Botany Commons^™

Method Developments To Identify Loci And Selection Patterns Associated With Genotype By Environment Interactions In Soybean, Mary M. Happ

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

For many complex traits such as grain yield, genotype by environment (GxE) interactions are a prevalent source of phenotypic variation. Exploring the capacity of different methodologies to help describe and quantify the GxE interaction landscape for grain yield is an important step in informing plant breeders what the most viable strategies for management and exploitation of GxE may be. In this endeavor, we compared the results from multiple genome wide association studies (GWAS) that used either stability estimators as a phenotype to capture GxE variance, or directly mapped GxE in a mixed model for yield. Leading into this study, a …

Genomes To Fields 2022 Maize Genotype By Environment Prediction Competition, Dayane Cristina Lima, Jacob D. Washburn, José Ignacio Varela, Qiuyue Chen, Joseph L. Gage, Maria Cinta Romay, James Holland, David Ertl, Marco Lopez-Cruz, Fernando M. Aguate, Gustavo De Los Campos, Shawn Kaeppler, Timothy Beissinger, Martin Bohn, Edward Buckler, Jode Edwards, Sherry Flint-Garcia, Michael A. Gore, Candice N. Hirsch, Joseph E. Knoll, John Mckay, Richard Minyo, Seth C. Murray, Osler A. Ortez, James C. Schnable, Rajandeep S. Sekhon, Maninder P. Singh, Erin E. Sparks, Addie Thompson, Mitchell Tuinstra, Jason Wallace, Teclemariam Weldekidan, Wenwei Xu, Natalia De Leon

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Objectives The Genomes to Fields (G2F) 2022 Maize Genotype by Environment (GxE) Prediction Competition aimed to develop models for predicting grain yield for the 2022 Maize GxE project field trials, leveraging the datasets previously generated by this project and other publicly available data.

Data description This resource used data from the Maize GxE project within the G2F Initiative [1]. The dataset included phenotypic and genotypic data of the hybrids evaluated in 45 locations from 2014 to 2022. Also, soil, weather, environmental covariates data and metadata information for all environments (combination of year and location). Competitors also had access to ReadMe …

Role Of Biotechnology In Creating Sustainable Agriculture, Saurav Das, Manjit Kumar Ray, Dinesh Panday, Piyush Kumar Mishra

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

This narrative review paper discusses the role of biotechnology in the development of sustainable agriculture. The paper begins by defning sustanability and highlights the importance of biotechnology in establishing sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is an approach that prioritizes meeting current food and fiber production needs while conserving and enhancing natural resources for future generations. To achieve agricultural sustainability, it is necessary to strike a balance between economic viability, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility. This can be difficult, especially in the face of biotic and abiotic stresses such as pests, diseases, climate change, soil degradation, and water depletion. The prevalence of …

Morphological Trait Evolution In Solanum (Solanaceae): Evolutionary Lability Of Key Taxonomic Characters, Rebecca Hilgenhof, Edeline Gagnon, Sandra Knapp, Xavier Aubriot, Eric Tepe, Lynn Bohs, Leandro Giacomin, Yuri Gouvea, Andres Orejuela, Christopher T. Martine, Clara Ines Orozco, Iris E. Peralta, Tina Sarkinen

Faculty Journal Articles

Solanum is one of the world's largest and economically most important plant genera, including 1245 currently accepted species and several major and minor crops (e.g., tomato, potato, brinjal eggplant, scarlet eggplant, Gboma eggplant, lulo, and pepino). Here we provide an overview of the evolution of 25 key morphological traits for the major and minor clades of this giant genus based on stochastic mapping using a well-sampled recently published phylogeny of Solanum. The most evolutionarily labile traits (showing >100 transitions across the genus) relate to plant structure (growth form and sympodial unit structure), herbivore defence (glandular trichomes), pollination (corolla shape …

2023 Summer Newsletter, Plaster Creek Stewards

Newsletters

Highlights:

A Summer of Growth

Plaster Creek Has Mussels

Growing with the Green Team

Come See the Plaster Creek Mural

Lot 16: Calvin's New Bioswale

Welcome, Matt!

