Factors Affecting Revegetation of Oil Field Access Roads in Semiarid Grassland

Restoration Ecology

Volumn 18, Issue SUPPL. 1, 2010, Pages 27-39

  Simmers, Sara M ^a,b   Galatowitsch, Susan M ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA   (United States)

^b Western Plains Consulting Inc   (United States)

Author keywords

Colonization; Establishment; Long term outcomes; Mixed grass prairie; Native versus non native species; Revegetation; Road removal; Road restoration; Seed selection

Indexed keywords

COLONIZATION; ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR; GRASSLAND; HABITAT RESTORATION; OIL FIELD; PLANT COMMUNITY; RESTORATION ECOLOGY; REVEGETATION; SEMIARID REGION; SPECIES RICHNESS;

GREAT PLAINS;

POACEAE;

EID: 77956544180     PISSN: 10612971     EISSN: 1526100X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-100X.2010.00716.x     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Angold P G. The impact of a road upon adjacent heathland vegetation: effects on plant species composition. Journal of Applied Ecology 1997, 34:409-417.
2. Aubry C, Shoal R, Erickson V. Grass cultivars: their origins, development, and use on national forests and grasslands in the Pacific Northwest 2005, Region 6,, United States Forest Service, Portland,, Oregon
3. Baer S G, Kitchen D J, Blair J M, Rice C W. Changes in ecosystem structure and function along a chronosequence of restored grasslands. Ecological Applications 2002, 12:1688-1701.
4. Bakker J, Wilson S. Competitive abilities of introduced and native grasses. Plant Ecology 2001, 157:117-125.
5. Bakker J D, Wilson S D, Christian J M, Li X, Ambrose L G, Waddington J. Contingency of grassland restoration on year, site, and competition from introduced grasses. Ecological Applications 2003, 13:137-153.
6. Barker W T, Whitman W C. Vegetation of the northern Great Plains. Rangelands 1988, 10:266-272.
7. Bischoff A, Warthemann G, Klotz S. Succession of floodplain grasslands following reduction in land use intensity: the importance of environmental conditions, management and dispersal. Journal of Applied Ecology 2008, 46:241-249.
8. Block W M, Franklin A B, Ward J P, Ganey J L, White G C. Design and implementation of monitoring studies to evaluate the success of ecological restoration on wildlife. Restoration Ecology 2001, 9:293-303.
9. Bochet E, García-Fayos P. Factors controlling vegetation establishment and water erosion on motorway slopes in Valencia, Spain. Restoration Ecology 2004, 12:166-174.
10. Bohnen J, Galatowitsch S M. Restoration of wetland plant communities. Bioassessment and management of North American freshwater wetlands 2001, 187-205. Rader R B, Batzer D PWissinger S A. Pages, editors., John Wiley and Sons, New York
11. Briske D D, Wilson A M. Temperature effects on adventitious root development in blue grama seedlings. Journal of Range Management 1977, 30:276-280.
12. Call C A, Roundy B A. Perspectives and processes in revegetation of arid and semiarid rangelands. Journal of Range Management 1991, 44:543-549.
13. Christian J M, Wilson S D. Long-term ecosystem impacts of an introduced grass in the northern Great Plains. Ecology 1999, 80:2397-2407.
14. Coffin D P, Lauenroth W K, Burke I C. Recovery of vegetation in a semiarid grassland 53 years after disturbance. Ecological Applications 1996, 6:538-555.
15. Cotts N R, Redente E F, Schiller R. Restoration methods for abandoned roads at lower elevations in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation 1991, 5:235-249.
16. Dickson T L, Foster B L. The relative importance of the species pool, productivity and disturbance in regulating grassland plant species richness: a field experiment. Journal of Ecology 2008, 96:937-946.
17. Fagan K C, Pywell R F, Bullock J M, Marrs R H. Do calcareous grasslands on former arable fields resemble ancient targets? The effect of time, methods and environment on outcomes. Journal of Applied Ecology 2008, 45:1293-1303.
18. Forman R T T, Deblinger R D. The ecological road-effect zone of a Massachusetts (U.S.A.) suburban highway. Conservation Biology 2000, 14:36-46.
19. Foster B L, Murphy C A, Keller K R, Aschenbach T A, Questad E J, Kindscher K. Restoration of prairie community structure and ecosystem function in an abandoned hayfield: a sowing experiment. Restoration Ecology 2007, 15:652-661.
20. Gelbard J L, Belnap J. Roads as conduits for exotic plant invasions in a semiarid landscape. Conservation Biology 2003, 17:420-432.
21. Gelbard J L, Harrison S. Roadless habitats as refuges for native grasslands: interactions with soil, aspect, and grazing. Ecological Applications 2003, 12:404-415.
22. Greenberg C H, Crownover S H, Gordon D R. Roadside soils: a corridor for invasion of xeric scrub by nonindigenous plants. Natural Areas Journal 1997, 17:99-109.
23. Gustafson D J, Gibson D J, Nickrent D L. Conservation genetics of two co-dominant grass species in an endangered grassland ecosystem. Journal of Applied Ecology 2004, 41:389-397.
24. Hammermeister A M. 2001, An ecological analysis of prairie rehabilitation on petroleum wellsites in southeast Alberta. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
25. Jaynes R A, Harper K T. Patterns of natural revegetation in arid southeastern Utah. Journal of Range Management 1978, 31:407-411.
26. Kindscher K, Tieszen L L. Floristic and soil organic matter changes after five and thirty-five years of native tallgrass. Restoration Ecology 1998, 6:181-196.
27. Kirkman L K, Coffey K L, Mitchell R J, Moser E B. Ground cover recovery patterns and life-history traits: implications for restoration obstacles and opportunities in a species-rich savanna. Journal of Ecology 2004, 92:409-421.
28. Kolka R K, Smidt M F. Effects of forest road amelioration techniques on soil bulk density, surface runoff, sediment transport, soil moisture and seedling growth. Forest Ecology and Management 2004, 202:313-323.
