Tree and forest encroachment into fescue grasslands on the Cypress Hills plateau, southeast Alberta, Canada

Widenmaier, Kerri J.; Strong, Wayne L

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.01.049

Cited by 22 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Interestingly, excluding mammals did result in higher numbers of P. contorta seedlings (in felled plots). Sika deer and red deer may be the main drivers of this effect, because they are common in the Kaweka Forest Park (Davidson & Fraser 1991;Fraser et al 2000), and are known from northern hemisphere studies to have negative impacts on the establishment, growth and survival of several Pinus species, including P. contorta (Gill 1992;Palmer & Truscott 2003;Widenmaier & Strong 2010). Other mammal species such as possums, pigs, goats, rabbits, hares and rodents may also consume P. contorta seedlings and/or seeds and reduce seedling establishment (Castro et al 1999;Ledgard & Norton 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of tree control method, seed addition, and introduced mammal exclusion on seedling establishment in an invasive Pinus contorta forest

McAlpine¹,

Howell²,

Wotton³

2016

NZ J Ecol

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Pinus contorta is a widespread and ecologically damaging invasive tree in the southern hemisphere. Land managers want control methods that limit reinvasion by P. contorta and promote the recovery of native plant communities and ecosystem functions. Recovery of native vegetation may be slow if native seed supply is limited and/or introduced mammals destroy seeds and seedlings. We investigated how tree control method (felling or poisoning), seed addition, and exclusion of introduced mammals affected subsequent seedling establishment in montane stands of invasive P. contorta. Tree control method had a significant effect on seedling establishment: felling trees promoted establishment of P. contorta seedlings, whereas poisoning trees favoured establishment of native seedlings (provided seeds were available). Native seedling establishment was higher where seeds were sown, indicating native seed limitation at these sites. Excluding introduced mammals increased P. contorta seedling establishment, but did not have a significant effect on native seedling establishment. Our results indicate that poisoning P. contorta is a better management approach than felling where native seedling establishment is the desired outcome, and that this outcome can be enhanced by sowing native seed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of tree control method, seed addition, and introduced mammal exclusion on seedling establishment in an invasive Pinus contorta forest

McAlpine¹,

Howell²,

Wotton³

2016

NZ J Ecol

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“…While at USA1 the difference in fire history is confounded with site, the vegetation and abiotic settings of the sites are extremely similar, so fire is likely to be partially responsible for the differences found in invasion density. Thus, fire through low‐density invasion fronts may reduce invasion rates where native plants are adapted to regenerate following fire (Widenmaier & Strong, ), contrary to concerns that a positive feedback could form between pine invasions and fire (Simberloff et al ., ). Our results suggest that prescribed fire in low‐density invasions could be explored as a management option.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pinus contorta has recently encroached into grasslands, shrublands and subalpine meadows in its native range (e.g. Jakubos & Romme, ; Widenmaier & Strong, ). Hereafter, we refer to this encroachment as invasion (Jakubos & Romme, ; Boulant et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of plant invasion vary globally: evidence from pine invasions within six ecoregions

Taylor

Maxwell

Pauchard

et al. 2015

Global Ecology and Biogeography

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Aim To determine biotic and abiotic controls on pine invasion globally within six ecoregions that include both introduced and native ranges. Locations Río Negro province, Argentina; Aysén and Araucanía regions, Chile; South Island (two ecoregions), New Zealand; Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, USA. Methods We quantified tree abundance and size across invasion fronts of the widespread invasive tree species Pinus contorta at each of the nine sites, encompassing both the native and introduced range. We also determined the relative importance of propagule pressure, abiotic characteristics and biotic factors for invasion success. Finally, key plant population metrics such as individual tree growth rates and reproductive effort were compared between native and introduced ranges. Results Pinus contorta density decreased with increasing distance from source population in all cases, but the importance and shape of this relationship differed among sites due, primarily to biotic factors. For example, areas dominated by native southern beech forest (Fuscospora cliffortioides or Nothofagus spp.) were not invaded, and this biotic resistance was not overcome by high propagule pressure. In contrast, shrublands were more highly invaded than grasslands, contradicting previous generalizations about pine invasions. Pinus contorta growth was faster, age to maturity was earlier and reproductive effort was higher in the introduced ranges compared with the native range, suggesting a demographic shift towards more rapid population growth in introduced regions. Climatic differences between the ranges may explain, at least in part, the observed pattern. Main conclusions We demonstrate that although biological invasions are driven by propagule pressure across different ecoregions, these processes interact strongly with biotic factors. Intriguingly, our results suggest that propagule pressure may become less important than biotic interactions as invasions proceed. Multi‐region studies including both the native and introduced ranges provide unparalleled opportunities for understanding how these interactions change among regions as invasions proceed.

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“…Data for this study were collected in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, a 35,000 ha protected area that straddles the southern Alberta‐Saskatchewan border in western Canada (49°40′N, 110°15′W). The park is in a sub‐humid climatic zone with a mean annual temperature of approximately 2°C and annual precipitation of approximately 550 mm (Widenmaier & Strong, ). The landscape comprises a mix of fescue prairie and forests dominated by lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta ), white spruce ( Picea glauca ), trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides ) and occasionally balsam poplar ( Populus balsamifera ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant communities on nitrogen‐rich soil are less sensitive to soil moisture than plant communities on nitrogen‐poor soil

et al. 2019

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1. Plant species composition and diversity are known to change across local gradients of light, moisture and nutrients, but ecologists still have a relatively limited understanding of how communities respond to multiple limiting resources.2. We used a trait-based approach to investigate how the functional composition and diversity of forest understorey plant communities change along gradients in light, soil moisture and nitrogen availability. We used a total of seven leaf, root and whole-plant traits for 55-78 species, and estimated the effects of the three resources on the mean and dispersion of these traits in understorey plant communities across 50 forest sites.3. Soil moisture and nitrogen availability (C/N ratio) both influenced plant community traits, but light availability (canopy openness) did not. Generally, increases in moisture and nitrogen both resulted in shifts towards more acquisitive resource use strategies, including greater leaf area, specific leaf area and maximum plant height, and lower leaf dry matter content, root dry matter content and rooting depth. Functional diversity of most traits also increased with increasing soil moisture and nitrogen. Although most traits varied with soil moisture on nitrogen-poor sites, moisture did not influence of the distribution of any traits on nitrogen-rich sites. 4. Synthesis. Independent co-limitation of soil moisture and nitrogen appeared to influence the functional composition and diversity of understorey vegetation in our study area. The co-occurrence of species with resource acquisitive and conservative strategies on nitrogen-rich sites may make plant communities relatively resistant to changes to soil moisture. These results suggest that altered precipitation regimes under climate change could lead to greater changes in the composition and diversity of plant communities on nutrient-poor soils than on nutrient-rich soils. K E Y W O R D S community assembly, environmental filtering, light, multiple resource limitation, nitrogen, plant strategies, soil moisture, trait-based ecology 134 |

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Tree and forest encroachment into fescue grasslands on the Cypress Hills plateau, southeast Alberta, Canada

Cited by 22 publications

References 34 publications

Effects of tree control method, seed addition, and introduced mammal exclusion on seedling establishment in an invasive Pinus contorta forest

Effects of tree control method, seed addition, and introduced mammal exclusion on seedling establishment in an invasive Pinus contorta forest

Drivers of plant invasion vary globally: evidence from pine invasions within six ecoregions

Plant communities on nitrogen‐rich soil are less sensitive to soil moisture than plant communities on nitrogen‐poor soil

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