Student Research

Summer Reflections

Do Species Matter? Examining The Niche Of White Ash (Fraxinus Americana L.) And Estimating Potential Subcanopy Effects Of Its Loss In North-Temperate Forests, Elizabeth Anne Studer

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

To understand the downstream consequences of the extinction of a species, we must understand its role in an ecosystem. With the impending extirpation of ash (Fraxinus spp.) due to the invasive emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), understanding the role of ash trees is critical to predicting whether its loss will precipitate further species declines and/or ecosystem functions. We evaluated whether subcanopy microbial, invertebrate, and floral communities under four tree species (white ash, American beech, yellow birch, sugar maple) and on two soil hydropedological types (Bh podzol and Typical podzol) varied in species richness, composition, and functional traits in a factorial …

Cadmium And Salinity Stressor Antagonism On Vallisneria Neotropicalis, Christopher P. Mikolaitis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Submerged macrophytes form the foundation of freshwater ecosystems. These organisms are sessile and are very susceptible to shifts in their environment. Heavy metals are of particular concern as they can be sequestered indefinitely in sediments and are readily taken up by rooted vegetation. In the presence of saltwater intrusions, these metals can interact with salt ions potentially changing their availability to submerged vegetation. In this study a freshwater macrophyte, Vallisneria neotropicalis, was used as a test species for interactive effects between Cd, a non-essential heavy metal, and salt stress. The metrics used to establish the individual as well as …

Conversion Of Native Grassland To Coniferous Forests Decreased Stocks Of Soil Organic Carbon And Microbial Biomass, Lidong Li, Elnaz Hosseiniaghdam, Rhae A. Drijber, Elizabeth Jeske, Tala Awada, J. Hiller, Michael Kaiser

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Aims Encroachment of woody species into grasslands is a global phenomenon that affects ecosystem services, including soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and microbial community structure. We determined stocks of SOC and soil microbial biomass as affected by conversion of grasslands to coniferous forests.

Methods We examined SOC and soil δ¹³C signatures under three vegetation covers: native grasslands, eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana), and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), at six soil depths (0 − 10, 10 − 30, 30 − 100, 100 − 170, 170 − 240, 240 − 300 cm). Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) …

Classim: A Relational Database Driven Crop Model Interface, Dennis Timlin, David Fleisher, Maura Maura, Kirsten Paff, Wenguang Sun, Sahila Beegum, Sanai Li, Zhuangji Wang, Vangimalla Reddy

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Crop models are valuable tools for examining the interactions of cultivar characteristics, environment, and management practices, and how they affect crop growth and development. The difficulty in finding all the data needed to set up a simulation can often deter potential users from utilizing a crop model. Model interfaces are necessary to make these complex tools accessible to end-users who may lack the expertise needed to work with the models directly, but who would benefit from the information generated by the models. As crop models vary in terms of input and output structures, there is no one universally compatible interface, …

Tillage, Green Manuring And Crop Residue Management Impacts On Crop Productivity, Potassium Use Efficiency And Potassium Fractions Under Rice-Wheat System, Sandeep Sharma, Pritpal Singh, Hayssam M. Ali, Manzer Hussain Siddiqui, Javed Iqbal

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The conventional crop production practices including intensive tillage and open field crop residue burning in world’ largest rice-wheat system (RWS) are adversely affecting crop productivity besides deteriorating natural resources and ecosystems’ sustainability. In order to improve system productivity, potassium (K) use efficiency and apparent K balance, adoption of conservation tillage in a RWS with residue management is considered highly effective. We therefore, studied the effect of wheat straw retention and green manure (GM) in rice (main plot treatment), and tillage and rice residue management in subsequent wheat (sub-plot treatments) on crop productivity, K use efficiency and its transformation amongst different …

