From a distance our May 04 plantings blend into the surrounding vegetation so well that a casual observer would probably miss seeing them. While conducting photo GPS monitoring in August 06, Mary Dudley, at dog level, draws attention to a willow planted by volunteers in May 04.
The woody shrubs and trees we planted along Round Valley Creek compete for sunlight, water and nutrients from other plants - especially non-native pasture grasses.
During their first growing season the shrubs and trees we plant put down root growth – it is not unusual for top growth to die back even to the ground during the first year it lives in the wild. If the roots survive the first summer and winter the plants will put up new shoots, starting their top growth anew. Commonly the shrubs and trees we plant in the spring will be smaller a year or more after we planted them because they are putting all of their energy into root establishment.
In dramatic contrast from Round Valley Creek plantings, check out Four Mile Creek (Monitoring Pans Site 1, Site 2, Willow Weaving Site) where the ranchers/landowners have utilized horses – one or two at a time for a day or two – to eat back grasses at the beginning of the growing season and throughout the summer to keep competition down. The ranchers/landowners provided extra TLC to the shrubs and trees we planted by watering them during the summer months.
This panorama taken August 30, 2006.
