Vascular Plants of the Hanford Site
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PNNL-13688 Vascular Plants of the Hanford Site M. R. Sackschewsky J. L. Downs September 2001 Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC06-76RL01830 DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor Battelle Memorial Institute, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or Battelle Memorial Institute. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY operated by BATTELLE for the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY under Contract DE-AC06-76RL01830 Printed in the United States of America Available to DOE and DOE contractors from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0062; ph: (865) 576-8401 fax: (865) 576-5728 email: [email protected] Available to the public from the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161 ph: (800) 553-6847 fax: (703) 605-6900 email: [email protected] online ordering: http://www.ntis.gov/ordering.htm This document was printed on recycled paper. (8/00) PNNL-13688 Vascular Plants of the Hanford Site M. R. Sackschewsky J. L. Downs September 2001 Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC06-76RL01830 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland, Washington 99352 Executive Summary This report provides an updated listing of the vascular plants present on and near the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site. This document updates a listing of plants prepared by Sackschewsky et al. (1992). Since that time, the botanical knowledge of the Hanford Site has significantly increased. The current listing is based on an examination of herbarium collections held at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Washington State University (WSU)-Tri Cities, WSU-Pullman, Brigham Young University, and the University of Washington, and on examination of ecological literature derived from the Hanford Site and Benton County areas over the last 100 years. Based on the most recent analysis, there are approximately 725 different plant species that have been documented on or around the Hanford Site. This represents an approximate 20% increase in the number of species reported in Sackschewsky et al. (1992). This listing directly supports DOE and contractor efforts to assess the potential impacts of Hanford Site operations on the biological environment, including impacts to rare habitats and species listed as endangered or threatened. This document includes a listing of plants currently listed as endangered, threatened, or otherwise of concern to the Washington Natural Heritage Program or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as those that are currently listed as noxious weeds by the state of Washington. Also provided is an overview of how plants on the Hanford Site can be used by people. This information may be useful in developing risk assessment models and as supporting information for clean-up level and remediation decisions. iii Acknowledgments The preparation of this document would not have been possible without the contributions of many people. The contributions of Dan Landeen and Gary Baird to the 1992 version of The Vascular Plants of the Hanford Site formed much of the basis for this document. Katy Beck and Florence Caplow of Calypso Consulting were very generous with the data they collected on the Hanford Site during the mid to late 1990s. Katy Beck also reviewed this document several times, and provided many useful comments and suggestions. Georganne O’Connor provided a much needed editorial review. Lila Andor, Kathy Neiderhiser, and Elaine Schneider provided text processing support. The cover drawing of Oenothera pallida was prepared by Melaine Hess-Robinson. Programmatic support as well as personal encourage- ment for this project was provided by Dana Ward. Finally, we would both like to acknowledge the guidance and mentoring that we have received over the years from Dr. Bill Rickard. v Contents Executive Summary........................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................................. v 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1.1 1.1 Basis for the Hanford Site Plant List................................................................................. 1.4 1.2 Summary of the Hanford Plant List .................................................................................. 1.6 1.3 Document Contents and Uses ........................................................................................... 1.6 2.0 Plant Communities on the Hanford Site .................................................................................... 2.1 2.1 Shrub-Steppe Plant Communities ..................................................................................... 2.4 2.1.1 Big Sagebrush/Sandberg’s Bluegrass .................................................................. 2.8 2.1.2 Big Sagebrush or Bitterbrush/Needle-and-Thread Grass .................................... 2.8 2.1.3 Bitterbrush/Indian Ricegrass and Dune Complex................................................ 2.8 2.1.4 Sand Dropseed-Sandberg’s Bluegrass................................................................. 2.9 2.1.5 Greasewood/Saltgrass and Spiny Hopsage/Sandberg’s Bluegrass ...................... 2.9 2.1.6 Big Sagebrush/Bluebunch Wheatgrass................................................................ 2.10 2.1.7 Threetip Sagebrush/Bluebunch Wheatgrass ........................................................ 2.10 2.1.8 Plant Communities on Lithosols.......................................................................... 2.10 2.1.9 Abandoned Fields ................................................................................................ 2.11 2.1.10 Rare Plant Communities and Element Occurrences ............................................ 2.12 2.2 Disturbance Effects on Habitats and Seral Stages............................................................. 2.12 3.0 Vascular Plants of the Hanford Site........................................................................................... 3.1 4.0 Hanford Site Plant Species of Special Concern......................................................................... 4.1 4.1 Rare Plants of the Hanford Site......................................................................................... 4.1 4.2 Noxious Weeds on the Hanford Site ................................................................................. 4.6 5.0 Ethnobotany of the Hanford Site............................................................................................... 5.1 5.1 Edible Plants of the Hanford Site...................................................................................... 5.1 5.2 Poisonous Plants of the Hanford Site................................................................................ 5.4 5.3 Medicinal Plants of the Hanford Site ................................................................................ 5.4 5.4 Fiber and Dye Plants of the Hanford Site.......................................................................... 5.9 6.0 References ................................................................................................................................. 6.1 vii Appendix A – Alphabetical Listing by Genus ................................................................................... A.1 Appendix B – Alphabetical Listing by Family .................................................................................. B.1 Figures 1.1 Approximate Boundaries of the Region Included in the Hanford Site Plant List ..................... 1.2 1.2 Major Geographic Features of the Hanford Site........................................................................ 1.3 2.1 Shaded Relief Map of the Hanford Site Indicating Dominant Topographic Features............... 2.2 2.2 Soils Map for the Benton County Portion of the Hanford Site.................................................. 2.3 2.3 Vegetation Cover Types Found on the Hanford Site before the 2000 Command Fire.............. 2.5 2.4 Locations and Types of Element Occurrences on the Hanford Site.......................................... 2.13 Tables 1.1 Phylogenetic Distribution of Hanford Site Vascular Plants ...................................................... 1.6 2.1 Common Shrub-Steppe Plant Communities of the Hanford Site .............................................. 2.7 4.1 Plant Species of Concern on and Around the Hanford Site......................................................