Other Plant Sciences Commons^™

Soil Reclamation Strategies In Construction Disturbed Soil, Alexis Koelling

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

The rapid urbanization occurring in arid environments like the Intermountain West region of the U.S. significantly alters soil conditions. Construction of roads, buildings, and other infrastructure leads to the disturbance of soil structure, nutrient depletion, and reduced fertility. This research addresses the need for sustainable soil management practices that may restore soil health post-construction. In this study, the effectiveness of various soil amendments and application methods on specific soil parameters and turfgrass establishment in construction-disturbed soils was evaluated. The study highlights the critical role of soil amendments, particularly municipal solid waste (MSW) compost, in improving soil quality and plant growth. …

Controlling Soil Erosion After Wildfire And Guiding Recovery In Southern Utah, Kristina Young, Kara Dohrenwend, Matt Mcettrick, Henry Grover

All Current Publications

Wildfire is a natural part of many ecosystems in the Four Corners region (Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, Southwest Colorado, and Northwest New Mexico). However, after decades of fire suppression, the intensity and size of wildfires is increasing. This fact sheet is intended to help those in dry, monsoonal regions understand what happens to land after a wildfire and explains the processes of soil erosion. It outlines factors that influence how wildfire can affect soils and plants and provides suggestions for reducing soil erosion when necessary. The information presented is relevant to both private landowners and public lands managers whose landscapes …

Establishing Big Sagebrush Seedlings On The Colorado Plateau, Kari E. Veblen, Eric Thacker, Mark Larese-Casanova, Kyle Nehring, Mike Duniway, Colby Brungard

All Current Publications

Factors such as soil type and precipitation vary across rangeland landscapes, and these factors affect restoration outcomes and ultimately mean that “one size fits all” management strategies are not effective across large, complex landscapes. Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is a foundational rangeland species that is important to wildlife habitat across the western U.S. On the Colorado Plateau, sagebrush is important browse for ungulates, such as mule deer and pronghorn, which motivates a great deal of restoration effort. However, most scientific knowledge of big sagebrush comes from the Great Basin, and we know much less about how to restore sagebrush on …

Seeding The Way: A Guide To Restoring Native Plants In Great Salt Lake Wetlands, Emily Tarsa, Rae Robinson, Coryna Hebert, David England, Keith Hambrecht, Chad Cranney, Karin Kettenring

All Current Publications

From densely vegetated marshes to sparse patches of playa vegetation, native plants of Great Salt Lake drive healthy wetlands. They provide habitat, cover, and food for the many birds, amphibians, insects, and mammals that call these wetlands home. Disturbances to these wetlands, such as treating invasive Phragmites australis or building dikes, can impact native plant communities. Reestablishing native vegetation is critical to rebuilding healthy wetlands. Though there is still much to be learned, here we have summarized our knowledge of the "what, where, and how" of native plant revegetation in these wetlands, specifically using native seed. This guide is intended …

Interactive Effects Of Soil And Browsing On Big Sagebrush: Implications For Restoration Success, Kyle Nehring

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Heterogeneity in landscape conditions (e.g., soil types) precludes a “one size fits all” management strategy across large landscapes. New management approaches that explicitly account for heterogeneous landscapes (and the variable conditions therein) will be required to maintain habitat quality. In particular, we require an improved mechanistic understanding of how the outcomes of conservation and restoration actions are contingent upon a) contextual abiotic factors (e.g., moisture availability mediated by soils and precipitation) and b) their interactions with biotic factors (e.g., browsing wildlife).

We propose to answer fundamental questions about how big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), the foundational species for sagebrush …

Foraging Preferences Of Barnacle Geese On Endophytic Tall And Red Fescues, Tuuli-Marjaana Koski, Kari Saikkonen, Tero Klemola, Marjo Helander

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Many grasses (Poaceae) have symbiotic fungal endophytes, which affect livestock by producing unpalatable or harmful secondary compounds. Less is known about the repelling effects of fungal endophytes on avian grazers despite potential wildlife management implications. Herbivorous goose (Branta spp.) species may become a nuisance in recreational use areas via fecal littering. Planting these areas with grasses that avian grazers avoid may help mitigate this damage. In 2016, we studied the foraging preference of the barnacle geese (B. leucopsis) with endophytic (E+) or endophyte-free (E-) red fescue (Festuca rubra) and/or tall fescue (Schedonorus phoenix) in …

