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Revegetation is a reclamation method used to stabilize land that has been disturbed (i.e. Uranium contamination) by mining in an effort to establish a sustainable plant community. During 1986-88, large amounts of topsoil were removed at the site adjacent to the Tuba City disposal cell to remove windblown contaminated soil and construct the Uranium disposal cell. Re-establishing a sustainable plant community is critical to minimizing dust emissions, controlling erosion, and improving rangeland condition, and enhancing evapotranspiration. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of revegetation efforts by 1) comparing plant species composition and abundance on the reclaimed area and native rangeland protected from grazing, 2) current rangeland condition by comparing plant communities on grazed and protected native rangeland 3) differences in soil fertility, particle size distribution, and morphology that could be influencing vegetation differences in the three areas, 4) landscape-scale evapotranspiration rates and effects on groundwater recharge in the three plant communities, and 5) the value of using relatively undisturbed Legacy Management parcels as reference areas. Plant cover in the revegetated area was greater in 2014 (24%) than in 1998 (15%); however, plant species composition and diversity in the revegetated area and in the reference area remained markedly different. The effectiveness of revegetation is improving, but given the extended amount of time the improvement is not matching the protected area’s percent cover. The reference area showed highest cover during the early cool-season. However, the grazed area possessed the highest plant species composition and highest foliar cover in the late warm-season. The vegetation relevé estimate and foliar cover statistics show the revegetated area (24%) was significantly less than the surrounding vegetation (35%), even after 26 years since original revegetation. These results are critical in assisting Legacy Management to identify environmentally sustainable methods for the continuous management of this site and others in the area.

Master of Science / Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Peg McBee / Three wildlife seed mixes were tested, Perfect Plot (BioLogic), Rack Force (Evolved Harvest), and Bird and Buck Whitetail and Gamebird mix (Star Seed). Two methods of research were conducted, (1) a food plot monitoring field study, and (2) a seed germination laboratory test. Food plots were planted in northwest (Jennings) and northeast (Manhattan) Kansas. Single season occupancy models from Program MARK were used to determine plot usage and preference of the seed mixes. Feeding patterns were analyzed from two locations targeting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Camera trap data were also analyzed for raccoon (Procyon lotor), wild turkey (Melagris gallopavo), and coyote (Canis latrans). During the summer 2014, the Bird and Buck mix retained the greatest amount of desirable vegetation, compared to the Rack Force and Perfect Plot mixes, which exhibited intermediate and relatively poor stand condition, respectively. White-tailed deer were documented at 100% occupancy using all (i.e., 100%) plots of all three mixes in Manhattan and Jennings, Kansas. In Manhattan, a significant increase in feeding events was observed for the months of July (45% of days) and August (50% of days) compared to the month of June (34% of days; p < 0.02). In contrast, deer feeding events in Jennings declined from 67% and 55% of days in June and July, respectively, to only 18% of days in August (p < 0.001). After initially having establishment issues among all three mixes, a laboratory study was initiated comparing the germination rates of each seed mix. Ten 1-gram random samples of each seed mix were tested in complete darkness at a constant 25-30°C for 25 days. When comparing daily germination rates of the seeds in the mixes, peak germination for all mixes (p < 0.0001) occurred on days 5-10 and 12-14. A single expected germination rate of similar plant types (i.e. alfalfa, clover, chicory, grasses) was computed from the seed tag, and then compared to the observed proportion of total seeds sampled that germinated. Bird and Buck recorded the highest germination, 79%, only 0.5% less than the expected overall germination. Perfect Plot and Rack Force recorded germination rates of 49% and 52%, which respectively, were 7% and 11% less than was expected.