Land management techniques can enhance altered ecosystems on a variety of landscapes. In the Williston Basin of North Dakota, brine ponds created 50 years ago still cause problems today. We applied six treatments to reclaim the A-horizon of brine-affected soil on six legacy brine ponds and monitored soil nutrients until 23 months after treatment. We found that from 0-15 cm, all treatments were significantly better at reducing electrical conductivity than the control. In addition, sodium adsorption ratio was reduced at all depths over time. In Southcentral North Dakota, we monitored the effects of fire and grazing on colonies of western snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis), an invasive woody shrub. Prescribed burning had a significant effect on western snowberry by reducing the number of mature plants and increasing the number of new shoots/m2. By incorporating drone aerial imagery, we helped develop an increasingly useful tool in vegetation monitoring.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ndsu.edu/oai:library.ndsu.edu:10365/32382 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Bartels, Dylan John |
| Publisher | North Dakota State University |
| Source Sets | North Dakota State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | NDSU policy 190.6.2, https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf |
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