKSHOP PLANNING COMMITTEE Dr. Bruce Coulman, Phil Curry, Keith LePoudre, Dorothy Murrell Chris Nykoluk, Dr. Bob Redmann, Michel Tremblay, Dr. John Waddington, Dr. Scott Wright SPONSORING AGENCIES DUCKS UNLIMITED CANADA PRAIRIE FARM REHABILITATION ADMINISTRATION SASKATCHEWAN AGRICULTURE AND FOOD NEWFIELD SEEDS LTD SOCIETY FOR RANGE MANAGEMENT SASKATCHEWAN WHEAT POOL SASKATCHEWAN ENERGY TABLE OF CONTENTS Native Plant Materials - Present and Future Ann Smreciu ....................................................................................................................................... 5 The Natural Vegetation of Saskatchewan Dr. Jeffrey Thorpe .............................................................................................................................. 10 An Overview of The Flora of Saskatchewan Dr. Vern L. Harms ............................................................................................................................. 15 Uses of Native Plant Material in Saskatchewan - an Overview Chris Nykoluk .................................................................................................................................... 19 Beautifying a Landscape With Native Plants Luc Delanoy ....................................................................................................................................... 22 Historical Use of Native Plants as Food Anna Leighton .................................................................................................................................... 25 Use of Native Woody Plants in a Xeriscape Horticultural Context Sara Williams ..................................................................................................................................... 28 Education/Ecotourism Curt Schroeder ............................................................................................................... ...not available Wildlife Habitat: The Concept of Biodiversity Philip S.Taylor ................................................................................................................... ............... 35 Agriculture - Grazing of Native Range Dr. Thomas O. Dill ............................................................................................................. ............... 37 Ethics and Consequences of Harvest from Natural Areas Dr. R. E. Redmann ............................................................................................................. ............... 40 A Definition of Native Plant Material Dr. Scott Wright.................................................................................................................. not available Dean Nernberg ................................................................................................................... ............... 48 Development and Management of Native Plant Materials Highlights - Joanne Joyce .................................................................................................. ............... 51 Seed Production - Gary Kruger ......................................................................................... ............... 70 Reclamation - Carl Block ....................................................................................................not available Back to the Future: Restoration Issues in Grasslands National Park Dr. Stephen McCanny ........................................................................................................ .... 80 Native Seed Experiences Keith LePoudre .................................................................................................................. ............... 82 Seed Supply of Native Grasses Dorothy Murrell ................................................................................................................. ............... 87 Appendix I - participant list ............................................................................................... ............... 94 5 NATIVE PLANT MATERIALS - PRESENT AND FUTURE Ann Smreciu Wild Rose Consulting, Inc. 3525 41 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta. T6L 5S5 In the not too distant past, land disturbances due to extraction of resources were relatively small. As global economies grew and with the advent of multinational corporations, there has been a tremendous increase in the size of extraction operations (mining, forestry, agriculture, etc.) and the disturbances caused by the infrastructure to support these activities (e.g. roads, railways, and pipelines). Although, the use of our natural resources has accelerated rapidly in the last five decades, there has not been a comparable increase in the knowledge base and the technology to repair the disturbances caused by this increased use of resources. When disturbances were relatively small they were often left and the natural processes of succession took over. As larger and larger disturbances occurred the slow process of succession did not keep up and more and more of the land base was disturbed at any one time. The aesthetics of these disturbances, along with the increased public awareness regarding the need to preserve and conserve our natural areas lead to a move toward 'fixing' the disturbances. When reclamation began and one of the components was revegetation, the first step was to use plants that were available and that had a reasonable potential for success; success being defined as green cover (the thicker the better). Only recently, has there been an greater interest in using native plants - particularly in Alberta. This interest grew out of concerns about revegetating areas for which no agronomic species was adapted. In Alberta, this interest began primarily at high elevations because few of the introduced agronomic species were adapted to the short growing season, or the dry, soilless conditions. The move to use native plants in other regions is not as advanced because the agronomic species are adapted and do provide a green cover. Since the move to use native plants has grown, we have also found that the introduction and/or large scale use of aggressive, persistent non-native agronomic species can (and has in some cases) lead to weed problems, and monocultures. It would be ideal if, when planning reclamation or revegetation for a particular site, native plant species were the standard, however this is not the case. Therefore with almost every project there is still a large component of convincing a client or land user that native plants are the most appropriate option. In most cases of revegetation and reclamation in Alberta at this time the standard is to use a mixture of agronomic species; primarily grasses, with some legumes. Native species are not the plants of choice for three reasons: 1. lack of knowledge, 2. availability, and 3. cost The lack of information concerning the benefits of native plants versus introduced species is enormous. We need a greater understanding of biological diversity and its role in natural systems and the possible problems associated with loss of plant species and or genetic diversity. We also need an understanding of ecological principles such as the role of competition and ecological succession. We, as plant ecologists and environmentalists, have long been aware that diversity is one of the keys to success of any plant community and that this applies directly to revegetation and reclamation projects. Although diversity is often interpreted solely as the number of different species in a given community, we must also concern ourselves about diversity within species; the genetic variation within a species that allows a species to adapt to a range of edaphic and biotic 6 conditions. The need for diversity is one of the first considerations when we choose species for reclamation. As important as diversity is, there are other non-biological considerations; availability of plant material and cost of the material. There are an increasing number of commercial seed producers interested in producing native plants for use in reclamation and revegetation. However, the lack of knowledge and understanding of the basic biology and agronomy of most species has limited their ability to produce material in large quantities. We know that it takes more than just assumptions that native plants are a better choice to convince even the most environmentally sensitive decision-makers, to loosen the purse strings. Until commercial producers can streamline the production of native plants the cost of these materials
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