2008 Progress Report
Who We Are
The Appalachian Plant Materials Center, located in Alderson,
West Virginia, serves 11 states in the Appalachian Region from Pennsylvania
to Georgia and Alabama. The Center is operated by the USDA-NRCS in
cooperation with the USDA-Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Forest Service
and the Agriculture Experiment Stations of West Virginia University,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the University of
Kentucky. Alderson is located in the heart of Appalachia, and the Center is
situated on County Route 3/29, also known as Old Prison Farm Road,
approximately 20 miles Southeast of Lewisburg, West Virginia. This center is
new with regard to land resource and physical plant, but is the product of
the transfer of programs and equipment from Quicksand, Kentucky to Alderson,
West Virginia. The transfer of center functions began in 1996 and was
completed in 2000.
What We Do
The Plant Materials Center serves Appalachia by evaluating plants for
their ability to solve specific conservation problems related to climate,
the rugged topography, soil limitations, various land uses, fish and
wildlife needs and desires of the landowners. The center provides a place
for conducting systematic observations and evaluations of plants needed to
protect our natural resources. New techniques are developed for the
propagation, establishment, management and use for new or improved species
of grasses, legumes, shrubs and trees.
The Center’s program emphasizes improving forage production on hillside
pastures, address problems associated with concentrated livestock,
reclamation of mined lands, streambank stabilization, agro-forestry,
wildlife habitat improvement, and utilization of economic and culturally
valuable plants. The center assembles plants from the entire service area
with similar soils and climate, evaluates the plants, develops management
techniques, and provides seed and plants for planting to test performance
throughout the area. Most of the plant materials produced at the center are
used in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia,
and North Carolina.
A brief summary of year 2008 accomplishments follows. For a complete account
of all activities, request the 2008 Technical Report at the above address.
2008 Summary of Projects
Many of these projects involve one or more species of native plants and have
diversified our partnerships with Native Americans, federal agencies and private
conservation groups. A brief description of each project follows.
‘Augusta’ Orchardgrass
‘Augusta’ orchardgrass was released for commercial production in 2008 as a
cultivar that is well adapted to the Eastern United States and particularly the
Appalachian Region. Orchardgrass is a perennial cool season grass that exhibits
a bunch or clump growth habit that produces an open sod. It is native to Europe,
but is widely distributed and has become naturalized across the United States
and is an important cultivated grass for pasture and hay production.
Orchardgrass is typically more drought tolerant than other cool season forage
grasses of similar quality; e.g. timothy and Kentucky bluegrass.
The anticipated uses of ‘Augusta’ orchardgrass are: cool season forage for
pasture and hay, cool season grass component in cool season grass and legume
mixtures for wildlife habitat, and critical area stabilization on areas where
seed mixtures are used to encourage natural succession to woody species. Its
extensive fibrous root system is an excellent adaptation for drought tolerance.
Its open growth habit allows establishment with legumes and forbs and allows
succession to occur.
‘Augusta’ orchardgrass is an excellent replacement for tall fescue in Eastern
pastures since it is endophyte free and develops an open stand compatible with
legumes and forbs. ‘Augusta’ was originally collected from a naturalized stand
growing on a well-drained, shallow, low fertility, acid soil with medium to low
water holding capacity in Augusta County, Virginia. The cultivar derives its
name from its county of origin. Seed of ‘Augusta’ may be available commercially
circa 2010.
U. S. Department of the Interior-National Park Service Stones River National
Battlefield Native Plant Restoration
Stones River National Battlefield, located in Middle Tennessee on the
northwestern edge of Murfreesboro is the site of one of the significant battles
of the War Between the States. The Battle of Stones River, fought between
December 31, 1862 and January 2, 1863 marked the beginning of the Union Army’s
“March to the Sea” which resulted in Union control of agricultural land and
supply networks and prevented further attempts by the Confederate Army to push
northward. Stones River National Battlefield was established in 1927 to preserve
this significant historic site. The original property consisted of 344 of the
4,000 acres over which the battle was fought. The park currently encompasses
approximately 700 acres.
Today, introduced and exotic plant species have encroached onto many areas of
the battlefield. Park managers have identified restoration of native plant
communities as a high priority for maintenance of the parks circa 1862
authenticity. National Park Service personnel have completed a thorough
assessment of the vascular flora inhabiting the battlefield property and have
targeted more than twenty native plant species having high priority for use in
restoration of plant communities.
