Project Title

Developing Herbaceous Plant Materials for the Great Basin

Abstract

Over the last decade over 3.3 million acres were seeded in the Great Basin largely in response to wildfire. During the same interval the proportion of native plant materials used in reseeding has increased dramatically such that over half the seed volume comes from native rather than introduced species. However, due to high cost and limited quantities native herbaceous species represent just a fraction of the total. For example, in 2010 herbaceous forbs represented 9% of the Bureau of Land Management Seed buy and native forbs just 5% of that fraction. The Great Basin Native Plant Selection and Increase Project seeks to increase the variety and quantity of native herbaceous forbs through selecting appropriate species, developing cultural practices, and providing stock seed and technology transfer to private industry for commercial seed production.

Selected Publications

GSD Principal Investigators

Involving the private sector is a critical step to ensuring production of native species currently in development. Specialized equipment is used to seed production fields on a private farm in central Utah

Cooperators and Sponsors

Bureau of Land Management
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Related Links

Great Basin Native Plant Selection and Increase Project