1. ERDC Knowledge Core
2. Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
3. Cold Regions Research Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) - (2/1/1961 - present)
4. Publication
5. Special Report

Title:	Scheduling Fall Seedings for Cold-Climate Revegetation
Authors:	U.S. Army Engineering and Housing Support Center, Natural and Cultural Resources Division Racine, Charles H. Bailey, Ronald N. Palazzo, A. J. (Antonio J.)
Keywords:	Grasses Mulches Revegetation Seed germination
Publisher:	Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Series/Report no.:	Special report (Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (U.S.)) ; 90-36.
Abstract:	Abstract: Revegetating construction sites in the fall requires the scheduling of seeding and mulching for either permanent or dormant seedings. Dormant seedings must be late enough in the fall to prevent germination, while permanent seedings must be early enough to permit seedling establishment and avoid winterkill. A technique for determining optimum seeding dates using growing degree-day curves was developed and tested. Small outdoor plots and buried pots in Hanover, New Hampshire, were seeded with tall fescue at intervals during October 1988 and 1989, respectively, and covered with either straw mulch or a Typar row cover. Soil surface temperatures, germination and growth were monitored into the following springs. Fall or spring germination of fall-sown tall fescue seeds required about 100 GDDs (over 5°C), while the development of a second leaf required an additional 70 GDDs. In the experimental plots without any cover, these requirements were met with 12 October and 5 October seedings, respectively; with a Typar cover seeding dates could be delayed by one week. In pots the greatest spring yields were obtained under Typar at the earliest (5 October) seeding date and the latest dormant seeding date (2 November). Straw mulch applied during the fall had little or no effect on the number of growing degree-days remaining. However, during the following spring, it slowed soil warming and germination of doonant seedings. The appropriate fall seeding date for northern areas can be calculated using a power curve for Hanover, New Hampshire: Julian date = 360 x (GDDs required)(-0.05). Note: Any numerals within brackets should be considered exponents for use in scientific notation.
Description:	Special Report
Rights:	Approved for Public Release, Distribution is Unlimited
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/11681/12080
Appears in Collections:	Special Report