The Appalachian Plant Materials Center agreed to work with the National Park
Service at Stones River National Battlefield to collect seed, develop
propagation techniques, and produce seedling plants and/or seed of the targeted
species for plant community restoration within the park.
Seed collection and conditioning and transplant production continued in 2008.
The PMC produced a total of about 30,000 transplants representing 10 plus native
species. The majority of the transplants were shipped to Stones River National
Battlefield for establishment of seed production fields. Transplants retained by
the PMC are to be used to establish small seed production blocks at the PMC in
the event of field failures at Murfreesboro. US Army Corps. of Engineers – Marmet Native Plant Mitigation
The Appalachian Plant Materials Center continued to assist the US Army Corps.
of Engineers - Huntington District with restoration of native plants at the
Marmet Locks and Dam Project. This project is located on the Kanawha River in
West Virginia upstream of Charleston. The project includes building a new lock
chamber and approach channels at River Mile 67.7. All vegetation and habitats
within the approximately 150 acre site will be destroyed during the course of
construction.
Six native woody species were harvested from the site prior to the start of
construction. These species are: Acer saccharinum, silver maple;
Lindera benzoin, spicebush: Sambucus canadensis, elderberry;
Asimina triloba, pawpaw; Sassafras albidum, sassafras; and
Aesculus octandra, yellow buckeye.
These plants are being maintained as container grown stock at the Plant
Materials Center until completion of construction, when they will be
re-introduced to the Marmet site to assist with re-establishment of genetic
diversity at the lock and dam location. In the autumn of 2005, 128 pawpaws, 104
elderberries, 10 sassafras, 100 spice bushes and 38 silver maples were returned
to the construction site for transplanting into areas where earth moving
activities have been completed. Plants remaining at the PMC continue to be
maintained as container stock pending construction completion circa 2009.
Annual Land Judging Competition Held at the Plant Materials Center
The Plant Materials Center was the host location for the Southern and
Greenbrier Soil Conservation District sponsored Regional Land Judging
competition again in 2008. This marks the ninth year that the PMC has hosted
this annual competition.
Competitors are normally Future Farmer of America and Canon Envirothon
students from middle and high schools from the seven counties comprising the two
soil conservation districts. Students and coaches are given a brief tour of the
center after they have completed their judging. The Plant Materials Center looks
forward to hosting this competition in future years.
West Virginia National Guard Camp Dawson Native Grasses Project
During 2004, the Natural Resources Staff at Camp Dawson, the Army National
Guard Training Camp near Kingwood, West Virginia, entered into an agreement with
the Appalachian PMC. The purpose of this agreement is for the PMC to produce
local ecotype warm season grass seed for the Camp Dawson Natural Resources Staff
to use in revegetating areas disturbed by annual training activities. Much of
the training conducted at the camp involves earthmoving equipment, which
inevitably leaves a lot of bare ground to be revegetated! Previous revegetation
efforts have focused almost exclusively on use of introduced grasses and/or
legumes which have often proven to be less than satisfactory aesthetic, wildlife
and erosion control values. It is the desire of the Camp’s Natural Resource
Staff to increase use of locally adapted warm season grasses to improve the
aesthetic, wildlife, and erosion control values of their revegetation efforts.
Four warm season species are indigenous to the Camp. These species are:
Sorgastrum nutans, Indiangrass; Andropogon gerardii, big bluestem;
Schizachyrium scoparium, little
bluestem; and Panicum virgatum, switchgrass. Seed from each of these
species was collected at Camp Dawson in 2004 and 2005.These seeds were
conditioned at the PMC and planted to establish seed production blocks at the
PMC in 2006. Seed harvested from the PMC production fields will be returned to
Camp Dawson to be used in revegetating areas disturbed by troop training
exercises. All four species will also be evaluated at the PMC as potential
Central Appalachian ecotype releases for use as forage and wildlife values.
Native Plants for Kentucky Food Security Act Programs
The Kentucky Plant Materials Committee is going native! FSA contracts
benefiting wildlife are abundant in Kentucky, while locally adapted native
plants to use in these contracts are not. The Kentucky Plant Materials Committee
approached the PMC for assistance with this dilemma in 2004. As a result, the
PMC will be doing initial seed increase for five native species in 2005. These
species are: Liatris spicata, spiked blazing star; Rudbeckia hirta,
Black-eyed Susan; Desmanthus illinoensis; Illinois bundleflower;
Lespedeza capitata, Roundhead lespedeza; and Lespedeza virginicus,
Virginia lespedeza. Seed produced by the PMC will be provided to Kentucky seed
producers who will establish production fields and market seed of these species
in Kentucky. All of these species are potential Kentucky ecotype releases.
