Measuring Impacts of Controlling Yellow Starthistle in the Sacramento Valley on Watershed Runoff and Groundwater Levels

The removal of dense stands of high soil water using weeds such as yellow starthistle (YST) may be a key practice to increase water yield from annual rangelands. This project will quantify differences between control and YST treatment sites to quantify potential water yield benefits of investment in weed control. The project will also estimate the potential saving of watershed-scale YST control on groundwater, runoff, soil moisture, and forage production.

Joseph DiTomaso, jmditomaso@ucdavis.edu

Professor and CE Specialist, UCD Plant Sciences Department