First Things First: Widespread Nutrient Deficiencies Limit Yields In Smallholder Oil Palm Fields, Hendra Sugianto, Juan Pablo Monzon, Iput Pradiko, Fatima A. Tenorio, Ya Li Lim, Christopher R. Donough, Sunawan, Suroso Rahutomo, Fahmuddin Agus, James Cock, Joni Amsar, Rana Farrasati, Ridho Iskandar, Juan I. Rattalino Edreira, Shofia Saleh, Heri Santoso, Antonius P. Tito, Nadib Ulfaria, Maja A. Slingerland, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

CONTEXT: Indonesia is the most important oil palm producing country. Nearly 40% of planted area is managed by smallholders, with yields well below the potential. Efforts to increase productivity have focused on the source of planting material, with little attention paid to plant nutrition.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the degree to which current productivity in smallholder oil palm fields is limited by nutrients in scenarios with distinct sources of planting material.

METHODS: We collected detailed data on leaf nutrient concentration from 30 fields to derive minimum sampling size needed to diagnose nutrient status. Subsequently, we collected data on …

Nutrients Ions Indices Of Some Medicinal Flora Of Cholistan Desert Of Pakistan, Ghulam Yasin, Adeela Altaf, Ikram Ul Haq, Samra Nazeer, Mubasharah Sabir

Makara Journal of Science

By knowing the nutritional status of a plant, one can better manage and use it for ethnobotanical purposes. Various nutrients are accumulated as osmotica in plants of stressful environments. The type and quantity of nutrients present in plants also determine the effectivity of medicine obtained from that plant. Hence, practical utilization of these plants as food or medicines needs to explore the exact nature and presence of the nutrient ions for discrimination of their toxic or medicinal nature. In the present study, some important nutrients in a number of xerophytic plants from Cholistan desert of Pakistan were quantified. Leave, stem …

Rhaphiolepis Indica Fruit Extracts For Control Fusarium Solani And Rhizoctonia Solani, The Causal Agents Of Bean Root Rot, Ahmed A. Heflish, Said I. Behiry, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Yiming Su, Ahmed Abdelkhalek, Mohamed K. Gaber

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Numerous strategies have been suggested to reduce dependence on synthetic products, such as physical, microbial, and natural methods. Among the natural remedies, plant extracts have emerged as a popular option owing to their eco-friendly character, ease of degradation, and harmless nature to humans. In our study, we used the acetone and hexane extracts of Rhaphiolepis indica fruit to combat two fungal pathogens that were isolated from infected bean plants and showed root rot symptoms. The two pathogens were confirmed to be pathogenic by pathogenicity assays conducted in vivo. The morphological and molecular identification by ITS-region sequencing revealed that the two …

Cover Crops And Soil Health In Rainfed And Irrigated Corn: What Did We Learn After 8 Years?, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Sabrina J. Ruis, Katja Koehler-Cole, Roger Elmore, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Duration of cover crop (CC) management, CC biomass production, and other factors could impact how CC affects soil health. We studied the 8-year cumulative impacts of winter rye (Secale cereale L.) CC on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties in rainfed and irrigated no-till corn (Zea mays L.)-based systems in the western US Corn Belt. Average annual CC biomass production was 0.56 ± 0.51 Mg ha⁻¹ at the rainfed site and 0.98 ± 0.95 Mg ha⁻¹ at the irrigated site. After 8 years, CC improved particulate organic matter (POM) and mean weight diameter of waterstable aggregates …

Acarosporaceae Of New Mexico: Eight New Species Of Acarospora And Sarcogyne, Kerry Knudsen, Jana Kocourková, Eva Hodková, Jiří Malíček, Yan Wang

Western North American Naturalist

Eight new species are described from the Chihuahuan Desert in southern New Mexico: Acarospora agos­tiniana, A. divisa, A. fissurata, A. ryanii, Sarcogyne brouardiana, S. coeruleonigricans, S. malpaiensis, and S. nogalensis. Three species, Acarospora coloradiana, A. peltastica, and A. utahensis are not treated as synonyms of A. strigata, a South American endemic. Thirty-four species of Acarosporaceae are reported from the Chihuahuan Desert in southern New Mexico. Fifty-six species of Acarosporaceae are reported from New Mexico. It is estimated that 416 species of described Acarosporales occur worldwide, most in need of revisions. …

