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RESTORING THE UNDERSTORY:
Researching, Testing, and Developing
the Production of Plant Materials for
the New Frontier
National Native Seed Conference
Santa Fe, NM; April 13 - 16, 2015
Co-Authored by:
Toby Query, Restoration Ecologist, Environmental Services , City of Portland
Marsha Holt-Kingsley, Plant Materials Scientist, Natural Areas Program, Oregon Metro
The Foundation of the Forest:
the herbaceous understory
• More species
more microbes
more
insects better nutrient cycling (Eisenhauer 2011)
• 6.8% aboveground biomass, 27.4% root
biomass, 54.4% fine root biomass (Gonzalez et al 2012)
• Can represent up to 90% of plant species and
20% of foliar litter (Gilliam 2007)
Understory Restoration Study
Study encompasses Lower Puget Trough
and Willamette Valley
Focus: Greater Portland Metropolitan Area
Three Partners:
•Oregon Metro – Regional Government
•Bureau of Environmental Services – City of Portland
•Clean Water Services – Washington Co.
© Cascade Prairie Oak Partnership
Metro Properties total over 16,500 acres
What is Metro?
Metro works with
communities,
businesses and
residents in the
Portland metropolitan
area to chart a wise
course for the future
while protecting the
things we love about
this place.
“Because species
diversity is highest
in the herb layer
among all forest
strata, forest
biodiversity is
largely a function
of the herb layer
community.”
Gilliam (2007) BioScience Vol. 57
Shady Species Diversity Project
Goals:
• Research, develop,
implement an understory
seed and propagules program
•Conduct propagation and
grow-out trials of candidate
species for future commercial
production and field tests
•Assess regional plant
material requirements and
needs
Forest Management - Restoration Types
• THINNING: to increase habitat
diversity , structure and function
Chehalem Ridge Natural Area – pre-thinning
Chehalem Ridge Natural Area – post thinning
Forest Management - Restoration Types
• Mature Riparian Vegetation
Management:
• remove non-native/invasive species;
fill in gaps
Project Name
Project Id
C ategory
Native Woody
Native Herbaceous
Fanno C reek - Hall
Blvd to Ash Ave
141
Avg C over %
95.7
9.0
Invasive Species of
C oncern
Other Non-Native
42.7
Bare Substrate
11.7
Plant Type
Shrub
Tree
Total
33.3
Avg Stems Per Acre
2433
716
3150
Forest Management - Restoration Types
• Understory Weed Maintenance and Site Enhancement
Veterans creek pre-treatment
Veterans creek post-treatment
Crux of Restoring the Herbaceous Understory
• Understory may or may
not restore itself
• Limited options of
herbaceous understory
plant material
• Developing new plant
material will take years
• Finding commercial
growers produce seed
questionable
Species
Selection
Holly stump
Who’s Gonna
Win?
IVY
Fringecup
Candidate Species for Research, Collection, Field Trials
Achlys triphylla
Geum macrophyllum
Polystichum munitum
Actaea rubra
Heracleum maximum
Prosartes hookeri
Adenocoulon bicolor
Heuchera micrantha
Prosartes smithii
Aquilegia formosa
Ranunculus uncinatus
Asarum caudatum
Hydrophyllum tenuipes
Juncus patens
Bromus vulgaris
Lilium columbiana
Scutellaria laternifolia
Cardamine nuttallii
Luzula parviflora
Stachys chamissonis
Carex hendersonii
Maianthemum dilatatum
Tellima grandiflora
Carex leptopoda
Maianthemum racemosa
Thalicrum fedleri
Carex obnupta
Maianthemum stellata
Thalicrum occidentalis
Cimicifuga elata
Tiarella trifoliata
Circaea alpina
Melica subulata
Melica geyeri
Claytonia perfoliata
Moehringia macrophylla
Trillium chlorapetulum
Claytonia sibirica
Nemophila parviflora
Trillium ovatum
Dicentra formosa
Osmorhiza chilensis
Urtica dioica
Elymus glaucus
Oxalis oregana
Vancouveria hexandra
Erythonium oreganum
Oxalis suksdorfii
Petasites palmatus
Viola glabella
Festuca occidentalis
Sanicula crassicaulis
Tolmiea menziesii
Viola sempervirens
Species
Selection
Species
Selection
Seed
testing
Field Trials - HYTE
Pacific Waterleaf (HYTE)
cover at 3 different sites,
one year after seeding.
Each site had 6 – 1m2 plots
seeded with equal amounts
of same sourced seed.
