ikim 



Figure 24.— Contrasting vegetation at the Indian Head mine in Nortfi Dakota. The sloping spoil in the bacl<ground has a high 

 sodium content. It is nearly devoid of vegetation and contrasts sharply with low-sodium spoil covered by third-season 

 grasses in the foreground. The pond (center left), locally invaded by reeds, mal<es an excellent habitat for waterfowl. Old 

 spoil piles in the distant background were regraded. As a result, spoils having high levels of sodium were exposed, and the 

 regrading actually resulted in a worse situation. October 1978. 



about 50 percent of them native species, have 

 been selected. Attention is now being concen- 

 trated on native plants, which comprise 70 to 

 75 percent of most recent selections. In addi- 

 tion, forbs (nongrass herbaceous plants) and 

 shrubs are now being selected for testing 

 (Robert McLachlen, U.S. Soil Conservation Serv- 

 ice, oral communication, 1979). 



The U.S. Forest Service Research Shrub 

 Science Laboratory has done extensive work on 

 transplanting containerized native plants, 

 shrubs, and trees on disturbed lands (Frisch- 

 knecht, 1978; Cable, 1977; Monsen and Plum- 

 mer, 1978). An extensive list of plants, including 

 native grasses, evaluated by the Forest Service 

 for adaptability to various disturbed site condi- 

 tions, climatic situations, methods of estab- 

 lishment, and for rates of natural spread has 

 been published (Plummer, 1977, table 31.1, 

 p. 323-337). 



Seed has been sown in a variety of ways in 

 western reclamation— by aerial and ground 

 broadcasting, seed drills, as well as hydro- 

 seeding with mulch. According to Packer and 

 Aldon (1978, p. 435-438), there are preferred 

 times and depths at which to sow different kinds 

 of seed and plants for the best results. One of 

 the problems facing reclamation personnel has 

 been locating adequate sources of seed or plant- 

 ing materials of many native and naturalized 

 species. Even when located, the seed may be 

 very expensive and available in only limited 

 quantities. Seed of Galleta grass (Hilaria 

 jamesii), a species adapted to alkaline soils, was 

 reported to cost more than $50 a pound in 1977. 

 The seeds of this and some other species must 

 ripen over a period of time, and they are difficult 

 to collect. Other species that grow as widely dis- 

 persed individual plants in the wild, or that pro- 

 duce seed only at long intervals, will always be 



39 



