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BEE FLAT CANYON: A case study in producing func<onally diverse seed mixes for coastal sage scrub restora<on MaChew Garrambone Plant Materials Coordinator Isaac Ostmann, Rachel Lambert, JuCa Burger Na<ve Seed Farm Bee Flat Canyon Restora<on Focus: plant materials for coastal sage scrub restora<on Restoring func<onal diversity STRIP SEEDING: 4O. strips with gaps FORB MIX: 12 species 32.47 lbs 5.11 acres 100% IRC farmed Main Mix: •  Lupinus succulentus = 11.851 •  Plantago erecta = 7.11 •  Deinandra fascicularis = 4.2664 •  Eschscholzia californica = 4.74 •  Salvia columbariae = 2.37 •  Cryptantha intermedia = .4736 •  Eucrypta intermedia = .9482 •  Malocothrix saxa?lis = .557 Dry Slope Mix: •  Lotus strigosus = .306 •  Chaenac?s glabriscula = .153 •  Cordylanthus rigidus = .153 •  Phacelia paryii = .1066 The Shrub Mix: 7 Species 142.11 lbs 9.2 acres 50% wild collected & 50% IRC farmed •  Acmispon glaber scoparius = 36.458 •  Eriogonum fasciculatum = 27.346 •  Encelia californica = 21.343 •  Salvia apiana = 18.234 •  Salvia mellifera = 18.234 •  Artemisia californica = 13.668 •  Mirabilis laevis var. californica = 6.834 The Grass Mix = 3 species 41.6 lbs. 10.24 acres 50% wild collected & 50% grown on contract •  Leymus condensatus = 21.1 •  S?pa pulchra: 20.1 •  S?pa lepida: .5 Goal: Analyze costs associated with produc<on of a func<onally diverse seed mix used in coastal sage scrub restora<on QUESTIONS •  How much does it cost per acre to produce plant materials used in restora<on of coastal sage scrub? •  How does that cost break down by func<onal group? •  Which cost categories (ac<vi<es) are the most expensive when producing each func<onal group? •  Which species were the most expensive to produce? •  How cri<cal are wild collec<ons to keeping overall costs down? Methods •  Es<mate produc<on costs associated with five categories (seeding & plan<ng, site maintenance, harves<ng, seed processing, and “opera<onal”). •  Used historical yield and seed test data from our farm to determine average PLS yields/unit area for each species used in the BF mixes. •  Calculated how much growing area was required for produc<on of each species in those mixes. •  Calculated the cost of producing the amount of seed in the Bee Flat mixes. •  Compared the costs associated with produc<on of each func<onal group specific mix. Two types of cost Type 1: Species Specific Costs: Type 2: Opera<onal Costs: •  Plan<ng & Seeding •  IRC Staff •  Site Maintenance (weed control) •  Harvest •  Processing •  *Wild collec<ons for this project = 0$ •  Equipment •  Supplies •  Storage •  Facili<es •  Site prepara<on (<lling, discing, bed packing, etc.) •  Water for irriga<on RESULTS Q: How much does it cost to produce plant materials used in restora<on of coastal sage scrub? 1850$ per acre 4569$ per hectare Challenges/Caveats •  Species new to produc<on likely show a dispropor<onately low yield and high cost that may change when BMP’s are worked out. •  Number of years of data for each species were not equal (2-­‐5 years depending on species). •  Didn’t have exact data for % of total harvest collected on every species. •  Can be difficult to factor costs for a single project, especially when produc<on costs are actually spread across mul<ple projects. A story about drought? Future goals/research: •  Perform the analysis using all species grown on the farm. •  Determine plant material costs for other habitat types and projects. •  Look deeper into drought effects with a controlled irriga<on experiment. •  Survey pollinator presence in shrub plots at the farm. •  Determine peak produc<on and decline curves for shrub species. •  Improve accuracy of record keeping (to improve the resolu<on of our cost analysis). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The preceding presentation was delivered at the
2015 National Native Seed Conference
Santa Fe, New Mexico April 13-16, 2015
This and additional presentations available at
http://nativeseed.info