Intermountain Regional Herbarium Network

This document describes the Native Plant Materials Policy adopted by the United States Forest Service in 2008. A Strategic Framework for implementing the Policy is detailed. 

The Nursery Manual for Native Plants - A Guide for Tribal Nurseries covers all aspects of managing a native plant nursery, from initial planning through crop production to establishing trials to improve nursery productivity into the future. 

The efforts to control invasive tree species and revegetate riparian areas along New Mexico’s rivers and streams have led to important “lessons learned” based on both successful and failed projects. The information in this technical note is intended to concisely address the concerns that you should consider when planning and developing riparian revegetation projects.

• Provide guidelines for a comprehensive bioengineering strategy;
• Incorporate design elements that impart site stability and resilience;
• Include project recommendations that minimize risk during periods of vulnerability;
• Increase understanding of how to properly apply bioengineering and revegetation techniques;
• Provide background resources on the combined forces of water and gravity as they pertain to bioengineered structures; and
• Create a searchable Revegetation Matrix for the primary native restoration species useful for flood recovery and other riparian areas throughout Colorado.

This publication from Weld County provides photos of native annual plant species commonly misidentified. 

The Native Plant YellowPages includes a list of vendors carrying ecotypic (i.e., locally adapted) native plants for flood-recovery, in the form of seed and container stock, as well as a comprehensive list of seed vendors and nurseries who sell native plants for Colorado.

The purpose of the Stream Stewardship and Recovery Handbook is to create an educational resource for private landowners to better understand their streamside properties in the context of the larger watershed, what they can do to practice good stream stewardship and when/how they should engage outside help for stewardship or recovery projects.

AL Henry et al. 2021

Abstract: Invasive species are a major cause of biodiversity loss worldwide, but their impact on communities and the mechanisms driving those impacts are varied and not well understood. This study employs functional diversity metrics and guilds—suites of species with similar traits—to assess the influence of an invasive tree (Tamarix spp.) on riparian plant communities in the southwestern United States. We asked: (1) What traits define riparian plant guilds in this system? (2) How do the abundances of guilds vary along gradients of Tamarix cover and abiotic conditions? (3) How does the functional diversity of the plant community respond to the gradients of Tamarix cover and abiotic conditions? We found nine distinct guilds primarily defined by reproductive strategy, as well as growth form, height, seed weight, specific leaf area, drought and anaerobic tolerance. Guild abundance varied along a covarying gradient of local and regional environmental factors and Tamarix cover. Guilds relying on sexual reproduction, in particular, those producing many light seeds over a long period of time were more strongly associated with drier sites and higher Tamarix cover. Tamarix itself appeared to facilitate more shade-tolerant species with higher specific leaf areas than would be expected in resource-poor environments. Additionally, we found a high degree of specialization (low functional diversity) in the wettest, most flood-prone, lowest Tamarix  cover sites as well as in the driest, most stable, highest Tamarix cover sites. These guilds can be used to anticipate plant community response to restoration efforts and in selecting appropriate species for revegetation.

This document describes the biology and management implications of reed canary grass, a rhizomatous perennial grass that is currently found in all but six of the lower 48 states.  

This groundbreaking new publication from the Society for Ecological Restoration provides updated and expanded guidance on the practice of ecological restoration, clarifies the breadth of ecological restoration and allied environmental repair activities, and includes ideas and input from a diverse international group of restoration scientists and practitioners.

Revegetation Strategies and Technology Development for Restoration of Xeric Tamarix Infestation Sites 

The Great Basin Native Plant Project has posted presentations from its diverse Webinar Series on its website; topics range from seed collection to pollinators to genetic diversity. 

AL Henry et al. 2021

Abstract: Invasive species are a major cause of biodiversity loss worldwide, but their impact on communities and the mechanisms driving those impacts are varied and not well understood. This study employs functional diversity metrics and guilds—suites of species with similar traits—to assess the influence of an invasive tree (Tamarix spp.) on riparian plant communities in the southwestern United States. We asked: (1) What traits define riparian plant guilds in this system? (2) How do the abundances of guilds vary along gradients of Tamarix cover and abiotic conditions? (3) How does the functional diversity of the plant community respond to the gradients of Tamarix cover and abiotic conditions? We found nine distinct guilds primarily defined by reproductive strategy, as well as growth form, height, seed weight, specific leaf area, drought and anaerobic tolerance. Guild abundance varied along a covarying gradient of local and regional environmental factors and Tamarix cover. Guilds relying on sexual reproduction, in particular, those producing many light seeds over a long period of time were more strongly associated with drier sites and higher Tamarix cover. Tamarix itself appeared to facilitate more shade-tolerant species with higher specific leaf areas than would be expected in resource-poor environments. Additionally, we found a high degree of specialization (low functional diversity) in the wettest, most flood-prone, lowest Tamarix  cover sites as well as in the driest, most stable, highest Tamarix cover sites. These guilds can be used to anticipate plant community response to restoration efforts and in selecting appropriate species for revegetation.

