1. Department of of Plant Science CONTEXT AND QUESTIONS OF THE RESEARCH
Integration of GIS and Bentgrass Ecology for Environmental Risk Assessment.
Collin Ahrens
Department of of Plant Science
CONTEXT AND QUESTIONS OF THE RESEARCH
APPROACH AND RESULTS
CONCLUSION
A major goal of this research is to create a HSM which requires that everyone be able to accurately identify bentgrass species in different habitats. The summer of 2007 was used to create a bentgrass ID guide (Figures 1-3). This booklet features information on all 10 bentgrasses in Connecticut through photographs, maps, morphological characteristics, two taxonomic keys, and a novel identification feature. Figure 1 shows 2 pages taken from the ID guide for the non-native species creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera). Figure 2 describes the native upland bentgrass (Agrostis perennans) that may be able to inherit the transgenic HR trait through gene flow.
These two species and redtop (Agrostis gigantea) are difficult to distinguish in the field. The width of grass panicles were measured at each node (the point at which flowering branches grow) for the three species. The diagrams created from these measurements (Figure 3) show that the species have different panicle shapes and sizes. Creeping bentgrass has a conical shape, redtop has a pyrimidal shape, and upland bentgrass is intermediate in form. When the measurements are compared statistically, there are significant differences in panicle width (Figure 3, in red blocks).
The escape of transgenic plants into the environment is a concern that must be addressed through science and policy. With the development and possible future use of HR creeping bentgrass in Connecticut, there is a great opportunity to study the movement and effects of transgenes. This ID guide is the first step that will bridge the gap between GIS specialists and plant ecologists for the HSM project that will continue through the next few years. The ID guide will be used in creating a HSM that will predict where bentgrasses are likely to grow. If successful, the HSM could help with future management, stewardship, and mitigation practices.
The summer of 2007 was important on an individual level to hone my own skills in plant identification and GIS techniques, find and map research plots that will be used in the coming years, and lay other groundwork for my multidisciplinary research projects.
All new technologies carry both benefits and risks. For example, medical research tests the effects of new drugs before they are approved for sale. Likewise, genetically-modified plants must be assessed before they are released into the environment. Our research examines plant gene flow and the potential impacts from environmental release of genetically-modified plants. Plant gene flow is a natural process that occurs when pollen from one plant lands on the flower of another plant and produces a hybrid offspring. Gene flow can produce hybrid offspring with new traits that could change the ability of the plant to survive and spread. If hybrid offspring have some advantage in the environment, they could become invasive and/or affect other components of our ecosystems.
In the future, the federal government may approve herbicide-resistant (HR) creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera), a common, non-native grass used on golf courses. We aim to use plant ecology coupled with spatial information to gain an understanding of the possible risks associated with escape of the HR trait. Using spatial information and ecology, a habitat suitability model (HSM) can be made to help predict where bentgrasses exist and management problems may occur.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering (CESE) of the University of Connecticut
• Funding from the Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station.
Figure 1. A two-page sample from the newly developed bentgrass ID book (2007). These pages provide information on creeping bentgrass.
Figure 2. Pages from the new bentgrass ID book (2007) showing information about upland bentgrass, species that is native to Connecticut.
Figure 3. A novel identification tool for three bentgrass species. Each diagram represents the overall shape and mean value for branch length on the flower panicles.
Redtop
Upland bentgrass
Creeping bentgrass
In collaboration with Dr.Carol Auer (Dept. Plant Science) and Dr. Tom Meyer (Natural Resource Management and Eng.)