Establishment of native grasses and their impact on exotic annuals in degraded box gum woodlands

Cole, I. A.; Prober, Suzanne M.; Lunt, Ian D.; Koen, Terry

doi:10.1111/aec.12482

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(191 reference statements)

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“…The correlations between soil properties and plant biomass do indicate that a reduction in soil nutrients could be a contributing factor to the overall success of TSR. However, when C was added in an attempt to reduce nutrients, we found a reduction in biomass of both weeds and native plants even though soil nutrients became comparable to similar native grasslands (Prober et al 2005; Cole et al 2017). Therefore, it is likely other factors, or a combination of factors, result in TSR being successful.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Site preparation impacts on soil biotic and abiotic properties, weed control, and native grass establishment

Smith

Cavagnaro

Christmas

et al. 2020

Restoration Ecology

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In severely degraded systems active restoration is required to overcome legacies of past land use and to create conditions that promote the establishment of target plant communities. While our understanding of the importance of soil microbial communities in ecological restoration is growing, few studies have looked at the impacts different site preparation techniques have on these communities. We trialed four methods of site preparation: fire, top‐soil removal (TSR; removal of top 50 mm of soil), slashing (vegetation cut to 30 mm, biomass removed), and carbon (C; as sugar and saw‐dust) addition, and quantified resulting soil bacterial communities using DNA metabarcoding. We compared the effectiveness of these techniques to reduce weed biomass, improve native grass establishment, and induce changes in soil nutrient availability. TSR was the most effective technique, leading to a reduction in both available nutrients and competition from weeds. In comparison, the remaining methods had little or no effect on weed biomass, native grass establishment, or soil nutrient availability. Both TSR and C addition resulted in changes in the soil bacterial community. These changes have the potential to alter plant community assembly in many ways, such as via nutrient acquisition, pathogenic effects, nutrient cycling, and decomposition. We recommend TSR for ecological restoration of old‐fields and suggest it is a much more effective technique than burning, slashing, or C addition. Restoration practitioners should consider how their management techniques may influence the soil biota and, in turn, affect restoration outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Site preparation impacts on soil biotic and abiotic properties, weed control, and native grass establishment

Smith

Cavagnaro

Christmas

et al. 2020

Restoration Ecology

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“…The presence of key C4 grass species that regulate ground layer diversity and provide resilience to weed invasion (Cole et al . 2017 and references therein) and the presence of resprouting ‘characteristic’ woodland eucalypt tree species support that BGW is a functionally distinct community across seven bioregions with distinct landscape and climate configurations (Fig. 2 and see Thackway & Cresswell 1995).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 75%

Multiple analyses redirect management and restoration priorities for a critically endangered ecological community

et al. 2021

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Accurately assessing community diversity patterns across distributional ranges is critically important for informed and effective management of ecological communities. Yet, for many wide‐ranging communities diversity patterns across broad ranges are poorly known. We apply a range of analytical approaches to an extensively studied ecological community to determine the relative utility and complementarity of these analytical approaches and their applicability for improved management. White Box Yellow Box Blakely’s Red Gum Woodland (herein abbreviated to BGW) occurs across seven bioregions in New South Wales, eastern Australia. Previous work has suggested either small levels of regional variation in floristic patterns or, contrastingly, up to ~80 variants determined by expert‐driven assessment. We undertook floristic survey and analysed floristic patterns using multivariate dispersion, diversity metrics (alpha (α) diversity, beta (β) diversity, gamma (γ) diversity and zeta (ζ) diversity; including assessments of β turnover and nestedness and higher order ζ diversity). Expert‐derived BGW variants were not clearly related to patterns of floristic variation. In this study, multivariate interactions were critical to identifying patterns of floristic variation. ζ diversity provided insights into bioregional variation not detected via other analytics and was more robust to unbalanced data than β diversity. However, β diversity provided important insights, detecting changing community patterns within a bioregion that would otherwise not be detected and allowing for some comparison of our results with other studies. This study highlights the value of applying multiple analytical approaches to the understanding of floristic patterns. Conservation of floristic diversity in BGW requires protection and management across its range, something which has not previously been adequately addressed.

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“…We attempted to overcome this delay by planting mature tubestock plants rather than using direct seeding. Therefore, our native grasses would have been more developed than those in the study by Cole et al (2017) who found that Austrostipa (C3 species) swards with successful recruitment of C4 grasses, including T. triandra, suppressed exotic annuals more than the Austrostipa-only. Alternatively, the climatic conditions may not have favoured the C4 species and thus have made them less competitive.…”

Section: C4 Native Plants Were Not Strong Competitorsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Alternatively, the climatic conditions may not have favoured the C4 species and thus have made them less competitive. For example, these species may depend on summer rains to become established or build up their individual tussock sizes (Cole et al, 2017;Lodge, 1981), whereas our site had below average rainfall over the summer (we watered to the average rainfall to aid establishment). In addition, the very wet spring of 2016 (200 mm above average; Figure 2) may have provided ideal conditions for the C3 plants (native and exotic) and given them a competitive edge over the C4 species.…”

Section: C4 Native Plants Were Not Strong Competitorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource pre‐emption, rather than extending the growing season of native grass assemblages, reduces invasion by exotic species

Smith

Pound

2021

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions In Mediterranean‐type systems, invasive C3 annual grasses appear early in the season and can pre‐empt resources and attain a competitive dominance over native perennial grasses. Here, we investigated whether planting C3 and C4 native grasses (a) combined, so that resources are extracted over a longer period, or (b) at higher density would make planted communities more competitive against invasive species. Location Para Woodlands Reserve, near Adelaide, South Australia. Methods In 72 experimental plots, native grasses were planted in combinations of seasonal patterns (three levels; single‐season assemblages with either C3 or C4 and extended season with both C3 and C4) and planting density (two levels; high = 44 plants/m2 and low = 20 plants/m2). Data were collected on native plant survival and biomass, invasive biomass and soil properties. Results Overall, C3 native grasses were superior competitors against both invasive C3 grasses and native C4 grasses. We found no interaction between the combination of C3 and C4 grasses planted together and density of planting. Assemblages with higher densities were successful at reducing exotic plant biomass; however, there was a trade‐off with reduced individual performance among the native plants. Even though individual plants were larger in the low‐density treatment, total biomass was lower in these plots suggesting that density limits the growth of native communities as a whole. The C3 native plants were planted earlier than the C4 native plants because of differences in phenology and therefore likely pre‐empted resources and gained a size advantage, making them the superior competitor. Conclusion Native perennial grasses can outcompete exotic plants for resources if planted earlier in the season. This resource pre‐emption appears to be more important than resource use over a longer period with C3 and C4 plants together and could be an effective restoration strategy.

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Establishment of native grasses and their impact on exotic annuals in degraded box gum woodlands

Cited by 14 publications

References 58 publications

Site preparation impacts on soil biotic and abiotic properties, weed control, and native grass establishment

Site preparation impacts on soil biotic and abiotic properties, weed control, and native grass establishment

Multiple analyses redirect management and restoration priorities for a critically endangered ecological community

Resource pre‐emption, rather than extending the growing season of native grass assemblages, reduces invasion by exotic species

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