VegSpec: Creating

Vegetative Designs

By Dr. David A. Pyke, USGS,

Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem

Science Center, and Brian St.

George, BLM, National Science and

Technology Center

Background

Public land managers are often tasked

with habitat improvement, restoration

or reclamation efforts that require well

designed vegetative plantings. VegSpec

is a web-based decision support application that assists land managers in the

planning and design of vegetative

establishment practices. VegSpec

utilizes soil, plant, and climate data to

select plant species that are (1) sitespecifically adapted, (2) suitable for the

selected purposes and objectives for

which the planting is intended. Incorporating a horticultural database of

over 2500 plants and specific climate

and soils information, the VegSpec

application has the ability to determine

site-specific adaptability of plant

species. VegSpec helps revegetation

projects succeed by reducing costs and

improving plant selection for the site

and objectives desired.

VegSpec can create planting designs

for a wide variety of site conditions

and uses:

• Replanting after flood or wildfire

• Establishing trees and shrubs for

windbreaks, shelterbelts, or visual

screening

• Establishing pastures and haylands

• Planting grazing- and tramplingresistant species on heavy use sites

• Reclaiming damaged or deteriorated

lands

• Restoring native plant communities

and wetlands

• Creating or rehabilitating wildlife 

habitat

• Controlling erosion

• Replanting roadsides and

construction sites

VegSpec is available free on the

internet through the U.S. Department of Agriculture PLANTS

website - http://plants.usda.gov. In

order to run the VegSpec 3.10 application, your computer must meet

several requirements. The VegSpec

application module requires Java

enabled Netscape 4.06, or Internet

Explorer 4.0, or higher. It is possible

to download the appropriate browser

versions from either the Netscape or

Internet Explorer home site.

Information Needed

The following narrative will guide a

potential user through the steps necessary to develop a planting design.

Before beginning though, you will

need certain information. You must

gather information about your site’s

soil characteristics including soil type,

Soil Survey Area ID, Soil Map Unit,

and slope. Additionally, you must

obtain location information and

climate data. It is important to know

the dimensions of your site as well as

preliminary techniques you plan to

use in the revegetation of your site.

Starting VegSpec

To begin using VegSpec, open the

PLANTS homepage in an internet

browser and click on the VegSpec

icon. Point your mouse to the top

menu bar of the VegSpec homepage

and select Starting VegSpec. Additional subtopic and informational links

are available above the menu bar.

After starting VegSpec, you will be

asked to review and accept the terms

of a disclaimer. VegSpec contains two

options for approaching a planting

design: site-specific and general information. You will be required to select

one of these options. The Site Specific option narrows plant choices by

state, MLRA, soil, and climate data.

Site-specific information is the

recommended method for planting

design since the vegetative list is more

user-specific and regionally accurate.

Users may also select the General

option for a generalized plant list. In

order to obtain an appropriate list of

plants, users must select a Plant Adaption Zone under the Soil Attributes

Suboption. Note: The Planting Deign

section is not available in this option.

Click ok to enter the system.

A page labeled Site Description is the

first section of the VegSpec application. If you have selected the recommended site-specific approach, you

must enter your state, soils (Soil

Survey Area ID and Soil Map Unit),

and climate information before

continuing to another section. If this

section is not fully completed, warnings will appear. If you have selected

the general approach, this section need

not be completed before selecting a

subsequent section. However, the

Planting Design section is not available in the general approach, and the

resulting plant list can be longer than

the site-specific approach.

The Objectives section allows you to

select an applicable vegetative practice

and appropriate purposes for your site.

It is important to select a vegetative

practice to help narrow your final

plant list. After selecting a practice, a

list of purposes is displayed. You can

optionally select 1 or more purposes;

click on Accept Purpose, and a list of

subpurposes will appear. You may also

enter other optional selections such as

plant characteristics. The more

options you choose, the shorter an

more regionally accurate your plant

list will be. However, choosing too

many options may not return any

plant species. Start with a no or few

options, then add options later to see

how the list of recommended species is

reduced.