Editorial: New Insights Into Mechanisms Of Epigenetic Modifiers In Plant Growth And Development, Volume Ii, Ming Luo, Tomasz Jacek Sarnowski, Marc Libault, Gabino Ríos, Jean-Benoit Charron, Nitin Mantri, Shoudong Zhang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

As we have learned, chromatin modifications, including histone modifications and DNA methylation, play a key role in plant development (Ng and Bird, 1999). However, accumulated evidence shows that, besides chromatin biochemical modifications, other epigenetic regulations such as chromatin architecture also function at a pivot point to regulate plant development (Zhang et al., 2021). In this Research Topic, five research papers describe multiple developmental facets mediated by different epigenetic mechanisms besides histone modifications. These manuscripts report experimental evidence or summarize recent advances in epigenetic regulations of some important developmental genes or development-related mechanisms. This Research Topic allows readers to learn of …

A Complete Telomere-To-Telomere Assembly Of The Maize Genome, Jian Chen, Zijian Wang, Kaiwen Tan, Wei Huang, Junpeng Shi, Tong Li, Jiang Hu, Kai Wang, Chao Wang, Beibei Xin, Haiming Zhao, Weibin Song, Matthew B. Hufford, James C. Schnable, Weiwei Jin, China Agricultural University, Hainan Yazhou Bay Seed Laboratory

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

A complete telomere-to-telomere (T2T) finished genome has been the long pursuit of genomic research. Through generating deep coverage ultralong Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) and PacBio HiFi reads, we report here a complete genome assembly of maize with each chromosome entirely traversed in a single contig. The 2,178.6 Mb T2T Mo17 genome with a base accuracy of over 99.99% unveiled the structural features of all repetitive regions of the genome. There were several super-long simple-sequence-repeat arrays having consecutive thymine–adenine– guanine (TAG) tri-nucleotide repeats up to 235 kb. The assembly of the entire nucleolar organizer region of the 26.8 Mb array with …

Genome-Wide Association Analysis For Emergence Of Deeply Sown Rice (Oryza Sativa) Reveals Novel Aus-Specific Phytohormone Candidate Genes For Adaptation To Dry-Direct Seeding In The Field, Sandeep A. Sakhale, Shailesh Yadav, Lindsay V. Clark, Alexander E. Lipka, Arvind Kumar, Erik J. Sacks

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Dry direct-seeded rice (dry-DSR) is typically sown deeply to circumvent the need for irrigation, and thus seedling emergence is a crucial trait affecting plant stand and yield. To breed elite cultivars that use less water and are climate-resilient, an understanding of the genomic regions and underlying genes that confer emergence in deeply sown dry-DSR would be highly advantageous. A combined diversity panel of 470 rice accessions (RDP1 plus aus subset of 3K RGP) was evaluated with 2.9 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to identify associations with dry-DSR traits in the field and component traits in a controlled-environment experiment. Using genome-wide …

Updating The Dual C And O Isotope—Gas-Exchange Model: A Concept To Understand Plant Responses To The Environment And Its Implications For Tree Rings, Rolf T. W. Siegwolf, Marco M. Lehmann, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Olga V. Churakova (Sidorova), Cathleen Mirande-Ney, Galina Timoveeva, Rosmarie B. Weigt, Matthias Saurer

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The combined study of carbon (C) and oxygen (O) isotopes in plant organic matter has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding plant functional responses to environmental change. The approach relies on established relationships between leaf gas exchange and isotopic fractionation to derive a series of model scenarios that can be used to infer changes in photosynthetic assimilation and stomatal conductance driven by changes in environmental parameters (CO₂, water availability, air humidity, temperature, nutrients). We review the mechanistic basis for a conceptual model, in light of recently published research, and discuss where isotopic observations do not match our …