Salt Tolerance Of Six Switchgrass Cultivars, Youping Sun, Genhua Niu, Girisha Ganjegunte, Yanqi Wu

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Panicum virgatum L. (switchgrass) cultivars (‘Alamo’, ‘Cimarron’, ‘Kanlow’, ‘NL 94C2-3’, ‘NSL 2009-1’, and ‘NSL 2009-2’) were evaluated for salt tolerance in two separate greenhouse experiments. In experiment (Expt.) 1, switchgrass seedlings were irrigated with a nutrient solution at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.2 dS·m−1 (control) or a saline solution (spiked with salts) at an EC of 5.0 dS·m−1 (EC 5) or 10.0 dS·m−1 (EC 10) for four weeks, once a week. Treatment EC 10 reduced the tiller number by 32% to 37% for all switchgrass cultivars except ‘Kanlow’. All switchgrass cultivars under EC 10 had a significant reduction of …

Impact Of Low And Moderate Salinity Water On Plant Performance Of Leafy Vegetables In A Recirculating Nft System, Genhua Niu, Youping Sun, Joseph G. Masabni

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to examine the growth and mineral nutrition of four leafy vegetables in a nutrient film technique (NFT) system with water with low to moderate salinity. In Expt. 1, a nutrient solution was prepared using reverse osmosis (RO) water and treatments consisted of supplementing with RO water, tap water, or nutrient solution. In Expt. 2, nutrient solution was prepared using three different water sources (treatments), namely, RO water, tap water, or tap water, plus sodium chloride (NaCl), and supplementing solution was prepared using the same three water sources at one third strength. For both of the …

Advancing Nasa’S Airmoss P-Band Radar Root Zone Soil Moisture Retrieval Algorithm Via Incorporation Of Richards’ Equation, Morteza Sadeghi, Alireza Tabatabaeenejad, Markus Tuller, Mahta Moghaddam, Scott B. Jones

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

P-band radar remote sensing applied during the Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) mission has shown great potential for estimation of root zone soil moisture. When retrieving the soil moisture profile (SMP) from P-band radar observations, a mathematical function describing the vertical moisture distribution is required. Because only a limited number of observations are available, the number of free parameters of the mathematical model must not exceed the number of observed data. For this reason, an empirical quadratic function (second order polynomial) is currently applied in the AirMOSS inversion algorithm to retrieve the SMP. The three free parameters …

Transcriptome Analysis Revealed The Dynamic Oil Accumulation In Symplocos Paniculata Fruit, Qiang Liu, Youping Sun, Jingzhen Chen, Peiwang Li, Genhua Niu, Lijuan Jiang, Changzhu Li

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Background Symplocos paniculata, asiatic sweetleaf or sapphire berry, is a widespread shrub or small tree from Symplocaceae with high oil content and excellent fatty acid composition in fruit. It has been used as feedstocks for biodiesel and cooking oil production in China. Little transcriptome information is available on the regulatory molecular mechanism of oil accumulation at different fruit development stages. Results The transcriptome at four different stages of fruit development (10, 80,140, and 170 days after flowering) of S. paniculata were analyzed. Approximately 28 million high quality clean reads were generated. These reads were trimmed and assembled into 182,904 non-redundant …

Sensitivity Of Seven Diverse Species To Blue And Green Light: Interactions With Photon Flux, Michael Chase Snowden, Bruce Bugbee, Kevin R. Cope

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Despite decades of research, the effects of spectral quality on plant growth, and development are not well understood. Much of our current understanding comes from studies with daily integrated light levels that are less than 10% of summer sunlight thus making it difficult to characterize interactions between light quality and quantity. Several studies have reported that growth is increased under fluorescent lamps compared to mixtures of wavelengths from LEDs. Conclusions regarding the effect of green light fraction range from detrimental to beneficial. Here we report the effects of eight blue and green light fractions at two photosynthetic photon fluxes (PPF; …

