Transplanting Following Non-Native Plant Control in Rocky Mountain Foothills Fescue Grassland Restoration

Disturbed areas within national parks, resulting from historic and current land use activities, can harbor large and diverse populations of non-native plant species. These species must be controlled to prevent their spread and to restore native grassland. Research on alternative revegetation methods is urgently needed since seed based grassland restoration is often unsuccessful. The effectiveness of transplanting to restore foothills fescue grassland following implementation of non-native plant management was investigated at three disturbed sites in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada. Non-native plant abundance was reduced by cutting, glyphosate application, and steaming. Greenhouse grown seedlings of native fescue grassland species (13 forbs, five grasses, two shrubs) were outplanted into plots following management treatments, as three different sizes of container stock. The effects of prior non-native plant management and container size on transplant survival and growth were assessed over two growing seasons. Rhizomatous forbs and bunchgrasses with well-developed root systems had highest survival (> 50% over 14 months). Transplants with 10- to 15-cm rooting depth in cones and root trainers had significantly higher within-year survival than tray transplants with a shallow rooting depth. Transplant survival was improved by glyphosate application to control non-native plants prior to planting. Transplanting was effective for increasing native cover and species richness although high winter mortality reduced this effect. Key species for fescue grassland function were introduced at all sites and persisted for two growing seasons.