Nature As Material, Time As Tool, Chuchu Chen

Masters Theses

No building stands forever. Over time, the natural environment acts upon the outer surface of the building, leading to the failure of materials and the final dissolution of the structure itself, leading to ruin. In order to prevent this or retard its occurrence, we constantly maintain and renew the things we build. Nature seems to stand in opposition to architecture. The passage of time is constantly subtracting from the building. However, what differentiates nature from architecture? This thesis questions whether these two are not opposed, but on a continuous spectrum. Approaching the building as part of the overall environment that …

Impact Of Nitrogen Availability On The Accumulation Of Vegetative Lipids In Sorghum, Leticia Felicio Pasqualino

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is a versatile and prosperous feedstock crop for renewable energy production. With the increase in bioenergy demand, the production of higher oil content per biomass in a feedstock crop is a highly desirable trait for the biofuel conversion process yield. Especially if this outcome can be achieved using fewer inputs in the field, such as nitrogen. In microalgae species, nitrogen limitation has been associated with changes in the carbon storage metabolic pathway favoring triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation. In this context, this study aimed to assess whether nitrogen starvation would result in a similar outcome in …

Arkansas Soybean Performance Tests 2022, J. F. Carlin, R. B. Mulloy, R. D. Bond

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Soybean variety and strain performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Arkansas Crop Variety Improvement Program. The tests provide information to companies developing varieties and/ or marketing seed within the state, and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating variety recommendations for soybean producers.

Do Cover Crop Mixtures Improve Soil Physical Health More Than Monocultures?, Humberto Blanco-Canqui

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Rationale and Purpose — Adding multispecies cover crop (CC) mixtures could diversify the current simplified crop rotations and enhance soil health more than monoculture CCs. Further, CC mixtures with diverse plant species could adapt better to changing climatic and environmental conditions than monoculture CCs. However, our current understanding of the soil benefits of CC mixtures is still limited. This review discussed whether CC mixtures are better than monoculture CCs to improve soil physical health.

Methods — All studies published up to May 25, 2023, comparing soil physical properties between CC mixtures and their constituents grown as monocultures were searched in …

Fluidity And Inconstancy: Australian Bush Tomatoes As An Exemplar Of Non-Normative Sex Expression, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

Solanum, a genus of ~1500 global species, is one of the more interesting plant groups in which to study reproductive biology and ecology. Overwhelmingly, species in this group express full cosexuality, where individual plants have flowers containing both fully-functioning “male” (staminate) and “female” (carpellate) organs. However, there have been multiple and widespread evolutionary transitions within the genus to non-normative variations on this ancestral condition. Australian bush tomatoes (ca. 40 species) are especially diverse in this regard, with uncommon variation and combinations of unisexuality and cosexuality -- including, most notably, two sexual systems known as dioecy (unisexual male or female …

A Foundational Population Genetics Investigation Of The Sexual Systems Of Solanum (Solanaceae) In The Australian Monsoon Tropics Suggests Dioecious Taxa May Benefit From Increased Genetic Admixture Via Obligate Outcrossing, Jason T. Cantley, Ingrid E. Jordon-Thaden, Morgan Roche, Daniel S. Hayes, Stephamie Kate, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

Solanum section Leptostemonum is an ideal lineage to test the theoretical framework regarding proposed evolutionary benefits of outcrossing sexual systems in comparison to cosexuality. Theoretically, non-cosexual taxa should support more genetic diversity within populations, experience less inbreeding, and have less genetic structure due to a restricted ability to self-fertilize. However, many confounding factors present challenges for a confident inference that inherent differences in sexual systems influence observed genetic patterns among populations. This study provides a foundational baseline of the population genetics of several species of different sexual systems with the aim of generating hypotheses of any factor—including sexual system—that influences …

A Most Surprising Fern: Serendipity And Browsing In Botanical Search, Douglas Tuers

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

This article is a case study of botanical field work in the eastern United States in the early twentieth century. These cases will be analyzed as instances of browsing and serendipity. Browsing and serendipity have a rich literature in information science and this article will draw on this literature in order to better understand serendipity in botany. This article will show how botanical localities support browsing and serendipity for the botanists who search them. This article will also show how botanical institutions and botanists interface with localities in order to further support browsing and serendipity. As a whole this article …

