Native Plant Revegetation Manual for Denali National Park and Preserve Information and Technology Report USGS/BRD/ITR-2000-0006 O.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey USGS cience for a changing world Technical Report Series The Biological Resources Division publishes scientific and technical articles and reports resulting from the research performed by our scientists and partners. These articles appear in professional journals around the world. Reports are published in two report series: Biological Science Reports and Information and Technology Reports. Series Descriptions Biological Science Reports ISSN 1081-292X Information and Technology Reports ISSN 1081-2911 This series records the significant findings resulting from These reports are intended for publication of book-length sponsored and co-sponsored research programs. They may monographs; synthesis documents; compilations of include extensive data or theoretical analyses. 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Printed on recycled stock Native Plant Revegetation Manual for Denali National Park and Preserve Information and Technology Report USGS/BRD/ITR-2000-0006 March 2000 By Roseann V. Densmore, Mark E. Vander Meer, and Nancy G. Dunkle U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division Alaska Science Center 1011 East Tudor Road Anchorage, Alaska 99503 Suggested citation: Densmore, R.V., M.E. Vander Meer, and N.G. Dunkle. 2000. Native plant revegetation manual for Denali National Park and Preserve. U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Information and Technology Report USGS/ BRD/ITR-2000-0006. 42 pp. Contents Page Abstract ..................................................................................._ 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 1 The Ecological Setting.................................................................................................................................................. 2 Climate ....................................................................................................................................................... 2 Plant Communities ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Subarctic Plant Ecology ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Gene Pool Conservation........................................................................................................................................ 5 Planning aRevegetationProject................................................................................................................................... 5 Assessing Severity of Disturbance ........................................................................................................................ 6 Assessing Abiotic Site Characteristics................................................................................................................... 6 Assessing Biotic Site Characteristics .................................................................................................................... 8 Setting Goals .............................................................. 8 Choosing a Technique ........................................................................................................................................... 9 Revegetation Techniques .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Selection of Revegetation Species......................................................................................................................... 9 Natural Revegetation........................................................................................................................................... 10 Legume and Wheatgrass Seeding Technique ...................................................................................................... 10 Grasses for Erosion Control................................................................................................................................ 13 Erosion Control Mats .......................................................................................................................................... 14 Plant Salvage and Transplant............................................................................................................................... 15 Bioengineering Techniques ................................................................................................................................. 18 Container-Grown Plants ...................................................................................................................................... 22 Alder Seedlings ................................................................................................................................................... 26 Willow Cuttings................................................................................................................................................... 28 Autumn Seed Blitz Technique ............................................................................................................................. 30 Project Protection Techniques ............................................................................................................................. 30 Revegetation Results .................................................................................................................................................. 31 Five-Year Results of Seeding a Legume and Grass Mix and Planting Container-Grown Seedlings ................... 31 Vegetative Change in Transplanted Sod .............................................................................................................. 34 Species Tested and/or Used for Native Plant Revegetation ................................................................................ 35 Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................................................... 40 Glossary ................................................................................. 40 Literature Cited........................................................................................................................................................... 41 in Figures Page 1 Diagram of a spruce tree showing the spreading, shallow root system.............................................................. 4 2 Generalized soil profiles based on data from DNPP ......................................................................................... 6 3 Hedysarum alpinum which naturally revegetated the road fill slope near the 13-mile marker on the Park Road............................................................................................................................................... 11 4 Hedysarum alpinum, Oxytropis campestris, and wheatgrass plants, seeded onroadfill.................................................................._ 5 Park Road fill slope 5 years after seeding with legume and wheatgrass mix.................................................... 11 6 Park Road cut slope near the 20-mile marker 3 years after seeding with Oxytropis campestris, wheatgrass, and annual ryegrass ....................................................................................................................... 11 7 The entrance sign parking lot during and 5 years after construction ............................................................... 15 8 Vegetation mat immediately after it was salvaged from the Visitor Access Center parking lot and transplanted around the building, and the same area 5 years later.......................................... 15 9 Brush bar pattern on reconstructed floodplain................................................................................................. 20 10 Brush bars along channel reach (shown in Fig. 9) 6 years after installation.................................................... 20 11 Individual brush bar 6 years after construction, with feltleaf willow growing from sprouted buried branches................................................................................................................................................ 20 12 Feltleaf willows stabilizing streambank