Disturbance and Plant Succession in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the American Southwest

Abella, Scott R.

doi:10.3390/ijerph7041248

Cited by 89 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Road construction and maintenance operations provide safe sites for seed germination and establishment where water runoff keeps soil moisture relatively high so that non-native species can invade new habitat from road edges (Parker et al 1993;Gelbard and Belnap 2002). In addition, ground-disturbing activities from the development of solar energy in the desert could result in the removal of dominant native vegetation (Abella 2010). Based on a fluctuating resources mechanism for invasions, non-native species are expected to proliferate, persist, and become dominant after the disturbance (Chambers et al 2007;Prevey et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of native and non-native Mojave Desert winter annuals to soil disturbance and water additions

et al. 2011

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Habitat modification (i.e., disturbance) and resource availability have been identified as possible mechanisms that may influence the invasibility of plant communities. In the Mojave Desert, habitat disturbance has increased dramatically over the last 50 years due to increased human activities. Additionally, water availability is considered to be a main limiting resource for plant production. To elucidate the effects of soil disturbance and water availability on plant invasions, we created experimental patches where we varied the levels of soil disturbance and water availability in a fully crossed factorial experiment at five replicated field sites, and documented responses of native and non-native winter annuals. The treatments did not significantly affect the density (seedlings m -2 ) of the non-native forb, Brassica tournefortii. However, the relationship between silique production and plant height differed among treatments, with greater silique production in disturbed plots. In contrast to Brassica, density of the non-native Schismus spp. increased in soil disturbed and watered plots, and was greatest in disturbed plots during 2009 (the second year of the study). Species composition of the native annual community was not affected by treatments in 2008 but was influenced by treatments in 2009. The native forb Eriophyllum sp. was most dense on water-addition plots, while density of Chaenactis freemontii was highest in disturbed plots. Results illustrate that habitat invasibility in arid systems can be influenced by dynamics in disturbance regimes and water availability, and suggest that invasiveness can differ between non-native annual species and among native annuals in habitats undergoing changing disturbance and precipitation regimes. Understanding the mechanistic relationships between water availability and non-native plant responses will be important for understanding the effects of shifting precipitation and vegetation patterns under predicted climate change in arid ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of native and non-native Mojave Desert winter annuals to soil disturbance and water additions

et al. 2011

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“…However, extensive and repeated wildfires in the western U.S. have resulted in the invasion and expansion of undesirable annual weeds into many ecosystems (Brooks and Pyke 2001;Abella 2010). Thus, the identification and development of high performance drought and heat tolerant narrow-leaved fescue germplasm possessing fire resilience for use in greenstrips and rehabilitation of degraded landscapes could increase rangeland sustainability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fire-resilient grass vegetation that improves forage production and reduces wildfire spread has been difficult to identify given habitat-specific adaptations, lack of late maturity (i.e., summer greening), and often poor stand establishment and persistence (Monsen 1994;Abella 2010). Although some fine-leaved fescue species possess abiotic stress tolerance and remain green throughout the growing season (Ruemmele et al 2003;Aronson et al 1987), many of these have not been rigorously evaluated for their potential use in greenstrips in the western U.S. For instance, although popular 'Covar' (F. valesiaca Schleich.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of fine-leaved Festuca grass populations identifies genetic resources having improved forage production with potential for wildfire control in the western United States

2016

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Drought and heat tolerant fine-leaved fescue (Festuca ssp.) grasses have potential as components in rangeland greenstrips for wildfire control in semi-arid climates, although such grasses have not been evaluated under rangeland conditions. Therefore, 63 geographically diverse Festuca accessions of 11 species were evaluated for vigor, color, and biomass in 2009 and 2010 in North Logan, UT to identify grasses for use in U.S. western rangelands. Sixty-two plants representing eight species were selected in 2009 to intermate for further evaluation. Controlled biparental matings among these selections in 2010 produced 18 populations with sufficient seed to be evaluated with three commercial Festuca checks in replicated trials between 2012 and 2013 at Malta, ID, Blue Creek, UT, and North Logan, UT, where mean annual precipitation is 265, 362, and 484 mm, respectively. Plants were evaluated for color, relative vigor, biomass, seed yield, persistence, and regrowth over 2 years. Generally, four fine-leaved populations (R4S4, R4S6, R4S22, and R4S32) with parents originating from Turkey (F. valesiaca subsp. valesiaca), Russia (F. valesiaca, F. valesiaca subsp. valesiaca), Iran (F. valesiaca), and the U.S. (F. ovina) performed equal to or better than 'Durar' or 'Covar' checks. In Malta (harshest environment), the performance of these four populations compared to 'Durar' was 84-210 % for vigor, 79-90 % for color, 65-562 % for biomass, 64-296 % for seed yield, 92-117 % for persistence, and 164-454 % for regrowth, where R4S22 was superior. AFLP analysis indicated that all four populations were distinct, and that R4S4 and R4S6 grouped near 'Covar', R4S22 clustered near 'Black Sheep' and 'Durar', and R4S32 was genetically unique. These populations exhibit drought tolerance and green leaf color under harsh U.S. western desert conditions that make them amendable for use in greenstrips for wildfire control.

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“…Both sites have similar physical characteristics and support similar shrub communities, being co-dominated by Larrea and the perennial shrub Ambrosia dumosa (A. Gray) Payne, with inter-shrub areas sparsely vegetated by both native and exotic forbs and grasses (Abella, 2010). Soils in both study sites are typic torripsamments in the Cajon series (Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1999).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 98%

Spatio-temporal impacts of fire on soil nutrient availability in Larrea tridentata shrublands of the Mojave Desert, USA

et al. 2015

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Soil nutrients and herbaceous plant growth are patchily distributed in desert ecosystems, often restricted to "fertility islands" created by perennial shrubs. Although fire has been historically uncommon in southwestern American hot deserts (e.g., the Mojave), these regions have experienced more severe fires due to recent invasions of exotic species that increased proneness to fire. Nevertheless, the effects of fire on soil nutrients in SW deserts, including via the removal of shrubs by fire, remain unclear. We assessed the spatio-temporal impacts of fire on soil nutrient availability in burned and unburned areas of the Mojave Desert. The study was conducted in shrublands dominated by Larrea tridentata. We investigated both the short (seven months after fire) and long (seven years after fire) term effects of fire on soil nutrient availability within a microhabitat gradient spanning from under the shrub canopy to open inter-shrub areas. We found that nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) were higher under the canopy of burned L. tridentata seven months after fire. In contrast, seven years after fire, N and K availability were lower around shrubs that were killed by fire. Over the short-term, fire had a positive effect on soil nutrients. However, over the long-term, the fertility island effect diminished after removal of shrubs by fire, and the differential availability of nutrients such as N and K became more similar under shrubs and in open inter-shrub areas. This reinforces the key role of L. tridentata in influencing the distribution of soil nutrients and provides support for the hypothesis that post-fire herbaceous plant growth will be less restricted to areas under shrubs.

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Disturbance and Plant Succession in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the American Southwest

Cited by 89 publications

References 68 publications

Responses of native and non-native Mojave Desert winter annuals to soil disturbance and water additions

Responses of native and non-native Mojave Desert winter annuals to soil disturbance and water additions

Development of fine-leaved Festuca grass populations identifies genetic resources having improved forage production with potential for wildfire control in the western United States

Spatio-temporal impacts of fire on soil nutrient availability in Larrea tridentata shrublands of the Mojave Desert, USA

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