Mowing of annual colonizers to enhance revegetation after surface mining

Abstract

Mowing of first-year erect, annual, colonizing vegetation ( especially Kochia scoparia and Salsola collina) was beneficial in the growth and establishment of wheatgrasses (Agropyron caninum, A. smithii and A. elongatum) on restored mined land in western North Dakota. Sample plots containing primarily Kochia, Salsola and Agropyron spp. were mowed in mid- and late-July and mid-August during the first year of growth after re-contouring, replacing topsoil, fertilizing with N, P and K, and seeding with a mixture of grasses and legumes. Kochia densities were reduced to about 2% and biomass to one-third that of the control when the area was mowed in mid-August. Agropyron spp., however, showed an increase of 860% in biomass production over the control due to mowing in midAugust. The mowing of Kochia just before seed-set apparently reduced interspecific competition between Kochia and Agropyron spp. during the following growing season. We recommend mowing for hastening the re-establishment of grasses following surface mining in grassland regions.

Citation

​​Iverson, Louis R.; Wali, Mohan K. 1987. Mowing of annual colonizers to enhance revegetation after surface mining. Reclamation and Revegetation Reserach. 6: 157-161.