Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Tarleton State University proposes an integrated project to increase capacity for research and education promoting the importance of climate-smart native landscaping plants and encouraging recruitment of undergraduate and graduate students into horticulture STEM fields. This project will leverage previous resources obtained from federal capacity building grants to enhance efforts exploring efficacy of drought-resistant native plants at promoting pollinator health, with broader applications for restoration efforts in landscapes where water resources are degraded or limited. This project addresses Academic Codes P (Plant Science and Horticulture) and T (Entomology--Plant) with applications for natural resource conservation and soil science. Furthermore, this project addresses USDA Strategic Plan Priority #4 (Cultivating Resilient Ecosystems: Biodiversity) by identifying ecotypes and plant traits which favor resilience in pollinator communities and the integrity of their ecosystem service across local and regional scales. We will promote opportunities for faculty-led, student-driven research at the undergraduate and graduate level to inform local conservation needs related to native landscaping and provide guidance to conservation-minded groups, including private landowners, extension agencies, and professional societies in the field of entomology and horticulture. We will further link the importance of incorporating native, locally-adapted plants into the subdiscipline of landscape horticulture and plant propagation through the development of curricula at Tarleton aimed at providing undergraduates with hands-on class modules in native plant propagation, landscape design, and pollinator ecology. We seek to improve Tarleton's professional portfolio as an institution that fosters native plant research to service North-Central Texas with broader application to the Southern Great Plains.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
25%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
The purpose of this proposal is to seek funds to improve current curricula in Tarleton's Horticultural and Plant Sciences program by integrating contemporary environmental sciences with conventional horticultural practices with native landscape plants as the focus. To that end, we propose the following objectives:Promotion of scholarly research associated with effective native plant propagation methods, drought response, and pollinator performance through graduate and undergraduate research experiences.Development of curricula associated with native plant propagation through instructional modules, laboratory exercises, and experiential learning.?Development of curricula associated with native landscape plants through instructional modules, laboratory exercises, and experiential learning.
Project Methods
Garden Experiment: We will utilize an experimental garden (14 x 8.5-m beds) with spray irrigation assigned to different irrigation treatments determined by weekly referenced evapotranspiration rates (1.0, 0.6, 0.4, and 0.0 recommended ETo), with four blocks consisting of 20 native plant species in all combinations of each treatment. Graduate and undergraduate students will develop research questions related to student interest and scope of project; examples include pollinator-specific response to floral resource quality/quantity under drought severity, pollinator preference and visitation rates associated with drought-tolerant native plants and native cultivars, and measuring seed production rates of drought-tolerant natives under differing drought severity.Greenhouse Experiment: Graduate and undergradaute students will develop protocols for the propagation of native plant species, assessment of efficacy of germination, growth, or performance (depending on propagule) and modify techniques to improve production. Additional studies will explore plant traits of propagules obtained from greenhouse of experimental garden and monitored under different levels of water stress.Educational Components: A course module in the initial year will be developed on native plant ecology and propagation (4-5 lecture periods) and laboratory exercises on native plant propagation under experimental drought settings and use of sampling tools to monitor water stress in plants, requiring student reports and assessments. Additional years will incorporate lecture materials to advanced courses, include additional in-depth instruction laboratory exercises on improved popagation techniques, lab projects on germinating and cultivating native plants from seed throughout the semester, sampling techniques for pollinators at experimental garden plots, and visits to native plant nurseries or centers in North-Central Texas.