Developing Alternative Methods/Techniques for Plant Establishment Under Reduced Irrigation

Details

• Creators:
  Claassen, Vic
• Corporate Creators:
  University of California, Davis
• Corporate Contributors:
  California. Department of Transportation
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Compost Irrigation Mitigation Planting Mulch Mulches Plants Shrub Establishment Shrubs Soil Moisture Soils By Moisture Content Or Potential Vegetable Materials Watering

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  CA09-0624
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  California
• Edition:
  Final; Oct. 2004-Dec. 2008.
• Corporate Publisher:
  California. Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  The purpose of the study was to evaluate soil treatments for their effect on establishment of wild-land
  
  shrubs without supplemental irrigation. The treatments that significantly improved growth over irrigation
  
  alone at a central California fill slope site (Contra Costa County, route 4) involved deep soil
  
  decompaction and/or compost addition. General information regarding use of water by plants and
  
  retention of water by soil or soil amendments was evaluated from literature reviews, by lab analysis and
  
  with plant water-use modeling. A method was developed to predict the plant water use and soil water
  
  availability characteristics that would allow field establishment of shrubs through dry summer conditions
  
  without supplemental irrigation. This method was then tested in different substrate and climatic
  
  conditions in three additional counties around the state (Sutter (route 70), Mono (route 395) and San
  
  Diego (I-5)). In all cases, shrubs on soil treatments including deep soil decompaction and compost
  
  incorporation grew larger than those on untreated substrates. No supplemental irrigation was used
  
  except to wet the profile once at time of planting, and even then only if ambient soil moisture was
  
  insufficient. The recommended treatment is to decompact the substrate by excavation or ripping or
  
  fracturing to three feet depth if the substrate is not already rootable, then to add an inch of compost and
  
  incorporate into the top foot (unless the area receives atmospheric deposition or contains residual soil
  
  organic matter or is in a desert environment), and then to plant containers with site-appropriate species
  
  and to cover the immediate area with two inches of wood chip mulch.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  65A0812
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:cc96a648c3148a8b41da16561407eba9e66be12de7e5060f594145e486cd611b
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/25203/dot_25203_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.82 MB ]