Soil water use by Ceanothus velutinus and two grasses.

Abstract

Seasonal trends of soil water content in plots of snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinus Dougl.), orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata L), and pinegrass (Calamagrostis rubes- cens Buckl.) and in bare plots were measured on a burned-over forest watershed in north-central Washington. A comparison of soil water contents at depths of 12, 24, 36, and 48 inches indicated that the grasses and snowbrush generally used similar amounts of soil water; although during midsummer, water content at 12 inches in - pinegrass plots was significantly lower than that in snowbrush plots, which indicated greater water use by pinegrass. From the soil surface to a depth of 24 inches, soil water content in snowbrush plots was similar to that in bare plots during most of the summer, thereby suggesting that snowbrush may not be a serious competitor for soil moisture during the initial establishment of conifer seedlings. Pinegrass probably has the greatest potential to be a more serious competitor for soil moisture with newly planted conifer seedlings than either orchard grass or snowbrush.

Citation

Lopushinsky, W.; Klock, G.O. 1990. Soil water use by Ceanothus velutinus and two grasses. Res. Note PNW-RN-496. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 12 p