Differential Toxicity Of Bare And Hybrid Zno Nanoparticles In Green Pea (Pisum Sativum L.): A Life Cycle Study, Amab Mukherjee, Youping Sun, Erving Morelius, Carlos Tamez, Susmita Bandyopadhyay, Genhua Niu, Jason C. White, Jose R. Peralta-Videa, Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The effect of surface or lattice modification of nanoparticles (NPs) on terrestrial plants is poorly understood. We investigated the impact of different zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs on green pea (Pisum sativum L.), one of the highest consumed legumes globally. Pea plants were grown for 65 d in soil amended with commercially available bare ZnO NPs (10 nm), 2 wt% alumina doped (Al2O3@ZnO NPs, 15 nm), or 1 wt% aminopropyltriethoxysilane coated NPs (KH550@ZnO NP, 20 nm) at 250 and 1000 mg NP/kg soil inside a greenhouse. Bulk (ZnO) and ionic Zn (zinc chloride) were included as controls. Plant fresh and dry …

Relative Salt Tolerance Of Seven Strawberry Cultivars, Youping Sun, Genhua Niu, Russ Wallace, Joseph Masabni, Mengmeng Gu

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) cultivars (“Albion”, “Benicia”, “Camarosa”, “Camino Real”, “Chandler”, “Radiance”, and “San Andreas”) were evaluated for salt tolerance in a greenhouse environment. Plants were irrigated with a nutrient solution with an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.1 dS·m−1 (control) or a nutrient solution with the addition of salts (salt solution) with ECs of 2.2, 3.3, or 4.4 dS·m−1 for four months. Salinity reduced plant growth and fruit yield of strawberry; however, the magnitude of reduction varied with cultivar. For example, at an EC of 4.4 dS·m−1 , “Benicia” and “Chandler” had 39% and 44% less shoot dry weight (DW) …

Damping-Off, Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Variability In Salt Tolerance Of Sorghum Bicolor L., Youping Sun, Genhua Niu, Pedro Osuna, Lijuan Zhao, Girisha Ganjehunte, Gary Peterson, Jose R. Peralta-Videa, Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Salt tolerance of ten sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) varieties (‘1790E’, ‘BTx642’, ‘Desert Maize’, ‘Macia’, ‘RTx430’, ‘Schrock’, ‘Shallu’, ‘Tx2783’, ‘Tx7078’, and ‘Wheatland’) was evaluated in two greenhouse experiments. In the first experiment, sorghum were sown in substrates moistened with either nutrient solution (no addition of salts, control) at electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.2 dS·m-1 or salt solution at EC 5, 10 or 17 dS·m-1. Seedling emergence percentage decreased in all varieties only at EC of 17 dS·m-1 compared to the control. Seedling emergence percentage of sorghum ‘Macia’ and ‘1790E’ irrigated with salt solution at EC of 17 dS·m-1 decreased by …

Ceratobasidium Root Rot: A New Disease Of Watermelon In Arizona, Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Botrytis Neck Rot Of Onion, Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Streptomycin Resistance Of Erwinia Amylovora Isolated From Apple (Malus Domesticus) In Utah, Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Photosynthetic Characteristics Of Veratrum Californicum In Varied Greenhouse Environments, Youping Sun, Sarah A. White, David Mann, Jeffery Adelberg

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Corn lily or California false hellebore (Veratrum californicum Durand), a perennial species native to the western United States, produces several alkaloid compounds. A derivative of these alkaloid compounds, primarily veratramine and cyclopamine, shows promise as a therapeutic agent for treatment of a variety of tumor types. Here we report the first study of corn lily cultivated in greenhouse. Growth response of corn lily was examined under two light levels (ambient and supplemental), two fertilization types (20 N-4.4 P-16.6 K Peat-lite special and 15N-2.2P-12.5K CalMag special) at 100-mg·L-1 total nitrogen, and three irrigation cycles [sub-irrigation every day (wet), every third day …

Effects Of Non-Surface-Disturbing Restoration Treatments On Native Grass Revegetation And Soil Seed Bank Composition In Cheatgrass-Invaded Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystems, Alexandra D. Reinwald