Following a completed Objectives

section, the Select Plants allows you to

select applicable plants from a “Potential Plants” list. The plants listed are

based on the vegetative choices you

NO. 50 DATE 04/18/01

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have designated. Click on the applicable plants for your site (use Ctrl+click

for multiple plants). Click on the

arrows to move the selected plants

from the “Potential Plants” list to the

“User Selected Plants” list.

The Planting Design section is available for vegetative calculation and

plant design specifications if you have

selected the site-specific approach.

This section is NOT available if you

have selected the general approach.

The load time for this Java program

can take 1-5 minutes, depending on

internet traffic and connection speed. 

Within the Planting Design section,

there are six tabular vegetative choices.

Each calculates a planting design based

on several user-defined parameters.

The tabular choices are:

• Plant Materials

• Seeding Calculation

• Planting Calculation

• Windbreak

• Site Specification

• Planting Specification

Plant Materials provides applicable

plant material options such as container, bareroot, or seed. These options are

dependent on your vegetative choices.

Select a plant material for each species

from the drop-down fields provided.

Seeding Calculation provides a determination of your total needs for how

many seeds per acre your vegetative

site will need. You can mix percentages for different compatible plants,

but the mix % should total 100% for

accurate calculations. To begin the

calculation, enter the amount of

“Acres to Seed” and press Tab. Choose

a seeding method - either Drill or

Broadcast. If you select “Drill”, enter

the spacing in inches. Select a “Seeding Rate Calculation Method”. In the

Species table, enter the “Mix%” and

press Tab. The remaining fields populate automatically. Finally, click on

Sum to calculate all plant total fields

across the bottom of the screen.

Planting Calculation determines the

rate per acre and total number of

plants needed between and/or within planting rows depending on

whether you are performing a Mixed

or Pure Planting. For example, select

Mixed Planting and press Tab. Select

yes to designate between row and

within row pacing differently. Enter

the amount of acres to be planted

and press Tab. Enter the “Mixture

%” in the Species table and press

Tab. Enter the “User entered

Rate/Acre”. Finally, enter the between

row spacing in the column labeled

“Btw Row(ft)”. The remaining fields

populate automatically.

Windbreak determines the total

plants needed for your user-specified

windbreak design. Begin by entering

“Windbreak length (feet)” and press

Tab. Select a plant listed in the dropdown field. Enter a “Plant Plan” in

feet and a total number of plants

needed is calculated for you. Select

Add Row to add another plant.

Site Specification allows you to

designate seedbed preparation methods and temporary cover. Simply

select all the seed bed methods that

apply to your site. If you are using

temporary cover, identify the appropriate plant annual cover from the

drop-down list.

Planting Specification allows you to

determine any special planting material treatments. Click on Additional

Planting Specifications and a dialog box

will appear where you can designate

different planting treatments.

A VegSpec report will generate as a

product of your vegetative practice

options. Reports are user

customized. Your report displays

your vegetative options with data

tables, site specification tips, and

planting calculations.

Step-by-step guides for using VegSpec

can be found on the homepage under

Help: General: Printing VegSpec

Documentation. These guides contain

example screens of input and results.

Conclusion

VegSpec is a decision support tool for

creating a planting design. Simply gather information about your site’s soil

type, climate, and slope before you

begin. Enter the site information and

select the appropriate use for the site.

Select the site-specific options and enter

user-defined parameters when prompted. VegSpec then creates a planting

design with recommendations for

propagule treatments, planting dates,

and seed placement, prepares a report,

and increases the effectiveness of your

vegetative project.

Contact

Dr. David A. Pyke

USGS, Forest & Rangeland 

Ecosystem Science Center

3200 SW Jefferson Way

Corvallis, OR 97331

phone (541) 750-7334

fax (541) 758-7761

e-mail pyked@fsl.orst.edu

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Resource Notes are intended to be early

announcements of technical and informational topics for

Bureau of Land Management personnel and some of their customers.

Information in this Resource Note is based on the opinion and

experience of the author and has not been peer-reviewed. Conclusions

and opinions expressed herein do not

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