Kruskal-Wallis and pairwise
Mann-Whitney tests show
significant variation in
HYDTEN cover (p<0.05)
Chehalem Ridge – Field Trials
Root Fragments
Species
# plots
#/plot
1st year
survival
VANHEX
4
146
40%
MAISTE
11
200
30%
3RD YEAR SUMMARY:
Plants emerging as of 4/10/15;
data inconclusive
Chehalem Ridge – Field Trials
Plugs
Species
# plots
#/plot
1st year
survival
GEUMAC
4
195
72.30%
CARLEP
3
195
96.20%
HYDTEN
4
180
55.50%
ADEBIC
2
185
40.70%
VANHEX
2
180
19.20%
3RD YEAR SUMMARY TO DATE
GEUMAC,
CARLEP
Increase in % cover; decrease in #
plants
HYDTEN,
ADEBIC,
VANHEX
4/10/15: Plants just starting to
emerge; data inconclusive
Chehalem Ridge – Field Trials Seeds
#
plots
Amt.
lb.
ADEBIC
2
0.61
CARDEW
4
0.162 OK (25 - 50)
CIRALP
2
0.026 GOOD (50-100) EXCEL
CLASIB
6
0.458 EXCEL(100+)
OK - GOOD
GEUMAC
3
0.052 EXCEL(100+)
GOOD
HYDTEN
3
1.27
MELGEY
2
0.088 GOOD (50-100) GOOD
NEMPAR
2
0.022 EXCEL(100+)
EXCEL
OSMCHI
5
0.234 EXCEL(100+)
GOOD (early)
RANUNC
1
0.014 EXCEL100+)
No data
TELGRA
3
0.34
EXCEL(100+)
EXCEL
TIATRI
2
0.01
GOOD (50-100) EXCEL
TOLMEN
1
0.038 GOOD (50-100) EXCEL
Species
Year 1 #
seedlings
POOR (<25)
GOOD (50-100)
Year 3
# seedlings
emerging
GOOD
emerging
PLOT AREAS INCREASED 150% TO 330%
after 2nd growing season
Field Trials - Chehalem Ridge
Carex leptopoda - Dewey’s sedge
2 year seed
2 year plugs
Field Trials - Chehalem Ridge
Ex-situ Trials – Willamette Field Station
YESS Crew planting out Plugs
2011
Fringecup seed plots under Hawthorn
Year 3
Species
Selection
Seed
testing
Candidates for
Production and
Restoration
Fir Understory
Propagule and
Amplification Beds
Native Plant Center understory amplification area under conversion
Native Plant Center – Understory Production Beds
Outplanting
Monitoring
Species
Selection
Seed Increase/
Propagule
Production
Contract
growout
Needs
assessment
stakeholders
Seed
testing
Candidate
for
Restoration
Initial Trials Assessments:
• Grass species easy to establish, but
will persist
• Some native species come back after
treatments if in seed bank
• Work horse species are:
Hydrophyllum, Tellima, Tolmeia,
Carex leptopoda, Claytonia, Geum,
and Nemophila
• Annuals = seeds
• Lilies, Vancouvaria, Trillium = root
fragments/divisions
• Perennials = seed/plugs/divisions
Ongoing Trials and Studies
• Seed mix, density, and
timing trials
• Slug predation on seeds
and seedlings
• Worm impact on forest
understory seeds
• Seed vs plug vs root
fragment
SLUG TRIAL DAY #1:
Garlic Mustard
Pacific Waterleaf
Herb Robert
2 Arion rufus (Chocolate arion)
8 days later
Garlic mustard-nibbled on
Waterleaf- heavily browsed
Herb Robert- not touched
Forest Understory and
Worms
ARE these Wiggly Wascals
good for the ecosystem???
If you said YES! Think Again
More Questions than Answers
• Light needs for each species
• Sword fern restoration
• Residual herbicide effects
• Competition with invasives
Herbaceous Understory Needs Assessment Summary
• 55 respondents
• 67% actively engaged in understory
restoration
• Riparian, Upland conifer Oak woodland
• Current acreage:
26-100 acres – 31%
101-500 acres – 21.8%
• Stable or increase acres 50%
• Purchase from
Growers/nurseries - 69%
Wild Collect – 36%
Own seed plots – 25%
Contract grow – 12%
• Species:
Aquilegia formosa, Bromus vulgaris, Carex
leptopoda, Claytonia perfoliata, Dicentra
formosa, Elymus glacus, hydrophyllum tenuipes,
Maianthemum racemosa, Prosartes spp.
Ranunculus occidentalis, Tellima
grandiflora,Tolmeia menziseii, Vancouvaria
hexandra, Carex obnupta, Viola glabella
• Need Seed –
Small quantities of plugs and potted materials
• What keeps you from restoring understory
29% - understory layer comes back
49% - not ready; more treatments
34% - materials not available
42% - not in the budget
Acknowledgments
• Clean Water Services: Anil and John
• Reveg staff & interns (Bianca Dolan,
Katie Farmer, Christa Von Behren)
• Metro staff, Jennifer Wilson, seed
scouts and volunteers
• Marci Krass and YESS crew,
• TNC, Portland Parks
For More Information Please Contact:
Marsha.holt-kingsley@oregonmetro.gov or toby.query@portlandoregon.gov
The preceding presentation was delivered at the
2015 National Native Seed Conference
Santa Fe, New Mexico April 13-16, 2015
This and additional presentations available at
http://nativeseed.info