Download or read book Competitive Interactions Between Native Grasses and Invasive Species in California Grasslands written by Kimberly Jo Reever Morghan and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book California Grasslands written by Mark R. Stromberg and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007-12-03 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This highly synthetic and scholarly work brings together new and important scientific contributions by leading experts on a rich diversity of topics concerning the history, ecology, and conservation of California's endangered grasslands. The editors and authors have succeeded admirably in drawing from a great wealth of recent research to produce a widely accessible and compelling, state-of-the-art treatment of this fascinating subject. Anyone interested in Californian biodiversity or grassland ecosystems in general will find this book to be an invaluable resource and a major inspiration for further research, management, and restoration efforts."—Bruce G. Baldwin, W. L. Jepson Professor and Curator, UC Berkeley "Grasses and grasslands are among the most important elements of the California landscape. This is their book, embodying the kind of integrated view needed for all ecological communities in California. Approaches ranging across an incredibly broad spectrum -- paleontology and human history; basic science and practical management techniques; systematics, community ecology, physiology, and genetics; physical factors such as water, soil nutrients, atmospherics, and fire; biological factors such as competition, symbiosis, and grazing -- are nicely tied together due to careful editorial work. This is an indispensable reference for everyone interested in the California environment."—Brent Mishler, Director of the University & Jepson Herbaria and Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley "The structure and function of California grasslands have intrigued ecologists for decades. The editors of this volume have assembled a comprehensive set of reviews by a group of outstanding authors on the natural history, structure, management, and restoration of this economically and ecologically important ecosystem."—Scott L. Collins, Professor of Biology, University of New Mexico

Download or read book Managing Plant Invasions in California Grasslands written by Kristin B. Hulvey and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Effects of Competition Herbivory and Spatial Patterning on the Persistence of a California Native Perennial Grass written by Martha Fenn Hoopes and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Spatial Pattern in Invasive Grasses of California written by Meghan J. Skaer Thomason and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Invasive species may alter their environment in ways that influence their distribution patterns. In particular, positive feedbacks between plant traits and resource use can lead to distinct pattern formation. Plant traits that might interact with their environment include litter chemistry and developmental phenology. The degree to which invasive species may benefit from positive feedback is unknown. Furthermore, there is little detailed information about how demography might be affected by positive feedbacks, or how demography might influence distribution pattern formation. Climate change will likely influence the spread and impact of biological invasions, and interact with distribution pattern. It is important to predict which invasive species will benefit from future changes in climate, and thereby identify those problematic invaders that may need particular attention and prioritization of management efforts. Population demographics are a major indicator of invasion status and a key component needed to develop effective invasive species management strategies or to predict invasive species response to climate change. In the heavily invaded annual grasslands of the California Floristic Province, a biodiversity hotspot, two introduced invasive annual grasses, Elymus caput-medusae and Aegilops triuncialis, form dense stands (patches) interspersed across the landscape. These species have the potential to interact with their environment because of unique, recalcitrant litter chemistry as well as extended phenology that sets them apart from other annual competitors. I investigated the interaction between these invasive annual grasses, their competitors, and their environment with three studies, using observation, modeling, and a field experiment. The observational study aims to understand if E. caput-medusae interacts with its environment in forming patches, or instead responds passively to extant edaphic patterns. To address this aim, I measured demography across two generations, evaluated xylem water stress in E. caput-medusae, and measured edaphic factors across transects within and beyond established E. caput-medusae patches. Findings from this study indicate that demographic parameters vary across a small spatial scale and that E. caput-medusae phenology may lead to spatial "resource banking" of water in dense patches. I developed model based on the Tilman resource competition framework focusing on two groups of species: the invasive Mediterranean cool-season annual grasses and a pair of more recent invaders with a 2-4 week longer growing season (E. caput-medusae and A. triuncialis). I modeled litter feedback as a potential driver of invasion dynamics in California grasslands. Litter feedback in the model was a critical aspect for accurately modeling species range limits because actual species distribution was not modeled well until litter feedback effects were included. For areas with higher annual precipitation, there may be a period of time where restoration techniques like seeding might be especially important for long-term invader control. Finally, I developed a field experiment to understand the interaction of climate change and local-scale patterning on the demography of A. triuncialis. I manipulated rainfall (reduced, ambient, or augmented), seed density (300 or 600 seeds/m2), and local-scale seeding pattern in a full factorial experiment. Demographic and environmental data were collected for three years following initial establishment. Pattern and scale figure prominently in the demographic response of A. triuncialis to rainfall manipulation, where aggregated plantings led to increased reproductive output at two of three scales of observation. These results indicate that increasing the probability of interspecific interactions would likely be detrimental to A. triuncialis infestations, and should factor into developing management strategies.

