Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) and Westinghouse Hanford Company (Westinghouse Hanford) are collaborating on a field study of the effects of gravel admixtures on plant growth and soil water storage in protective barriers. Protective barriers are engineered earthern covers designed to prevent water, plants, and animals from contacting buried waste and transporting contaminants to groundwater or the land surface. Some of the proposed designs include gravel admixtures or gravel mulches on the barrier surface to control soil loss by wind and runoff. The purpose of this study is to measure, in a field setting, the influence of surface gravel additions on soil water storage and plant cover. The study plots are located northwest of the Yakima Gate in the McGee Ranch old field. Here we report the status of work completed in FY 1989 on the creation of a data management system, a test of water application uniformity, field calibration of neutron moisture gages, and an analysis of the response of plants to various combinations of gravel admixtures and increased rainfall. 23 refs., 11 figs., 6 tabs.