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The sagebrush-steppe communities of the Great Basin have been dramatically transformed by the invasion of the non-native annual grass cheatgrass. In many areas of the Great Basin, this invasion has resulted in the loss of native plant species and ultimately the conversion to cheatgrass-dominated communities. As healthy sagebrush communities provide multiple ecosystem services such as diverse wildlife habitat, forage for cattle grazing, and water filtration, restoration of these communities is a high priority to landowners and land management agencies. Established perennial grasses can successfully compete with non-native annual grasses and increase the resistance of plant communities to invasion by non-native …

Streptomycin Resistance Of Erwinia Amylovora, Causal Agent Of Fire Blight, Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Growth And Physiological Responses Of Maize And Sorghum Genotypes To Salt Stress, Youping Sun, Wenwei Xu, Denise Rodriguez, Youping Sun

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The growth and physiological responses of four maize inbred lines (CUBA1, B73, B5C2, and BR1) and four sorghum hybrids (SS304, NK7829, Sordan 79, and KS585) to salinity were determined. Fifteen days after sowing, seedlings were irrigated with nutrient solution (control) at electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.5 dS m−1 or saline solution at EC of 8.0 dS m−1 (salt treatment) for 40 days. Dry weight of shoots in maize was reduced by 58%, 65%, 62%, and 69% in CUBA1, B73, B5C2, and BR1, respectively, while that of sorghum was reduced by 51%, 56%, 56%, and 76% in SS304, NK7829, Sordan79, and …

In Vitro Regeneration Of Rudbeckia Hirta ‘Plainview Farm’ From Leaf Tissue, Youping Sun, Lijuan Han, Donglin Zhang

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Plainview Farm’, a new multiple-layered ray flowered cultivar, shows potential for potted plant production. After years of seed germination, this specific flower morphological trait was still unstable from generation to generation. To maintain its unique features, leaf sections (0.25 cm2 ) were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with either BA (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg·L1 ), KIN (2.5, 5, or 10 mg·L-1 ), or ZT (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg·L-1 )toinduce callus and microshoots. After cultivation for 33 days, all cytokinin treatments significantly induced callus and the callus size were 1.5- to-2.4-fold bigger than those …

Root-Knot Nematodes In Golf Course Greens Of The Western United States, Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Peach Leaf Curl Disease, Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Thousand Cankers Disease Of Walnut (Geosmithia Morbida), Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

First Report Of Two Curtoviruses In Spinach And Common Beet In Arizona, Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Competition Between Turfgrass And Trees In The Landscape, Christopher A. Hendrickson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Population growth in regions of the Intermountain West has resulted in rapid growth of residential neighborhoods. In Utah, the landscapes associated with these expanding neighborhoods consume vast quantities of treated water. This is a concern in all states of the Intermountain West, as water becomes increasingly scarce. Traditionally used turfgrasses, trees and other plants in Intermountain West landscapes require significant amounts of supplemental water considering the intense sunlight, dry winds and sparse rainfall typical of the region. Characterizing the interactions between turfgrass and tree species in these landscapes can aid in the identification of candidate species that consume less nutritional …

Simulated Browsing Impacts On Aspen Suckers' Density, Growth, And Nutritional Responses, Koketso Tshireletso

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Heavy and repeated ungulate browsing on reproductive suckers has limited trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) regeneration on many Western landscapes. However, little is known about the specific effects of season and intensity of browsing. My objectives were to determine the effects of season and intensity of clipping (simulated browsing) on suckers’ (1) density and growth characteristics, and (2) nutritional quality and quantity.

Three randomly selected stands were clear-felled in mid-July, 2005, and fenced. Simulated browsing treatments of 0%, 20%, 40%, and 60% removal of current year’s growth were randomly applied in early, mid-, and late summers of 2006 and …

Proceedings - Ecology And Management Of Annual Rangelands, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Plants

Annual weeds continue to expand throughout the West eliminating many desirable species and plant communities. Wildfires are now common on lands infested with annual weeds, causing a loss of wildlife habitat and other natural resources. Measures can be used to reduce burning and restore native plant communities, but restoration is difficult and costly.