PLANT STRESS AND WATER USE IN NEW MEXICO LANDSCAPES

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0228446
• Project Start Date: Apr 1, 2012
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2016
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY
1620 STANDLEY DR ACADEMIC RESH A RM 110
LAS CRUCES,NM 88003-1239

Performing Department
Plant and Environmental Sciences

Non Technical Summary
Some New Mexico municipalities have recognized the importance of conserving the states water resources and they have been proactive in developing water conservation programs for the urban sector. Those water conservation efforts need to be broadened to a majority of municipalities in the state. For example, a decade ago, at 250 gallons per capita per day, the water consumption of Albuquerque was the highest among the Southwestern cities of El Paso, Phoenix, Tucson, and Santa Fe. In contrast, per capita water consumption of Santa Fe was the lowest (110 gallons per capita per day) among those cities. While more recent and comprehensive data are lacking, high water prices between 1974 and 1985 were related to a reduction in per capita water consumption in Santa Fe. While it is true that Santa Fe has a long history of water conservation, and Santa Fes model of water conservation may not be applicable to the entire state, successful aspects of the Santa Fes water conservation plan might be adapted to other areas of New Mexico. Per capita water use depends on factors such as house type, garden style, attitudes to conservation, and the cost of water. Research in the aforementioned areas can provide useful insights on how to reduce per capita water use in New Mexico communities. Improving the efficiency of landscape irrigation delivery systems secures the greatest gain in water conservation. However, not much work has been done in this area in the state of New Mexico. In landscape irrigation, water is applied to land areas to supply the water needs of plants in the landscape. Landscape irrigation involves an engineered physical system that requires user input, skilled installation, and periodic maintenance, so the risk of inefficiency is high. A breakdown in any one of these items or activities reduces irrigation efficiency.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
111	0210	2070	15%
111	0210	3111	15%
203	2110	1020	50%
203	2120	1020	20%

Knowledge Area
111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water; 203 - Plant Biological Efficiency and Abiotic Stresses Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
2110 - Ornamental trees and shrubs; 0210 - Water resources; 2120 - Herbaceous perennials and decorative greens;

Field Of Science
2070 - Meteorology and climatology; 3111 - Landscape architecture; 1020 - Physiology;

Keywords

water-saving technologies

landscape plants

environmental stress

urban landscapes

Goals / Objectives
The objectives of this project are to: 1) Identify, test for resilience to environmental stress, and propagate plant taxa suitable for the drought-prone managed landscapes of New Mexico; 2) Evaluate water-saving technologies that hold promise for reducing water use in New Mexico managed landscapes; 3) Develop decision-making tools to assist New Mexico residents reduce plant stress and decrease water use in their managed landscapes.

Project Methods
Work on developing Acer grandidentatum selections into commercially available nursery stock will continue. Ornamental qualities of trees in replicated planting blocks representing provenances that have been tested for tolerance to drought and salinity will be evaluated. Ornamental traits such as fall color development, form, and so on will be evaluated using appropriate experimental design procedures. In collaboration with local and regional nurseries, elite trees will be clonally propagated. Clones will be nursery-grown and tested in selected commercial markets. To achieve objective 2, research will build on the Smart controller testing program that has been initiated. Smart controllers will be selected for suitability to the residential environment, high irrigation adequacy (100%), and 0% irrigation scheduling excess. Irrigation adequacy and irrigation scheduling excess data will be obtained from the Irrigation Association. Smart controller performance will be determined by judging how well cool season and warm season turfgrass and ornamental trees, shrubs, and non-turf ground covers are irrigated. Cool season grass plots (fescue) were established and warm season grasses (bermuda) will be established at the Fabian Garcia Science Center. Controllers will be evaluated for parameters such as applied water volume and irrigation adequacy. Turfgrass characteristics such as deep and shallow root length density, normalized difference vegetative index and NTEP-based turf quality will be evaluated. Ornamental trees, shrubs, and non-turf ground cover characteristics such as leaf area, efficiency of photosystem II and relative water will be evaluated. Plots will be instrumented to allow the daily tracking of volumetric soil moisture content and other environmental parameters. A web interface that allows New Mexico residents to calculate their landscape water budget and estimate their landscape performance under changing water budget scenarios will be populated. A prototype of the web interface has been built for Albuquerque. To build the prototype, the program used true color aerial photographs with 0.15 m spatial resolution to classify residential urban landscapes in Albuquerque into distinct types. Classification was based on quantitative factors such as percentage tree cover and the ratio of green space (e.g. trees and shrubs) to non-green space (e.g., pavement and patios). Climate information and plant water use characteristics were used to estimate urban landscape water budgets for the different landscape types in Albuquerque. These data form the backbone of the web interface that allows users to identify their neighborhood, individual landscape (by inputting their address), and landscape type while allowing them to calculate their landscape water budget. Some custom adjustments can be made for time of year, and other required factors. We plan to create similar landscape water budget web interfaces for other municipalities in New Mexico. Once usability testing is complete, the web tool will be made available to the public. Our program will use various media outlets to publicize the availability of the web tool.

