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:
  • Irrigation
  • Watering
  • Shrubs
  • Plants
  • Compost
  • Mulches
  • Vegetable materials
  • Soils by moisture content or potential
  • Mitigation planting
  • Irrigation
  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.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  65A0812
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/25203/dot_25203_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.82 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:cc96a648c3148a8b41da16561407eba9e66be12de7e5060f594145e486cd611b