29. Kondolf G M. Five elements for effective evaluation of stream restoration. Restoration Ecology 1995, 3:133-136.
30. Kruskal J B. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling: a numerical method. Psychometrika 1964, 29:115-129.
31. Lesica P, Allendorf F W. Ecological genetics and the restoration of plant communities: mix or match? Restoration Ecology 1999, 7:42-50.
32. MacDougall A S, Wilson S, Bakker J. Climatic variability alters the outcome of long-term community assembly. Journal of Ecology 2008, 96:346-354.
33. Martin L M, Moloney K A, Wilsey B J. An assessment of grassland restoration success using species diversity components. Journal of Applied Ecology 2005, 42:327-336.
34. Mather P M. Computational methods of multivariate analysis in physical geography 1976, John Wiley and Sons, London
35. McCaffery M, Switalski T A, Eby L. Effects of road decommissioning on stream habitat characteristics in the South Fork Flathead River, Montana. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 2007, 136:553-561.
36. McCune B, Grace J B. 2002, Analysis of ecological communities. MjM Software Design, Gleneden Beach, Oregon.
37. McCune B, Mefford M J. 1999, PCORD. Multivariate analysis of ecological data. Version 4.37. MjM Software, Gleneden Beach, Oregon.
38. McLauchlan K K, Hobbie S E, Post W M. Conversion from agriculture to grassland builds soil organic matter on decadal timescales. Ecological Applications 2006, 16:143-153.
39. McSweeney K, Jansen I J. Soil structure and associated rooting behavior in minespoils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 1984, 48:607-612.
40. Mueller-Dombois D, Ellenberg H. Aims and Methods of Vegetation ecology 1974, John Wiley and Sons, New York
41. 2004, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Monthly station climate summaries, 1971-2000, North Dakota. Climatography of the United States No. 20. Averaged for stations 1, 28, 60, 90, 91. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina.
42. 2006, http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/drought/palmer-maps/index.php, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Historic Palmer Drought Indices. Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1983-2001. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina (available from, accessed August 2006.
43. Parendes L A, Jones J A. Role of light availability and dispersal in exotic plant invasion along roads and streams in the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon. Conservation Biology 2000, 14:64-75.
44. Pielou E C. Mathematical ecology 1977, John Wiley and Sons, New York
45. Piper J K, Schmidt E S, Janzen A J. Effects of species richness on resident and target species components in a prairie restoration. Restoration Ecology 2007, 15:189-198.
46. Polley H W, Derner J D, Wilsey B J. Patterns of plant species diversity in remnant and restored tallgrass prairies. Restoration Ecology 2005, 13:480-487.
47. Polley H W, Wilsey B J, Derner J D. Dominant species constrain effects of species diversity on temporal variability in biomass production of tallgrass prairie. Oikos 2007, 116:2044-2052.
48. Pyke D A, Archer S. Plant-plant interactions affecting plant establishment and persistence on revegetated rangeland. Journal of Range Management 1991, 44:550-557.
49. Pywell R F, Bullock J M, Hopkins A, Walker K J, Sparks T H, Burke M J W, Peel S. Restoration of species-rich grassland on arable land: assessing the limiting processes using a multi-site experiment. Journal of Applied Ecology 2002, 39:294-309.
50. Schuman G E, Booth D T, Waggoner J W. Grazing reclaimed mined land seeded to native grasses in Wyoming. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 1990, 45:653-657.
51. Sluis W J. Patterns of species richness and composition in re-created grassland. Restoration Ecology 2002, 10:677-684.
52. Switalski T A, Bissonette J A, DeLuca T H, Luce C H, Madej M A. Benefits and impacts of road removal. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2004, 2:21-28.
53. Trombulak S C, Frissell C A. Review of ecological effects of roads on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Conservation Biology 2000, 14:18-30.
54. Tyser R W, Worley C A. Alien flora in grasslands adjacent to road and trail corridors in Glacier National Park, Montana (U.S.A.). Conservation Biology 1992, 6:253-262.
55. 2010, http://plants.udsa.gov, USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service), The PLANTS Database (available from, accessed 1 February 2010. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
56. 2006, USDI (United States Department of Interior) and USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), Surface operating standards and guidelines for oil and gas exploration and development. BLM/WO/ST-06/ 021+3071. Bureau of Land Management, Denver, Colorado.
57. Wali M K. Ecological succession and the rehabilitation of disturbed terrestrial ecosystems. Plant and Soil 1999, 213:195-220.
58. Ward S, Koch J, Ainsworth G. The effect of timing of rehabilitation procedures on the establishment of a jarrah forest after bauxite mining. Restoration Ecology 1996, 4:19-24.
59. Watkins R Z, Chen J, Picens J, Brosofske K D. Effects of forest roads on understory plants in a managed hardwood landscape. Conservation Biology 2003, 17:411-419.
60. Wilsey B J. Productivity and subordinate species response to dominant grass species and seed source during restoration. Restoration Ecology in press. DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-100X.2008.00471.x
61. Wilson S D, Pärtel M. Extirpation or coexistence? Management of a persistent introduced grass in a prairie restoration. Restoration Ecology 2003, 11:410-416.
62. Zar J H. Biostatistical Analysis 1999, 4th edition, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
63. Zink T A, Allen M F, Heindl-Tenhunen B, Allen E B. The effect of a disturbance corridor on an ecological reserve. Restoration Ecology 1995, 3:304-310.