Freund Saxhaug, Katrina2020-08-252020-08-252020-03https://hdl.handle.net/11299/215161University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. March 2020. Major: Applied Plant Sciences. Advisor: Craig Sheaffer. 1 computer file (PDF); viii, 152 pages.Native and naturalized perennial plants are important components of sustainable agricultural systems, providing a wide range of ecosystem services including marketable products. Although demand for these products is increasing, there is limited information on the establishment and production of native and naturalized perennial plants. Through field and greenhouse studies, four native and naturalized perennial plant species were evaluated for their seed yield, biomass yield, and phytochemical (natural product) production. Canada milk vetch (Astragalus canadensis L.), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea Moench [L.]), and showy tick trefoil (Desmodium canadense L.) were evaluated in the field for seed and biomass production over three consecutive years. Seed yield decreased in all three species over time, whereas biomass yields over time varied by species. Seed and biomass yields, on a per hectare basis, decreased as the number of rows decreased, and there was little effect of plant community richness or diversity. An untargeted metabolomics approach was taken to evaluate phytochemical production in purple coneflower tissues. Several bioactive compounds were provisionally identified in purple coneflower tissues, and seed tissue possessed a similar profile to that of root. Although the plant community did not affect the overall metabolomic profile of purple coneflower, levels of specific compounds in leaf, stem, and root tissue were affected. Similar biomass yield and metabolomics approaches were applied to fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium (L.) scop., syn. Epilobium angustifolium L.) grown in a hydroponic system. Shoot dry weight increased logistically with increasing mineral concentration of the nutrient solution. Although the abundance of most provisionally identified compounds decreased with increasing mineral nutrient concentration, commercially-relevant oenothein B and miquelianin were not affected by mineral nutrient treatments. Native and naturalized perennial plants on the agricultural landscape can provide numerous ecosystem services, including marketable products such as seed for restoration plantings, biomass for fuel and forage, and bioactive phytochemicals for medicinal and supplemental purposes. In order to incentivize the establishment of native and naturalized perennials for such marketable products, research on the productivity of specific plants is needed. The research presented in this dissertation provides the groundwork for four native and naturalized Minnesota species.enAgronomyNative plantsPlant metabolomicsThesis or Dissertation