2002-07-08_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - M2002004 (4)

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1able 1. A verage Soil- Alontttre Lots for 7 /tree Soil Alatettalt "'retard with 'Iwo ,tluit hes in Relation !o Potetutol ,11 n tlute Lo.s.s On Open -1't! Coal Ahnes on the ,Vtmt /o Indian Reverrart in Northern Arconu to Iv7S Soil materials Red Mesa loans soil without mulch Red Mesa loam soil mulched with barley strew Red 11es.t loam soil mulched st th Russian thistle Unturned soil without mulch Unnuncd soil mulched with barley strew Unturned soil mulched with Russian thistle Coal none soil without mulch Coal nine soil mulched with barley straw Coal mine soil mulched with Russian thistle C.V.. level of differences: Between environments Between soil materials soil materials after the addition of mulch was greater in low temperature and high relative humidity than it was in high temperature and low relative humidity. Russian thistle was as effective as barley straw. as a soil mulch, in reducing the soil - moisture loss from the three soil materials studied. On the Black Mesa area of Northern Arizona, Russian thistle is a dominant weed well adapted to the poor soil and low rainfall condi- tions. The adaptation of Russian thistle to ex- treme environmental conditons may justify its use as a soil mulch, from the point of view of availability and cost, to conserve soil - moisture in vegetatively stabilizing the areas disturbed by coal mining in the western United States and in other similar environments throughout the world. In simulating this experiment on the Black Mesa Coal Mine, it would be necessary to allow the Russian thistle to grow to the flowering stage. Although this procedure would delay the revege- tation program, the time -loss and expense is jus- tified if one considers the expense of hauling Russian Thistle For Soil Mulch 41 Soil moisture Toss Environment 1 Environment 11 (`:1 1'») 82 a+ 75 h 76 h 82 a 75 b 74 b 81 a 74 b 74 h 4 1'r 1'.? 54 h 47 d SO cd 62 a 48 cd 51 cd 60 a 51 cd 52 cd + Means followed by the same letter, within environments, are not significantly different at the 5'% level of significance using the Student- Newman- Keuls' "Pest. other mulching materials from other locations into the disturbed area. The practicalities of the experiment are clear when the short -term and long -term objectives are considered. The short - term objective is to conserve moisture and pre- vent wind erosion. It is advantageous to have more mulch material to conserve the maximum obtainable moisture because the moisture avail- ability affects plant growth more than the amount of the mulch. The long -term advantage of Rus- sian thistle is that its decomposition in the soil will add organic matter, which will improve the physical and chemical soil characteristics and plant growth. REFERENCES Adams, J. E., G. F. Arkin, and J. T. Ritchie. 1976. Influences of row spacing and straw mulch on first stage drying. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 40:436 -442 Allma, as, R. R., and W. W. Nelson. 1971. Corn (Zea turn•., L.) root configuration as influenced by some row - interow variants of tillage and straw mulch management. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 35:974- 980.