Seedlings of each Kentucky ecotype were started in 2.25 inch diameter plug
cells in 2005. These plugs were transplanted into field production blocks in
2006. The first seed harvest from these production blocks was in the fall of
2007. Seed of all species except Lespedeza capitata is available for
field plantings.
Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge Ecotype Speckled Alder Project
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, the nation’s 500th, is
located near Davis, WV at an altitude of approximately 3500 feet. The
combination of altitude, wet soils, forests, shrub lands, and open expanses
create a sub alpine landscape and provide a diversity of wildlife habitats.
While not as readily visible as other birds, woodcock contribute to the
diversity of avian species that inhabit the refuge.
USF&WS personnel at Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge have secured funding for
habitat enhancement projects within the refuge, with a primary focus on woodcock
habitat. Personnel have also harvested seed from locally available Alnus
incana ssp. rugosa, speckled alder, plants for use in producing seedlings
for habitat restoration and enhancement within the refuge. However, USF&WS lack
the personnel, facilities and expertise to produce seedlings for their woodcock
habitat restoration and enhancement project.
Thus, US F &WS personnel opted to solicit PMC assistance with production of
the speckled alder seedlings. The PMC agreed to produce approximately 1000
seedlings for the Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge woodcock habitat enhancement
program and proceeded to plant the speckled alder seeds provided by the US F&WS
in the autumn of 2005. Additional seed was harvested within the Refuge in 2008
and planted in the PMC’s woody plant nursery. This project will continue through
2009.
American Chestnut Blight>
Resistance Evaluations
American chestnut was once a dominant tree in Appalachian forests until the
species was decimated by Endothia parsitica (chestnut blight). The
American Chestnut Cooperators Foundation (ACCF) is dedicated to conducting
chestnut selection and breeding research to improve resistance to chestnut
blight. A large part of the ACCF research is conducted through field plantings
throughout the natural range of the species to evaluate selected strains. The
ACCF approached the NRCS in 2006 for assistance with establishment of a chestnut
nursery and evaluation plantings of their improved strains for long term
evaluation purposes.
Native plants for high quality wildlife habitat is identified as a high
priority need in the PMC Long Range Plan. The PMC recognizes that the American
chestnut was once an environmentally and culturally dominant part of the
Appalachian landscape, the geographic area which the PMC serves. Also, the PMC
has some limited experience with chestnut blight resistance research using
seedlings produced from irradiated seed. Cooperating with the ACCF enables the
PMC to resume American chestnut blight resistance research and address a high
priority need identified in the PMC’S Long Range Plan.
The PMC received chestnuts of approximately 20 accessions from the ACCF in
2006. These seeds were planted in the PMC’s woody plant nursery where seed
germination was monitored. All seedlings produced were lifted in the spring of
2007 and distributed to cooperators to establish long term field evaluation
plantings. Additional seeds were planted in the PMC’s woody plant nursery in
2008.
Cover Crop Evaluation Project
The NRCS in West Virginia assists farmers to reduce erosion, improve nutrient
management, protect soil quality, and encourages the use of integrated pest
management on cropland. NRCS has committed technical and financial assistance
for vegetable producers to meet these goals through development of voluntary
conservation plans and accelerated application using Farm Bill programs. A
critical element of these plans is to insure correct timing and accepted methods
of cover crops to achieve the land nutrient balance, minimize the loss of
nutrients to ground or surface water, improve irrigation water management, and
to improve soil quality. As a research and teaching institute, the West Virginia
University Cooperative Extension Service (WVU CES) has a long term commitment
with NRCS, Conservation Districts and farmers to bring research and technology
to the agriculture community.
During 2007, the Appalachian PMC, in conjunction with the West Virginia NRCS
and Cooperative Extension Service, continued an evaluation project for various
winter cover crops on cropland. The final products of this project will be
seasonal field trials of NRCS released cultivars and commercially available
cover crops, publication of technical reports and recommendations for cover
crops used in vegetable production, and seasonal in-field training of NRCS and
WVU CES staff based on results of the demonstrations. This project is expected
to continue through at least 2009.
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Typical Field Scene at the Appalachian Plant
Materials Center.
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‘Augusta’ Orchardgrass Seed Field in Early Spring. |
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Lindera benzoin, spicebush, in full blossom. |
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Regional Land Judging Competition scene. |
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Liatris spicata,spiked blazing star at the PMC. |
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