Inlet seed source, even though grown at Beaufort, were not as well 

 adapted to the general locality the first season. The Beaufort and 

 Pine Knoll sites are subject to sea strength salinity which may make 

 a difference. 



The third site is on South Island (Drum Inlet) . Growth of these 

 plants improved substantially in 1974 when sufficient nutrients were 

 applied (Table 20) . Aerial dry weight under the heaviest fertiliza- 

 tion increased fourfold between 1973 and 1974, but there was essen- 

 tially no change on the unfertilized control. A supplementary supply 

 of nutrients seems to be essential to the development of a marsh on 

 this difficult site. Repeated fertilization for this purpose would 

 be impractical in some instances. It could be the most economical 

 route to stabilization in others. 



VII. PLANTING SPECIFICATIONS FOR SPARTINA ALTERNIFLORA 



The following guidelines are based on this work, experience along 

 the North Carolina coast, and limited observations at various points 

 along the Atlantic and gulf coasts. 



1 . Transplanting . 



a. Plants. Healthy, single stems from uncrowded stands should 

 be used, keeping as much of the root system intact as possible. Rhi- 

 zomes, small shoots, and flowering stalks from the previous year may 

 be removed or trimmed to not interfere with transplanting. Plants from 

 the immediate area are preferable to planting stock from other loca- 

 tions. Trial plantings should be made where adaptation of planting 

 stock is unknown. Plants may be stored several weeks by heeling-in in 

 the intertidal zone. Plants can be produced under the more expensive 

 greenhouse conditions. 



b. Planting. In hand planting or machine planting 10 to 15 centi- 

 meters (4 to 6 inches) deep, the soil is immediately firmed around the 

 plant to prevent the plant from floating out of the hole or furrow. 



c. Spacing . Under fairly protected conditions, plants set on 

 1-meter centers will provide complete cover early in the second grow- 

 ing season. Closer spacings, 24 inches to as close as 18 inches (0.6 

 to 0.45 meter) are warranted only on critical sites since planting 

 costs are almost directly proportional to the number of plants planted, 



Inches 



Meters 



12 



0.30 



18 



0.45 



24 



0.60 



36 



0.90 



1,000 

 445 

 250 

 111 



69 