Download or read book Causes and Consequences of Grass Versus Forb Years in California Rangelands written by Lauren Margaret Hallett and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global circulation models consistently forecast an increase in the frequency of extreme events such as severe storms and droughts. These changes will alter species interactions and ecosystem functions shaped by precipitation, such as productivity. Ecosystem management will need to anticipate, and where possible, mitigate the effects of increased climate variability in order to maintain ecosystem services and biodiversity. This is a pressing issue for California rangelands, which host a high percentage of California's endemic plants and support a large ranching industry that depends on reliable forage production. My dissertation uses observational and experimental approaches to understand the implications of increased precipitation variability for the stability of forage production (i.e. aboveground productivity) and the persistence of rare species in California rangelands. Chapter 1 explores how species interactions affect the stability of aboveground productivity and whether these patterns change along precipitation gradients. I compiled and analyzed nine long-term datasets of plant species composition and aboveground productivity from grassland sites across the United States. I found that productivity in mesic grasslands was stabilized by species richness, whereas productivity in climatically variable grasslands was stabilized by species asynchrony over time. The latter pattern was exemplified by California rangelands, which experienced the most variable precipitation as well as exhibited the most species asynchrony. Chapters 2 and 3 experimentally test the relationship between precipitation variability and species asynchrony in California rangelands and its implications for the stability of cover and aboveground productivity over time. In Chapter 2, I used rainout shelters and irrigation to experimentally create dry and wet conditions, which I replicated across areas with both low and moderate grazing histories. In moderately grazed areas, my rainfall treatments generated a classic pattern of "grass years" in wet conditions and "forb years" in dry. This pattern helped to stabilize cover across rainfall treatments and is a likely reason for the relationship between precipitation variability and species asynchrony that I observed in Chapter 1. In low grazed areas, however, my treatments essentially generated "grass years" in wet conditions and "no-grass years" in dry; forb cover was both low and unresponsive to rainfall in these areas. This suggests that moderate grazing may be an important management tool to maintain the functional responsiveness of California rangelands to precipitation variability. Chapter 3 tests whether competitive and functional differences between grasses and forbs affect the degree to which asynchrony stabilizes total biomass production. Within wet and dry plots I manipulated species interactions to create monocultures of Avena barbata (the most abundant grass), Erodium botrys (the most abundant forb) and a mixture of Avena and Erodium. I found that Avena exerted a stronger competitive effect on Erodium under wet conditions relative to dry, which should help stabilize community productivity. However, this effect was overwhelmed by highly unequal production capacity between the two species; Erodium productivity was much lower than Avena and, consequently, tradeoffs between the species did not increase the stability of the mixture relative to either monoculture. Chapter 4 further investigates tradeoffs between grass and forb years, but in the context of species population dynamics in a ecosystem of conservation concern. Serpentine grassland patches in California host a unique, predominately native flora that is threatened by non-native grass invasion. I focused on a serpentine site that over the past 32 years has exhibited high fluctuations in native forb abundances, and has experienced a series of invasions and subsequent recessions by a non-native annual grass, Bromus hordeaceus. Effective native species conservation and invasive species management require an understanding of what drives such variation in species abundances. I applied a population model to the six most-abundant species at the site - four native annual forbs, a native annual grass and Bromus - to test factors affecting their population size and stability. I found that species could have large population sizes (measured as mean abundance over time) for different reasons - three species had high intrinsic growth rates, whereas the other three, including Bromus and the native grass, had minimal self-limitation. Population stability was highly affected by these differences: species with both low intrinsic growth rates and minimal self-limitation had less stable populations and were more sensitive to rainfall. These findings suggest a framework to describe population stability and to identify which species are likely to be sensitive to environmental change.

Download or read book California Grasslands written by Mark R. Stromberg and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007-12-03 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This highly synthetic and scholarly work brings together new and important scientific contributions by leading experts on a rich diversity of topics concerning the history, ecology, and conservation of California's endangered grasslands. The editors and authors have succeeded admirably in drawing from a great wealth of recent research to produce a widely accessible and compelling, state-of-the-art treatment of this fascinating subject. Anyone interested in Californian biodiversity or grassland ecosystems in general will find this book to be an invaluable resource and a major inspiration for further research, management, and restoration efforts."—Bruce G. Baldwin, W. L. Jepson Professor and Curator, UC Berkeley "Grasses and grasslands are among the most important elements of the California landscape. This is their book, embodying the kind of integrated view needed for all ecological communities in California. Approaches ranging across an incredibly broad spectrum -- paleontology and human history; basic science and practical management techniques; systematics, community ecology, physiology, and genetics; physical factors such as water, soil nutrients, atmospherics, and fire; biological factors such as competition, symbiosis, and grazing -- are nicely tied together due to careful editorial work. This is an indispensable reference for everyone interested in the California environment."—Brent Mishler, Director of the University & Jepson Herbaria and Professor of Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley "The structure and function of California grasslands have intrigued ecologists for decades. The editors of this volume have assembled a comprehensive set of reviews by a group of outstanding authors on the natural history, structure, management, and restoration of this economically and ecologically important ecosystem."—Scott L. Collins, Professor of Biology, University of New Mexico

