Long-Term Evaluation of Revegetation Methods Applied on High Elevation Roadside at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Peterson, Steven

Ecological affects of roads include impacts to soils and soil stability, reduced water quality and quanity, and fragmented or stress-induced habitat for numerous plant and animal species. Effective ecological restoration can reduce the impacts of roadside disturbance by reducing erosion, enhancing hydrologic processes, and sustaining a viable plant population. In 1994, disturbed roadsides in Bryce Canyon National Park were reclaimed by revegetating native topsoil with species indigenous to the Bryce Canyon ecosystem. The purpose of this study was to to quantify the long-term succession patterns and species persistence from different revegetation and seedbed preparation techniques. These included (1) determining plant community composition by comparing seeded and unseeded sites, 2) evaluating long-term persistence in sites that were intially provided with no, low, and high levels of fertilizer, 3) assessing long-term persistence of commercial vs indigenous slender wheatgrass, and 4) comparing the affect of microsites with non-microsite habitats on plant density. Total plant and seeded grass densities were higher in seeded sites, whereas biomass was not different between seeded and unseeded plots. The data obtained in this study can help managers implement effective revegetation after a disturbance and to provide predictions of long-term succession patterns.