A prescription for drug-free rivers: uptake of pharmaceuticals by a widespread streamside willow

Carmen Franks, David Pearce, Stewart Rood

Abstract:

Following human excretion and limited removal with wastewater treatment, pharmaceuticals are accumulating in rivers worldwide. These chemicals can challenge the health of fish and aquatic organisms and since rivers provide drinking water sources, there is concern for cumulative exposure to humans. In this study, we discovered that sandbar willow (Salix exigua), a predominant riparian shrub along streams throughout North America, has the capacity to quickly remove pharmaceuticals from aqueous solutions. Our study tracked [3 H]- or [14C]-labeled substances including 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), a synthetic estrogen in oral contraceptives; the antihypertensive, diltiazem (DTZ); and the anti-anxiety drug, diazepam (DZP); and for comparison, atrazine (ATZ), a root-absorbed herbicide. In growth chambers, willow saplings removed 40–80% of the substances from solutions in 24 h. Following uptake, the EE2 and DTZ were retained within the roots, while DZP and ATZ were partly passed on to the shoots. The absorbed EE2 was unextractable and apparently bound to the root tissue, while DTZ, DZP, and ATZ remained largely soluble (extractable). The uptake and translocation of the pharmaceuticals, reflected in the transpiration stream and root concentration factors, were reasonably predicted from their physicochemical properties, including octanol-water partitioning coefficients. These findings suggest the removal of pharmaceuticals as an unrecognized ecosystem service provided by riparian vegetation and especially the inundation tolerant sandbar willow. This encourages the conservation of riparian willows that line riverbanks, to remove pharmaceuticals and other contaminants. This phytoremediation also encourages the preservation of complex, braided channels and islands, which increase the extent of stream shorelines and riparian willows.

Authors: Anna A. Shera, Hisham El Waera, Eduardo Gonzáleza,b, Robert Andersona, Annie L. Henrya, Robert Biedrona, PengPeng Yuea

This report includes a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the vegetation response to a single watershed-scale restoration effort that includes 40 sites along the Dolores River from 2010-2014.

Developed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, this guide provides a simple key to help identify common willows, cottonwoods, alder, birch and dogwood. 

This Colorado State University website provides information on a suite of poisonous plants. 

This 1-page handout describes the differences between invasive Russian olive and native silverleaf buffaloberry. Photos of distinctive characteristics are provided. 

This document describes the biology and management implications of reed canary grass, a rhizomatous perennial grass that is currently found in all but six of the lower 48 states.  

The Native Seed Network is a resource for both the restoration community and the native seed industry, providing powerful search tools and information on all aspects of native seed.

This document offers resources for selecting native plant species and appropriate seed sources to revegetate degraded lands in the state and region.

This paper describes way that the state of California could benefit from enacting goals in the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration. 

This article describes the benefit of using a diverse suite of species in restoration activities and the research that is being conducted to breed plants for desirable seed production and planting traits. 

National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration 2015-2020 is designed to provide a more coordinated approach among tribal, state, federal, local and private entities, including commercial growers, to restoring plant communities. 

This document discusses riparian restoration lessons learned by the Dolores River Restoration Partnership over the last five years. Working across two states, four Bureau of Land Management offices, and five counties, the Partnership has had a number of successes, total failures, and projects somewhere in the middle. 

The document is organized into key revegetation components, including:

• Passive versus active revegetation
• Site selection
• Species size and selection
• Planting and seeding
• Maintenance 

This Natural Resources Conservation Service document describes proper techniques for planting cottonwoods and willows. 

This document discusses riparian restoration lessons learned by the Dolores River Restoration Partnership over the last five years. Working across two states, four Bureau of Land Management offices, and five counties, the Partnership has had a number of successes, total failures, and projects somewhere in the middle. 

The document is organized into key revegetation components, including:

• Passive versus active revegetation
• Site selection
• Species size and selection
• Planting and seeding
• Maintenance 

This publication describes the long-stem planting methods utilized in Australia. Techniques for a variety of ecosystems are described. 

This PowerPoint presentation from the Natural Resources Conservation Service was presented in Moab and Escalante, Utah in 2011. The presentation covers: what, when, and where to plant; effective planting methods; suggested planting equipment; survival results; and suggested publications. 

The purpose of this Technical Note is to provide guidance for the design and implementation of conservation plantings to enhance habitat for pollinators including: bees, wasps, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. Plant species included in this document are adapted to the Intermountain West; encompassing southern Idaho, eastern Oregon, northern Nevada and northern Utah.