Finally, a much-needed seed recommendation selection tool has been published by the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK).
This seed selection tool represents more than 20 years of native plant and native seed research from the statewide collaborative effort, the Texas Native Seeds Project (TNS). TNS has shifted the plant materials development model away from cultivars to a germplasm. For many reasons, creating a germplasm release is efficient, economical, and shows greater utility than cultivars, which can take up to a decade or longer to place on the market.
TNS is the only statewide, non-federal native plant materials research program in Texas that has the support of landowners, the commercial seed trade, and various state land management agencies, including Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The recommendations in the native seed selection tool represent the best seed currently commercially available to consumers in the state. Additionally, new germaplasm releases have replaced some of the older cultivar varieties on the recommendations for each country, representing a vast improvement in seed to site placement compared to past recommendations.
Zoom to your respective county, click, wait for the pop-up, and from there you will select either sandy or clay soil as appropriate for the ecological region in which your site is located.
In west-central New Mexico, west of the San Mateo Mountains, along and down the eastern and northern slopes of the Great Divide, lies a high-elevation grassland borne out of the long ago extinction of a lake that met its desiccated end during the final centuries of the Pleistocene.
The chief grass here, Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis), evolved into its modern day form after expanding its range from its origins in present-day Mexico. This graminoid, like others of its arid communities, has been growing leaves and making seeds and putting down roots for some 12,000 years, arriving on the heels of Lake San Agustin’s desinence at the end of the last ice age, which left behind what is now the expansive, harsh plains, dotted with playa remnants of the old lake.
The dormancy-cured grasses are a holdfast to the relatively young sandy loam soils, as the winds race down the mountain slopes and unleash a swirling fury all along this intermontane basin.
Thoughts and speech are swiftly removed from one’s personal space here, leaving only the ancient whistling winds to fill the void that has changed from lake bottom to grassland, settling in at 7,000′ above sea level.
The air still has a biting chill and spring has not yet arrived.
A view photographed to the east of the Plains of San Agustin, near the Very Large Array. Looking south towards the San Mateo Mountains.
Note:This post was written in April of this year. Only now have I had the time to get back to managing the blog.
A new natural gas pipeline, the Trans-Pecos Pipeline, is being built across Far West Texas. This pipeline will deliver much-needed natural gas to the community of Presidio, TX (they’ve long used propane and other less clean-burning fuels), and will continue as a transnational pipeline into the United Mexican States.
Many landowners are worried about landscape damages after construction has finished. Although the pipeline cannot be ignored (the world runs on gas and petroleum for the foreseeable future), the best way to mitigate post-construction damages is to NOT plant exotic grasses like Lehmann’s Lovegrass, Weeping Lovegrass or Buffelgrass.
The seed for those invasive species may be cheap, but cheap seed always creates multiple problems decades after re-seeding; not the least of which are damages to wildlife habitat and native plant communities, and further spread and permanent establishment of invasive species. High quality, certified native seed may cost more per pound than exotic species, but those comparisons are moot, and the resulting plantings created by certified native seed will be better and management problems will be significantly less daunting down the road.
The commercial seed market in Texas has undergone major changes over the past decade, and currently offers plenty of native seed options (with more in the future) for landowners in Far West Texas to utilize to protect their land and wildlife habitat during re-seeding activities.
Before purchasing seed, it is helpful to beware of native seed sources that are listed as”Native” or “Native ecotype” or “Local ecotype” (as part of the varietal designation), or even promoted as “wild harvests” that are not source-identified per state agriculture regulations. These sources of seed pose cleanliness concerns (weed seed contamination), as well as unproven plant performance and unproven restoration uses.
Additionally, “Native” and “Local ecotype” are not legally recognized varieties. In fact, many native seed cultivars (i.e. ‘Haskell’ Sideoats Grama, ‘Lovington’ Blue Grama, ‘Kaw’ Big Bluestem, etc.) are bought and repackaged by some seed dealers and commonly sold as part of native “wild harvests”. While such a practice is deceptive, it goes to show how much more reliable commercial cultivars are.
After the photo set below, is a list of what should be planted in Far West Texas. These recommendations are based on seed varieties which have been tested for use by the South Texas Natives and Texas Native Seeds Projects at multiple sites across Texas in common garden studies. These germplasms are currently the best options on the market for landowners to use. There are no substitutes (except as noted).
Be firm about what you want and don’t want to plant — it’s your land!
The following photos illustrate important points with regards to native plant seeds.
