Planting depth was not investigated due to the impracticality of 

 keeping holes open long enough for insertion of plants to depths greater 

 than 13 to 15 centimeters. Further, planting depth appears unimportant 

 under these conditions, provided that the plant is anchored until it takes 

 root and becomes established. Drying of roots near the surface is not a 

 problem as it is in dune grass establishment. 



Machine planting is feasible on many sites and is preferable on larger 

 areas. It can be done with any of several commercial transplanters 

 designed to transplant cultivated plants such as peppers, tomatoes, and 

 tobacco. A standard farm tractor can be used through the addition of dual 

 wheels and high flotation tires (Fig- 8) . With care, this equipment can 

 be operated on surfaces that barely support hand planting. 



For machine transplanting, the surface must be exposed and not under 



water. With the equipment presently available, it is not feasible to time 



the closing of the furrow precisely after the release of the plant to 

 prevent its floating out. 



e. Spacing . Early in the study, it became apparent that with plants 

 on 0.91-meter (3 feet) centers, cover was nearly complete by the following 

 spring. It did appear likely that closer spacing would be helpful on some 

 of the more exposed sites during the first growing season, and spacing 

 tests were established, at Drum Inlet in 1972 and again in 1973 (Tabs. 12 

 and 13) . Unfortunately, second year observations were not possible on the 

 1972 test due to excessive deposition of sand by the "February blizzard" 

 in early February 1973. Although the data from both experiments are 

 variable, the cover produced by the end of the first growing season was 

 roughly proportional to the spacing. Mean aboveground dry weights for 

 the two trials are 25.2 grams per square meter for 0.46-meter (1.5 feet) 

 spacing, 15.0 grams per square meter for 0.61-meter (2 feet) spacing, 

 and 7.5 grams per square meter for 0.91 -meter (3 feet) spacing. There 

 was no test in either year of the value of this from the standpoint of 

 stabilization. It seems reasonable to expect that under some circumstances 

 the higher density planting would be helpful, but this would depend a 

 great deal on the timing and the nature of the disturbance to which the 

 planting is exposed. The denser spacings should have some advantage in 

 the case of erosive action on the substrate occurring after the initial 

 establishment period. Dense spacing appears to offer little protection 

 during the first 60 days after transplanting or against heavy sand 

 deposition such as occurred on the 1972 experiment. 



Spacing of transplants is important and needs further clarification 

 since it greatly affects planting costs. It is difficult to evaluate 

 under field conditions due to the unpredictability of storm events and 

 their effects on a specific site. If a spacing trial is placed on a 

 fairly stable site, the trial probably will not be subjected to enough 

 stress to provide any measure of effectiveness. On the other hand, 

 locating a test on a more exposed site will likely result in severe damage 

 and little or no usable data. In the meantime, we are inclined to continue 

 with spacing of about 0.9 by 0.9 meters for most purposes. 



37 



