A Provisional Model for Smooth Brome Management in Degraded Tallgrass Prairie

Willson, G.D.; Stubbendieck, J.

doi:10.3368/er.18.1.34

Cited by 32 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The lack of a management plan for smooth brome can have dire consequences for dominant prairie plants (this study; Blankespoor and Larson 1994;Murphy and Grant 2005;Willson and Stubbendieck 2000;F. P. Dillemuth, unpublished data), and potentially many native arthropod species.…”

Section: Brome Managementmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…This type of management has been successful in previous habitats dominated by Spartina dominated habitats (see Feldman et al 2004;Schmalzer et al 1991). The basis for this management tactic is a model developed by Willson and Stubbendieck (2000) that recommends burning in early spring at the four or five leaf stage of smooth brome. This tactic is thought to work because smooth brome is a cool season grass that begins its growth cycle and sets seeds before native warm season grasses (i.e., prairie cordgrass).…”

Section: Brome Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, management of smooth brome is limited because other invasive species (e.g., Cirsium arvense, Canada thistle; Euphorbia esula, leafy spurge and Artemisia absinthium, wormwood) have been given higher priority by local land managers (K. Tompkins, personal communication). However, land managers report some success in reducing the establishment, spread and abundance of smooth brome with the use of prescribed burns (Willson and Stubbendieck 2000). This type of management has been successful in previous habitats dominated by Spartina dominated habitats (see Feldman et al 2004;Schmalzer et al 1991).…”

Section: Brome Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patch dynamics of a native grass in relation to the spread of invasive smooth brome (Bromus inermis)

2008

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The effects of invasive species on the patch dynamics (establishment, growth, and local extinction) of native species are not well studied, owing to the need for relatively fine-scale data on the distribution of species. Within the prairie pothole region of the United States and Canada, the grass, Bromus inermis (smooth brome) has become established by invading disturbed prairies, and through repeated introductions for soil retention and animal graze. In this study, the impact of smooth brome on the patch dynamics of a dominant native grass species, Spartina pectinata (prairie cordgrass), was assessed using fine-scale (sub-meter) mapping of the distribution of cordgrass and brome in three prairie fragments from 2000 to 2006. Using GIS spatial analyses, we determined that cordgrass patch growth was two times greater in areas not invaded by smooth brome versus areas that were heavily infested with smooth brome. Among sites and time periods, there was a consistent significant negative relationship between the amount of smooth brome surrounding a patch of cordgrass and the growth of that cordgrass patch. The probability of establishment of a new patch of cordgrass averaged 1.3 times higher in areas of low brome coverage (\25%) than areas of high brome coverage ([75%).Conversely, existing cordgrass patches were 7.8 times more likely to go extinct in areas of high than low brome coverage. This is one of only a few field studies to provide evidence of the negative impact of smooth brome on native flora and hopefully will serve as justification for the development of a formal management plan to limit the distribution of this species in tallgrass prairie ecosystems.

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Section: Brome Managementmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Brome Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Brome Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patch dynamics of a native grass in relation to the spread of invasive smooth brome (Bromus inermis)

2008

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“…Furthermore, early or mid-successional status of a species often couples with high potential for invasiveness (Grace et al 2001, Yamashita et al 2000, 2002. Thus, the flexibility of leaf morphology and structure may also help B. inermis to successfully invade temperate grasslands in North America (Grace et al 2001, Grilz and Romo 1994, Willson and Stubbendieck 2000.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…is a mid-successional species native in Europe, frequent in semiarid disturbed areas, and is an invasive alien throughout North America (e.g. Grace et al 2001, Grilz and Romo 1994, Willson and Stubbendieck 2000. The noxious weed chee reedgrass (Calamagrostis epigeios (L.) Roth) is able to colonise rapidly a wide range of disturbed habitats, particularly forest clearings, abandoned fields and wastelands (Rebele and Lehmann 2001).…”

Section: Species Studiedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf morphology and anatomy in two contrasting environments for C₃and C₄grasses of different invasion potential