Above: A pipeline right-of-way re-seeded with two different seed mixes: An appropriate certified native seed mix (from South Texas Natives) on the left; an inappropriate seed mix on the right. Note the greater plant coverage on the left with the use of named varieties of certified native seed.
The use of inappropriate seed mixes, wastes seed, money and time, and only serves as encouragement for exotic species infiltration and establishment due to weak perennial gaps in the planting.
Above: A comparison of two Blue Grama populations in a common garden study in Far West Texas. “VNS” (variety not specified) on the left, “Hachita” Blue Grama on the right. The difference in plant performance is proof of concept of why it is risky to purchase VNS (or even “wild harvest”) seed for use in re-seeding hyperdegraded sites like pipeline right-of-ways. Commercial cultivars and selected native germplasms have been developed since the post-Dust Bowl years for the native seed industry for this very reason.
Important points to remember when planning for re-seeding and purchasing native seed
Purchase named varieties only
Do not buy “Variety Not Specified” (VNS) or “wild harvest” seed types
Beware of seed listed as “Native” or “Local ecotype” as a varietal designation
ALWAYS purchase seed on a Pure Live Seed (PLS) basis, not a “bulk pound”
Finally, remember the basic rule of seed mixes: the more species, the better the planting. Don’t settle for a three or 5 species mix!
Change rules the world, sets the course, and turns the page. It is the universal constant, at the atomic level to the continental level, and all aspects in between.
One of the most widely studied changes in the natural resource world are those of plant communities. The causes of such changes are multivariate and share common denominators: anthropogenic, climatic, and biological, and a near infinite combination thereof. One of the best ways to document such changes is through the use of photo points. For example, a photo is taken in 1912, its location is explicitly documented, and decades later, a photo is taken again from the same vantage point. Many changes are not surprising; others are.
A unique aspect of the Desert Southwest is that even though the plant community changes within various landscapes have been great, there is still an expansive landscape through which to view, monitor and study such changes, unlike other areas of the U.S., such as the Midwest, where nearly all native plant systems have been exhaustively converted to intensively-managed agricultural systems.
OK Select Germplasm little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). A multi-population, selected native germplasm (non-cultivar) release from Knox City Plant Materials Center (Knox City, TX). This germplasm is appropriate for use in rangeland re-seeding, prairie restoration, backyard “pocket prairies”, and roadside re-vegetation work.
The original seed collection was made from native populations in Caddo, Grady, Stephens, and Washita Counties in southwestern Oklahoma, giving the release a broad genetic base. One visible expression in commercial germplasms that are comprised of broad genetic bases is the variation in height between plants, as can be seen in the photo below of OK Select. Multi-population germplasms generally outperform germplasms with origins from a single population or even a single plant. During the evaluation period of the populations that now comprise OK Select, no breeding or rigorous selections were made, other than selections (choosing of populations) for plant performance values. More information can be read in the release document, available here: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/…/FS…/publications/txpmcrb11370.pdf
This germplasm is currently on TxDOT’s seeding specifications list for about 30% of its work areas, as it is currently the only commercial germplasm available on the market that is suitably adapted to the aforementioned region, and has shown far better planting performance and persistence than other little bluestem germplasms used in the past; especially those listed as “VNS” and “wild harvest”, or with genetic origins too far from planting sites (i.e. “Aldous”). “VNS” and “wild harvest” germplasms have shown little promise for large-scale restoration plantings or roadside re-seeding work in Texas. Such seed types generally accelerate planting failure within 2 years by creating weak population gaps in which exotics are able to infiltrate and gain footholds.
This release performs well in the North Central Texas area, broadly delineated as along and west of US Hwy. 81, along and north of US Hwy. 180, along and east of TX State Hwy. 70, and along and south of I-40, as well as the Southwestern Oklahoma counties previously listed (see map below).
Other little bluestem germplasms are currently being evaluated against OK Select for use in North Central and Central (Hill Country) Texas by the Texas Native Seeds project of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. A future little bluestem release with genetics from within the state of Texas is forthcoming, pending final evaluations.
Per the Native Seed Network (nativeseednetwork.org), OK Select is currently being grown by Bamert Seed Company.
Help create increased demand for ‘OK Select’ by requesting this germplasm at the above-mentioned seed dealer or your favorite seed dealer!
OK Select Germplasm little bluestem breeder seed field. Knox City Plant Materials Center, Knox City, TX.A general outline of the area in which OK Select can be expected to perform well. Future plant releases will share overlap with these boundaries.
The Roaming Ecologist 