The Use of Native Plants for Revegetation along West Virginia ...

Table 4. Seeded species and seeding rates (kg/ha) used for
Objective 2 in the Native Plant Highway Study in West
Virginia.
Seeded Species Rate
kg/ha
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) 5
Little Bluestem (Andropogon scoparius Vitman) 5
Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculate Michx.) 5
American Vetch (Vicea Americana Muhl.) 2
Ox-Eye Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides (L.) Sweet) 2
Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba L.) 2
Objective 3 – Correlation of native species establishment to soil physical and chemical
properties.
In Spring 2004, soil samples were obtained using a shovel from a 0-10 centimeter depth at
three different locations on each of the six previously mentioned sites. Soil samples were taken
at different locations on the sites due to the differing spatial arrangements of the sites. At
Weston and Buckhannon, samples were taken approximately every 60m in a linear transect,
while the remaining sites were sampled approximately every 31m on a diagonal transect. The
samples were brought back to the laboratory, air-dried, and passed through a 2 millimeter sieve
to remove rock fragments prior to analysis.
Soil pH was measured with a Fisher Scientific Accumet pH meter on a 1:1 soil/water paste
(Soil Survey Staff, 1996) and electrical conductivity (EC) was measured with a Markson
Solution Analyzer on a 1:1 soil/water paste (Gartley, 1995). Organic matter was determined by a
loss of weight on ignition (Nelson and Sommers, 1996). Total carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur were
determined using a LECO C-N-S 2000 analyzer. A 1M ammonium acetate extraction at pH 7.0
was used to determine cation exchange capacity (CEC) and extractable bases (Ca, Mg, Na, and
K) (Soil Survey Staff, 1996). Samples were then analyzed with a Tecator Kjeltec Auto 1030
analyzer to determine CEC, with a Perkin Elmer Plasma 400 ICP Spectrometer for Ca and Mg,
and a Perkin Elmer AAnalyst 100 atomic absorption spectrometer for Na and K. Soils
underwent a Mehlich-3 extraction and were analyzed with a Perkin Elmer AAnalyst 100 atomic
absorption spectrometer to determine phosphorus, zinc, copper, and manganese (Mehlich, 1984).
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