%0 Journal Article
%T Establishment of Native Grasses with Biosolids on Abandoned Croplands in Chihuahua, Mexico
%A Pedro Jurado-Guerra
%A J. Santos Sierra-Trist¨¢n
%A Carlos Lara-Macias
%A Ruben Saucedo-Teran
%A Carlos Morales-Nieto
%J Applied and Environmental Soil Science
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/573808
%X The objective of the work was to evaluate establishment and forage production of native grasses with application of biosolids, a byproduct of waste-water treatment, at an abandoned field, in Ejido Nuevo Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico. Four biosolids rates from 0 (control) to 30£¿dry£¿Mg£¿ha£¿1 and two methods of application, surface applied (BioSur) and soil incorporated (BioInc), were evaluated. Seedbed preparation included plowing and harrowing before rainfall. Field plots of 5 ¡Á 5£¿m were manually sown with a mix of blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) (50%) and green sprangletop (Leptochloa dubia) (50%) in early August 2005. Experimental design was a randomized block with a split plot arrangement. Grass density, height, and forage production were estimated for three years. Data were analyzed with mixed linear models and repeated measures. Green sprangletop density increased under all biosolids rates regardless of method of application, while blue grama density slightly decreased. Biosolids were more beneficial for green sprangletop height than for blue grama height. Blue grama forage production slightly increased, while green sprangletop forage production increased the most at 10£¿Mg£¿ha£¿1 biosolids rate under BioSur method. It was concluded that BioSur application at 10 and 20£¿Mg£¿ha£¿1 rates had positive effects on the establishment and forage production of native grasses, especially green sprangletop. 1. Introduction Native grasslands in Mexico comprehend about 9.9 million ha within central and north regions of the country [1]. Approximately 6.5 million ha shows different degradation types, including soil, wind, and water erosion and chemical and physical degradation [2]. Chihuahua grasslands, at northern Mexico, comprise about 4.5 million ha, supplying forage to livestock, habitat for wildlife, as well as ecosystem services [3, 4], and recreational activities. A study performed in 2002 [5] found that most of Chihuahua grasslands were affected by overgrazing, that caused grassland degradation. Also, recent studies showed that most of Chihuahua grasslands were in moderate-extreme to extreme rangeland health [6] and severely invaded by native shrubs and exotic grasses [7]. There are several techniques to rehabilitate degraded rangelands, including grazing management, brush management, prescribed fire, and range seeding. Each technique is recommended according to the severity of the grassland degradation and climate conditions. Range seeding is an alternative for rehabilitation of severely degraded rangelands and abandoned croplands. Some authors [8, 9] recommended
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aess/2013/573808/