Tag: Alejandro Brambila

2018 Native Revegetation and Restoration at Goose Creek

Presenter(s): Emily Bork – Environmental Science, Marine Biology

Co presenter(s): Bren Catt, Lachlan Addicott, Elizabeth Baach, Brianna Ashley, Madeline Cowen, Drew Donahue, Hailey Gilliland, Alice Gregg, Philip Hou, Harrison Satterthwaite

Faculty Mentor(s): Peg Boulay, Alejandro Brambila

Oral Session 4CS

Research Area: Natural Science

Funding: University of Oregon’s Environmental Studies Program

Goose Creek runs through Whitewater Ranch, an organic blueberry farm and timber harvester that is adjacent to the McKenzie River. Since 2014, the Environmental Leadership Program’s (ELP) Riparian Restoration team has been working to reverse the deleterious effects of past livestock grazing along Goose Creek. The overall goal of the restoration project is to replant disturbed native vegetation along Goose Creek, which will revitalize pollinator habitats, control the spread of invasive plant species, and increase stream health via a reduction in temperature. We will monitor these variables by using a variety of methods, including photopoint monitoring, vegetation survival and percent cover, pollinator surveys, stream temperature measurements, and aquatic macroinvertebrate surveys. After restoration, we expect to observe greater populations of native plant communities and native pollinators, less non-native plant species, and an overall improvement of stream health represented by a decrease in temperature and the presence of sensitive macroinvertebrate species. This year’s restoration efforts will augment the overall health of the McKenzie River Watershed and will provide valuable monitoring data for future ELP teams. These protocols will serve as useful guidelines for other agricultural areas that would like to restore native habitat and increase the health of riparian systems.

Resolving conflict between oak conservation and organic hazelnut production

Presenter(s): Calvin Penkauskas

Faculty Mentor(s): Lauren Hallett & Alejandro Brambila

Poster 61

 Session: Sciences

Filbertworm (Cydia laiferreana) is a polyphagous moth that burrows into acorns of Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) and hazelnuts (Corylus spp.). Filbertworm source populations in remnant oak habitat can lead to cyclical infestation in neighboring hazelnut stands. This makes these remaining oak stands, which are mostly on private agricultural land, a potential liability to hazelnut production in Oregon – which accounts for over 90 percent of the US production. Oregon white oak habitat is one of the most reduced habitats in Oregon and is of conservational concern. I’m testing a novel way to mitigate hazelnut filbertworm infestation through pig grazing in oak woodland and organic hazelnut understories. Removal of infested nuts interrupts the developmental stage in the filbertworm life cycle. I hypothesize that controlled grazing will reduce filbertworm populations, nut infestation rates, and herbaceous cover. During Spring and Summer of 2018 I conducted baseline filbertworm inventories via pheromone-lured sticky traps in the canopy and ground-based emergence traps in oak woodland and organic hazelnut orchard on My Brothers Farm in Creswell, Oregon. Grazed and ungrazed plots were established in the woodland and orchard. Domestic pigs (Sus domesticus) were rotated through two-acre pastures in late September/early October with four to five days in each. Understory vegetation was sampled along transects in each plot and acorn density/infestation rates were inventoried before and after treatment. Preliminary results display a reduction of infested acorns in the oak woodland and no effect on understory vegetation. Ongoing filbertworm, acorn, and vegetation monitoring will continue through Fall of 2019.

Hogs and Hazelnuts: resolving conflict between oak conservation and organic agriculture

Presenter(s): Calvin Penkauskas—Environmental Science and Biology

Faculty Mentor(s): Alejandro Brambila, Lauren Hallett

Session 2: Oregon Trails

The Oregon hazelnut industry makes up over 99% of domestic production and 4% worldwide . The key economic pest of hazelnuts in the Pacific Northwest is filbertworm and population sinks are located in nearby oak habitat . This is of concern because there is only 5% of oak habitat left in the Willamette Valley, which is mostly on private agricultural land, and oaks are an important keystone species . Here, I present a case study of a novel strategy to reconcile this conflict by using domesticated pigs (hogs) to reduce pest pressure in surrounding native oak habitat . I investigated the use of hogs to glean filbertworm infested acorns from an oak woodland floor, the effects on the mating population, and the subsequent proportion of infested acorns . My results demonstrate that grazing in oak patches can be an effective method to reduce filbertworm pest populations . While hog silvopasture has potential to be an effective biological pest control method, this practice will only be implemented widely if hazelnut farmers are receptive to the benefits it can provide . Furthermore, in addition to supporting diverse and sustainable farm operations, silvopasturing hogs in oak patches can benefit oak conservation goals by converting them from a landowner’s liability into an asset . Since this novel pest management approach seeks to regionally benefit both environmental concerns and farmers, this example provides a model for similar challenges and conflicts where agricultural and wildlands interact in the same landscape .