2018–2019 Field Seasons Of The Maize Genomes To Fields (G2f) G X E Project, Dayane Dayane Lima, Alejandro Castro Aviles, Ryan Timothy Alpers, Bridget A. Mcfarland, Shawn Kaeppler, David Ertl, Maria Cinta Romay, Joseph L. Gage, James Holland, Timothy Beissinger, Martin Bohn, Edward Buckler, Jode Edwards, Sherry Flint‑Garcia, Candice N. Hirsch, Elizabeth Hood, David C. Hooker, Joseph E. Knoll, Judith M. Kolkman, Sanzhen Liu, John Mckay, Richard Minyo, Danilo E. Moreta, Seth C. Murray, Rebecca Nelson, James C. Schnable, Rajandeep S. Sekhon, Maninder P. Singh, Peter Thomison, Addie Thompson, Mitchell Tuinstra, Jason Wallace, Jacob D. Washburn, Teclemariam Weldekidan, Randall J. Wisser, Wenwei Xu31, Natalia De Leon

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Objectives This report provides information about the public release of the 2018–2019 Maize G X E project of the Genomes to Fields (G2F) Initiative datasets. G2F is an umbrella initiative that evaluates maize hybrids and inbred lines across multiple environments and makes available phenotypic, genotypic, environmental, and metadata information. The initiative understands the necessity to characterize and deploy public sources of genetic diversity to face the challenges for more sustainable agriculture in the context of variable environmental conditions.

Data description Datasets include phenotypic, climatic, and soil measurements, metadata information, and inbred genotypic information for each combination of location and year. …

Creeper Legume, In Conjunction With Biochar, Is A Potential Tool To Minimize Soil Erosion, Sujani De Silva, Priyantha Indralal Yapa, Kushani Mahatantila, Saurav Das, Bijesh Maharjan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Accelerated soil erosion and landslides are destructive consequences of road development and intensive agriculture in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. Properly designed vegetation covers can play a vital role in erosion control. Identifying a plant that can adapt to eroded land with a low-nutrient supply is critical for natural erosion management. A perennial creeper legume, Vigna marina, adaptable for marginal lands and used to control soil erosion in Australia, was introduced to Sri Lanka via the 2004 tsunami. The objective of this study was to assess V. marina under five different soil substrates, including a reference treatment (RT) …

Effectiveness Of Tadreb-B1 And 1-Feh W3 Kasp Markers In Spring And Winter Wheat Populations For Marker-Assisted Selection To Improve Drought Tolerance, Shamseldeen Eltaher, Mostafa Hashem, Asmaa A. M. Ahmed, P. Stephen Baenziger, Andreas Börner, Ahmed Sallam

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Due to the advances in DNA markers, kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) markers could accelerate breeding programs and genetically improve drought tolerance. Two previously reported KASP markers, TaDreb-B1 and 1-FEH w3, were investigated in this study for the markerassisted selection (MAS) of drought tolerance. Two highly diverse spring and winter wheat populations were genotyped using these two KASP markers. The same populations were evaluated for drought tolerance at seedling (drought stress) and reproductive (normal and drought stress) growth stages. The single-marker analysis revealed a high significant association between the target allele of 1-FEH w3 and drought susceptibility in the spring …

Mowing Cattail Cover To Increase Aquatic Vegetation Diversity On The Coeur D’Alene River Floodplain In Cataldo, Idaho, Makenna J. Tabino

2023 Symposium

The Schlepp Easement is a 400 acre wetland on the Coeur D’Alene River floodplain, near Cataldo, Idaho. The wetland has been restored to protect it from heavy metal pollution transported downstream from mining sites near Kellogg, Idaho, the location of the Bunker Hill EPA Superfund Site. This wetland was restored to provide safe habitats and feeding grounds for migratory waterfowl and to maintain wetland biodiversity. However, cattail is prone to becoming overdominant and outcompeting other plants, which greatly limits a wetland’s biodiversity. Our objectives were to test whether aquatic boat mowing can reduce cattail cover, improving species diversity and cover …