Author(s): Mallory Hinton, Megan Stevenson
Mentor(s): April Hulet, Matt Madsen
Institution BYU
Restoring native shrubs in Western US rangelands is essential for ecosystem resilience and biodiversity but faces challenges due to harsh environmental conditions and seed viability issues. While seed priming has shown promise in enhancing germination and improving nursery production, seed dormancy and slow germination remain significant hurdles. This research evaluates the effectiveness of seed priming and scarification treatments on germination rates, seedling establishment, and plant vigor in thirteen native shrub species: antelope bitterbrush, Apache plume, desert willow, fourwing saltbush, green rabbitbrush, Mexican cliffrose, Nevada ephedra, rubber rabbitbrush, sand sagebrush, shadscale, chokecherry, Mexican cliffrose, and Utah serviceberry. This research was broken up into two phases. Phase I looked at germination of nine shrub species with no dormancies and no pretreatments. Phase II looked at germination of four shrub species, each with dormancies and different pretreatments. Shrub seeds (~100 per species) were either subjected to no treatment, osmotic priming with gibberellic acid (GA₃) with an aquarium bubbler for aeration for 48 hours, scarified in three intervals (short-, mid-, and long-) with a belt drive sander, cold/moist stratification, or a combination.. After treatment, seeds were placed on moistened blotter papers and put in growth chambers (15°C, 12-hour light/day cycle); germination was monitored daily for 21 days. Once the most effective dormancy-breaking and germination-enhancing methods are determined, plants will be sown in a greenhouse to examine plant emergence, biomass, and root development. By overcoming seed growth barriers, we can improve restoration efforts in native rangelands and address plant availability limitations in commercial nurseries.