Restoration in the Colorado Desert: Management Notes Jellyrolling has a potential for reducing outplantingcosts in desert revegetation projects Prepared for the California Department of Transportation District 11, 2829 Juan Street,San Diego, CA 92186 as part of the Desert Plant Project July 1993 Matthew W. Fidelibus and David A. Bainbridge Introduction Outplanting seedlings is an important element of many restoration projects. Although the dominant trees and shrubs of California's deserts are relatively easy to grow in a nursery, container grown seedlings are traditionally bulky, heavy, and awkward to ship, making outplanting expensive (Bainbridge an Virginia, 1990). The economics and handling costs without significantly reducing survival. Plants to be jellyrolled are removed from cells, and the roots or entire plants are wrapped up in a roll of moistened Kimtex™ fabric. Ten to fifteen plants are included in a roll. Jellyrolling has been widely used in forestry for nearly a century (Laird, 1992). Most foresters believe that jellyrolling reduces the moisture stress of seedlings (which are otherwise shipped bare root in insulated bags) during outplanting, resulting in better establishment (Lopushinsky, 1986). Jellyrolling has been used recently in Colorado desert revegetation projects in an attempt to reduce the cost of shipping and handling planting stock (rather than to increase survival). Jellyrolling greatly reduces the weight, bulk, labor, andcosts associated with transportation and handling. While a rackof 98 sand filled super cells (10 inch plastic cells) weighsalmost 50 pounds, an ice chest holding 1000 jellyrolled plantsand ice may weigh only 30 pounds, a significant decrease inweight and volume per plant. Jellyrolling also increases planting speed and efficiency. Workers are usually fatigued and less efficient in the hot and dry conditions of desert planting sites making it important to minimize field labor. Jellyrolled seedlings require less handling in the field, thus, fewer workers working less hours are needed for planting. Preliminary field studies suggest that planting desert shrub seedling from jellyrolls is 1.5-2 times faster than planting from supercells. Removing plants from their containers is on of the most time consuming processes of any outplanting technique. Jellyrolling is advantageous in that the seedlings are removed at the nursery where the job can be completed more quickly and efficiently. Jellyrolling requires some extra labor at the greenhouse, but workers can work comfortably and efficiently at a bench top in the nursery setting. The seedlings can be removed inside or in the evening when plant photosynthesis has stopped, and the cool, moist environment is also less damaging for seedlings. The extra labor at the greenhouse is compensated for by labor saving experienced in the field. Some nurseries in the Northwest now offer jellyrolling as a service at the nursery prior to shipping seedling, further reducing costs. The U.S.D.A. Forest Service Medford nursery in Oregon has a jellyrolling machine that can roll more than 7,000 seedlings per hour (Valenzuela, 1992). A commercial operation can jellyroll plants for about 1¢ per seedling (Lopushinsky, 1986). To be suitable for arid land revegetation projects, jelly rolling must provide protection form root desiccation and damage. Deans et al. (1990) found that root growth of Sitka spruce bare root seedlings was reduced 59%