Low-cost seeding practices for desert environments

Over the past 120 years, the grasslands of the northern Chihuahuan desert have been converted to shrublands dominate by species such as mesquite (<i>Prosopis </i>spp.). Unfortunately, attempts<i></i>to restore these grasslands have often been unsuccessful despite substantial expenditures of money, labor, and fossil fuels. At the Jornada Experimental Range, we have recently begun to test low-input restoration technologies in an attempt to remedy this situation. One aspect of this program focuses on the use of both water and animals to deposit viable seeds into favorable micro-sites.