Han

Mojzes

Kalapos

2008

Acta Botanica Hungarica

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Leaf morphology, coarse structure and anatomy were compared for two invasive C 4 , two non-invasive C 4 , and two expanding native C 3 grass species grown in their original, high-light semiarid temperate habitat, and in a growth room under variable moderate light and favourable supply of water and nutrients. It was hypothesised that (H 1 ) among C 4 grasses leaf structural response will be greater for invasive than for non-invasive species, and (H 2 ) for plants of high spreading capacity C 4 species will be less responsive than C 3 species. Leaf mass per area was lower in the growth room than in the field by 43.4-54% and 5.7-21.2% for grasses of high spreading capacity and for non-invasive C 4 species, respectively. Little or no response was observed in the proportion of epidermis and mesophyll, but the proportional area of veins plus sclerenchyma was greater in the field than in the growth room for the invasive C 4 Sorghum halepense, and the spreading C 3 Bromus inermis and Calamagrostis epigeios, while it did not differ for the two non-invasive C 4 grasses and the invasive C 4 Cynodon dactylon. Leaf intervenial distance was invariant for C 4 grasses (except for the non-invasive Chrysopogon gryllus) and the C 3 C. epigeios, but changed by 25.1% for the C 3 B. inermis. These results suggest that among C 4 grasses invasive species exceed non-invasive ones in the plasticity of leaf coarse structure, but not that of leaf morphology and anatomy. However, leaf structure was not less plastic in invasive C 4 than in expanding C 3 grasses except for intervenial distance.

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Invasive species do not exploit early growing seasons in burned tallgrass prairies

Ratcliffe

Ahlering

Carlson

et al. 2022

Ecological Applications

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Invasive species management is key to conserving critically threatened native prairie ecosystems. While prescribed burning is widely demonstrated to increase native diversity and suppress invasive species, elucidating the conditions under which burning is most effective remains an ongoing focus of applied prairie ecology research. Understanding how conservation management interacts with climate is increasingly pressing, because climate change is altering weather conditions and seasonal timing around the world. Increasingly early growing seasons due to climate change are shifting the timing and availability of resources and niche space, which may disproportionately advantage invasive species and influence the outcome of burning. We estimated the effects of burning, start time of the growing season, and their interaction on invasive species relative cover and frequency, two metrics for species abundance and dominance. We used 25 observed prairie sites and 853 observations of 267 transects spread throughout Minnesota, USA from 2010 to 2019 to conduct our analysis. Here, we show that burning reduced the abundance of invasive cool-season grasses, leading to reduced abundance of invasive species as a whole. This reduction persisted over time for invasive cover but quickly waned for their frequency of occurrence. Additionally, and contrary to expectations that early growing season starts benefit invasive species, we found evidence that later growing season starts increased the abundance of some invasive species. However, the effects of burning on plant communities were largely unaltered by the timing of the growing season, although earlier growing season starts weakened the effectiveness of burning on Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and smooth brome (Bromus inermis), two of the most dominant invasive species in the region. Our results suggest that prescribed burning will likely continue to be a useful conservation tool in the context of earlier growing season starts, and that changes to growing season timing will not be a primary mechanism driving increased invasion due to climate change in these ecosystems. We propose that future research seek to better understand abiotic controls on invasive species phenology in managed systems and how burning intensity and timing interact with spring conditions.

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A Provisional Model for Smooth Brome Management in Degraded Tallgrass Prairie

Cited by 32 publications

References 12 publications

Patch dynamics of a native grass in relation to the spread of invasive smooth brome (Bromus inermis)

Patch dynamics of a native grass in relation to the spread of invasive smooth brome (Bromus inermis)

Leaf morphology and anatomy in two contrasting environments for C₃and C₄grasses of different invasion potential

Invasive species do not exploit early growing seasons in burned tallgrass prairies

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A Provisional Model for Smooth Brome Management in Degraded Tallgrass Prairie

Cited by 32 publications

References 12 publications

Patch dynamics of a native grass in relation to the spread of invasive smooth brome (Bromus inermis)

Patch dynamics of a native grass in relation to the spread of invasive smooth brome (Bromus inermis)

Leaf morphology and anatomy in two contrasting environments for C3and C4grasses of different invasion potential

Invasive species do not exploit early growing seasons in burned tallgrass prairies

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Leaf morphology and anatomy in two contrasting environments for C₃and C₄grasses of different invasion potential