Reveg and Research - Part 1

One of the activities here on the refuge is the planting of native brushland species. This is known as Reveg (Revegetation). Reveg takes place on newly purchased agricultural tracts that are bare ground or grasslands, or in areas where one species (like mesquite) has taken over. The goal of Reveg is to get a diverse mixture of brush that supports native animal species.

The refuge complex has a nursery operation that raises hundreds-of-thousands of plants, and they contract with local growers to provide hundreds-of-thousands more. Contract crews then plant these seedlings into areas that have been prepared ahead of time. Since we've been here at Laguna Atascosa there have been plantings of 15,000 and 18,000 seedlings.

These pictures show the plants in their crates as they arrive from the refuge nursery, and freshly planted areas.






There is a research project underway here to look at how the sites are prepared (burned, mowed, sprayed) and evaluate the survival of the seedlings.



There are 18 test plots with different combinations of soil preparation, and one other technique and Teri and I have been implementing. Can you guess what we have been doing?



Here is a hint:



More of Reveg and Research next time!