Progress 04/01/12 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Salinity is one the major limitations to the successful establishment of plants in managed landscapes in arid and semi-arid regions. And for New Mexico, information on the salinity tolerance of many plants is virtually nonexistent. We targeted the nursery and landscape industry personnel wishing to choose plants for managed landscapes that are challenged with salinity. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two graduate students and two undergraduate students were trained on this project. Graduate students were trained in gathering, summarizing, and analyzing data. They also were trained to prepare their manuscript for publication. The undergraduate students were trained in data collection techniques. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results from this study were disseminated through a refereed journal article publication that reached a national audience. Research findings were presented at a conference that targeted the national and international woody plant community. A news release that targeted the local nursery and landscape community also was completed. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Using bigtooth maples selected from provenances in New Mexico (NM), Utah (UT) and Texas (TX), we evaluated physiological and growth traits of plants subjected to root zone salinity treatments at concentrations 0 (control), 2.5 (1600), 5.0 (3200) or 10.0 (6400 ppm) dS•m-1. At harvest, foliar Kjeldahl nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium of salinity-treated plants was not different to that of control plants. Plants from the TX provenance had the highest leaf dry weight (DW) [15.7 g (0.55 oz)], larger stem diameter [11.4 mm (0.45 in )], less foliar injury, and less negative midday stem water potentials while accumulating three and two times more foliar sodium than plants from the UT and NM provenance plants, respectively. Total DW [95.9 g (3.4 oz)] of TX plants was triple that of the other two provenances. While bigtooth maples from the three provenances tolerated salinity, those from the TX provenance show enhanced resiliency to root zone salinity. Nursery personnel wishing to choose bigtooth maple plants for managed landscapes that are challenged with salinity might look to the Texas location for their selections.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Bsoul, E., R. Gioannini, and R. St. Hilaire. 2016. Bigtooth maples from three geographically different regions endure root zone salinity. Journal Environmental Horticulture 34:111-117.

Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Remote sensing might permit plant moisture status to be detected early, and this may improve drought detection and monitoring. Using a hand held spectroradiometer, we conducted a study simultaneously on two mature pecan orchards, a sandy loam (La Mancha) and a clay loam (Leyendecker) soil. We were particularly interested in detecting moisture status in the -0.90 to -1.5 MPa midday stem water potential range because our previous studies indicated this was the critical range for irrigating pecans. Midday stem water potential, photosynthesis and canopy and soil surface reflectance measurements were taken over the course of irrigation dry-down cycles at midday stem water potential levels of -0.40 to -0.85 MPa (well-watered), and -0.9 to -1.5 MPa (water deficit). The decline in photosynthesis averaged 34% in La Mancha and 25% in Leyendecker orchard when midday stem water potential ranged from -0.9 to -1.5 MPa. Average canopy surface reflectance of well-watered trees (midday stem water potential between -0.4 to -0.85 MPa) was significantly higher than the same trees experiencing water deficits (midday stem water potential between -0.9 to -1.5 MPa) within the 350 to 2500 nm bands range. Conversely, soil surface reflectance of well-watered trees was lower in trees experiencing water deficits over all bands. At both orchards, all soil and canopy bands and surface reflectance indices showed low relationship with midday stem water potential (R2 < 0.62). But, discriminant analysis models of well-watered and water deficit trees that emerged after combining soil and canopy reflectance data had high classification accuracy. This research indicates that canopy and soil hyperspectral data derived from a handheld spectroradiometer hold promise for discerning the midday stem water potential of pecan orchards subjected to flood irrigation. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided opportunities for training in advanced sensing techniques. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results were disseminated in a peer-reviewd journal article and at an international symposium dedicated to advanced moisture sensing techniques in plants. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, I plan to determine if other nondestructive sensing techniques, such as chlorophyll content, might be related to remotely-sensed hyperspectral data.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We determined whether canopy and soil surface reflectance hyperspectral data derived from a handheld spectroradiometer can detect moisture status assessed using midday stem water potential in pecan (Carya illinoinensis) during cyclic flood irrigations.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Othman, Y., C. Steele, D. VanLeeuwen, and R. St. Hilaire. 2015. Hyperspectral surface reflectance data detect low moisture status of pecans orchards during flood irrigation. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 140:449-458.

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Landscape horticulturists and homeowners in New Mexico. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project provided training for four graduate students and five undergraduate students. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results were disseminated through presentations at scientific conferences, journal articles, and invited talks. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? For the next reporting period, the major plan is to continue work on selecting plants that are resilient to stressful environments.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Identified plant taxa that can be used in greenroof ecosystems installed in arid environments 2) Developed a method to classify urban landscapes 3) Developed remote sensing techniques to detect drought early in pecans 4) Developed web interface to distribute information on landscape water conservation.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Othman, Y., VanLeeuwen, D., Heerema, R., St Hilaire, R. (2014). Midday stem water potential values needed to maintain photosynthesis and leaf gas exchange established for pecan. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 139, 537-546. Sutherin, S., Lombard, K. A., St Hilaire, R. (in press). Website? Video? Facebook? Mobile App? One Groups Experience Developing and Comparing Urban Landscape Water Conservation Digital Outreach Resources. To appear in Journal of Extension., Date Accepted: July 2014. Al-Ajlouni, M., VanLeeuwen, D., St Hilaire, R. (2014). Linking Urban Residential Landscapte Types in a Desert Environment to Landscape Water Budgets. HortTechnology, 24(3), 307-312. Heerema, R., VanLeeuwen, D., St Hilaire, R., Gutschick, V., Cook, B. (2014). Leaf photosynthesis in nitrogen-starved 'Western' pecan is lower on fruiting shoots than non-fruiting shoots during kernel fill. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 139, 267-274. Othman, Y., Steele, C. M., Heerema, R., Bawazir, A. S., St Hilaire, R. (2014). Remote sensing used to detect moisture status of pecan orchards grown in a desert environment. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 35, 949-966.

Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: We developed a method to quantitatively classify urban residential landscapes in a desert environment. Using a purposive sampling procedure, we studied the landscapable area around each of 54 residential homes in Las Cruces, New Mexico. All materials in the landscape were identified, measured, and categorized. Using 30% as the cut-off to indicate that a material was dominant in the landscape, we classified 93% of all landscapes into nine common landscape types. Mulch-dominant landscapes were the most common, and landscape types differed between front and back yards. Shrubs did not feature prominently in any of the common landscape types. Our classification method clearly identifies multiple landscape types, and for the first time, provides quantitative evidence that landscape types are distributed differently in front and back yard landscapes in the desert environment of Las Cruces. Information on common landscape types will be valuable to landscape horticulturists wanting to craft water conservation plans that are landscape-specific if the common landscape type can be linked to a landscape water budget. Although, the classification method was developed in Las Cruces, New Mexico, the method can be pertinent for landscape planners in other regions. Also, the information helps residents and planners create landscape budgets and manage water resources. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project has provided training opportunities for two graduate students and three undergraduate students. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results have been disseminated through journal article publication, published abstracts, and presentations at scienctific meetings. Additionally, results have been selected for popular press release. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? For the next reporting period, I plan to use the information generated from this phase of the project to link a landscape type to a specific water budget. This will allow planners to develop more accurate water budgets and gain a better understanding of the potential resiliency of the urban landscape in the face of drought.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We developed a method to quantitatively-classify urban landscapes in New Mexico. This clasification method will allow landscape planners to craft landscape-specific water conservation plans. And this information wil help planners prepare better landscape drought mitigation plans.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Al-Ajlouni, M.G., D.M. VanLeeuwen, M.N. DeMers, and R. St. Hilaire. 2013. A method to quantitatively classify residential urban landscapes in a desert environment. HortScience 23:477-481.

Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: We evaluated the performance of residential weather-based irrigation controllers that were used to irrigate tall fescue plots (Festuca arundinacea) installed in the arid southern Chihuahuan desert. In one experiment, Irritrol Smart Dial, RainBird ET Manager, Aqua Conserve, Hunter ET System, Weathermatic SL1600, and one manual irrigation controller programmed at 80% of historical reference evapotranspiration were tested. Compared to the manual controller, Irritrol and RainBird treatments saved 53% and 34% of irrigation water, respectively. In another experiment, Irritrol Smart Dial and RainBird ET Manager were tested for one year. Although soil moisture content of Irritrol-irrigated turf plots dipped below 50% of available soil water capacity from November 2010 to January 2011, leaf relative water content of turfgrass in both treatments exceeded 85%. The Irritrol controller applied less water than the RainBird, but the ratio of variable to maximal fluorescence averaged 0.78 for both treatments, indicating that the turfgrass was not stressed. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
This research clearly shows that one weather-based irrigation controller can apply significantly less water than another while maintaining similar quality of turfgrass grown in southern New Mexico. Therefore, weather-based controllers destined for this region must be field tested. For example, 4,269 square feet of cool-season grass in Las Cruces, New Mexico would receive 192,569 and 313,795 gallons per year when irrigated with the Smart Dial and RainBird ET Manager, respectively. However, the quality of the grass would be similar.

Publications

• Hotovec, L., D. VanLeeuwen, and R. St. Hilaire. 2012. Determining the minimum growth substrate depth needed for plants in arid climate green roofs. HortScience 47(9):S397-398. (Abstr.)
• Al-Ajlouni, M., D.M. VanLeeuwen, and R. St. Hilaire. 2012. Performance of weather-based controllers in a desert environment. J. Amer. Water Works Assoc. http://dx.doi.org/10.5942/jawwa.2012.104.0155.
• Bowen-O'Connor, C.A., D.M. VanLeeuwen, T.M. Sterling, G. Bettmann, and R. St. Hilaire. 2012. Variation in violaxanthin and lutein cycle components in two provenances of Acer grandidentatum L. exposed to short-term contrasting light. Acta Physiol. Plant. DOI 10.1007/s11738-012-1095-7.
• Al-Kofahi, S., D. VanLeeuwen, C.S. Steele, and R. St. Hilaire. 2012. Mapping land cover in urban residential landscapes using very high spatial resolution aerial photographs. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 11: 291-301.
• Al-Kofahi, S., D. VanLeeuwen, Z. Samani, and R. St. Hilaire. 2012. A water budget calculator created for residential urban landscapes in Albuquerque, New Mexico. J. Irrigation Drainage Engineering 138: 525-533.
• Heerema, R., R. St Hilaire, and D. VanLeeuwen. 2012. Shoot fruiting status, leaf nitrogen and photosynthesis during kernel fill in 'Western' pecan. HortScience 47(9):S272. (Abstr.)
• Othman,Y.A., C. Steele, C. Radosevich, R. Heerema, and R. St Hilaire. 2012. Detecting physiological water stress in southern New Mexico pecan orchards using remote sensing. HortScience 47(9):S289. (Abstr.)
• Sutherin, S., K. Lombard, and R. St. Hilaire. 2012. Center for landscape water conservation: An integrated approach to internet-based outreach. HortScience 47(9):S250. (Abstr.)