Download or read book Managing and Restoring California Annual Grassland Species written by Jaymee Theresa Marty and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Invasive Species in Forests and Rangelands of the United States written by Therese M. Poland and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-02-01 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book describes the serious threat of invasive species to native ecosystems. Invasive species have caused and will continue to cause enormous ecological and economic damage with ever increasing world trade. This multi-disciplinary book, written by over 100 national experts, presents the latest research on a wide range of natural science and social science fields that explore the ecology, impacts, and practical tools for management of invasive species. It covers species of all taxonomic groups from insects and pathogens, to plants, vertebrates, and aquatic organisms that impact a diversity of habitats in forests, rangelands and grasslands of the United States. It is well-illustrated, provides summaries of the most important invasive species and issues impacting all regions of the country, and includes a comprehensive primary reference list for each topic. This scientific synthesis provides the cultural, economic, scientific and social context for addressing environmental challenges posed by invasive species and will be a valuable resource for scholars, policy makers, natural resource managers and practitioners.

Download or read book Ecosystems of California written by Harold Mooney and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2016-01-19 with total page 1008 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.

Download or read book Grassland Invasion by Non native Grass Species written by Mitchell John Greer and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Invasion of native grasslands by non-native grasses is of great economic and ecologic concern. Non-native grasses have potential to alter ecosystem functions, habitat quality, disturbance regimes, and feedback loops. These alterations can have bottom-up or top-down effects that may negatively influence grasslands at multiple trophic levels. I conducted three integrated studies to assess non-native grass invasion: 1) on the competitive interactions between native vs. non-native grass species with communitylevel implications; 2) possible utilization of allelopathic biochemicals as an invasion mechanism; and 3) possible alterations in the small mammal communities with implications for ecosystem-level function. My first study indicated that both invasive and native species varied in mycorrhizal dependency along a continuum from obligately to facultatively dependent. Native species biomass production was consistently reduced when planted into 'away' soil, as compared to 'home' soil. Increased biomass production of native grasses was consistently observed following additions of native prairie soil to steam-pasteurized soil from the invaded sites, indicating invasive feedbacks may occur through alterations in biotic communities. My second study indicated that Bothriochloa spp. may gain a competitive advantage through the use of allelopathic biochemicals. However, it is unclear if these allelopathic effects directly hinder competitors, or indirectly hinder competitors through alterations of soil microbial communities. Determination of allelopathic biochemicals was not definitive. Data from my third study indicate that invasion of B. ischaemum into the native grasslands lowered all abundance metrics for deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), while increasing all abundance metrics for hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus), as compared to native grassland controls. Species-specific models show cotton rats select vegetation that supplies aerial predator avoidance and deer mice select habitat that increases foraging efficency. Alterations in these small mammal communities may have profound effects on ecosystem functioning. Our research indicates non-native grass invasion alters native communities on multiple trophic levels. I propose management practices for restoration may be most successful if determined on a species-specific and site-specific basis, as different species appear to use different mechanisms for successful invasion into native prairies.

Download or read book Herbaceous Plant Ecology written by Arnold van der Valk and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-08-03 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: recruitment of adult plants in entire communities, and all of them focus on changes in total densities of A central issue of plant ecology is the understanding individuals and do not refer to changes in community of the relative role of different life history stages in structure (Moles and Drake 1999; Rebollo et al. successful plant recruitment. The consecutive stages 2001; Goldberg et al. 2001). This ?eld of research of seed, seedling, and adult are related to each other has hardly been explored empirically, and we think it in a complex way that largely depends on species and may reveal interesting mechanisms for the regulation the in?uence of physical and biological factors of individual density and species diversity in plant (Goldberg et al. 2001), for example, irrigation and communities. At the functional group level (which grazing. As a result of relationships between these sorts species according to common features), we stages, the consequences of an ecological factor expect differences depending on growth form depend on the way that its effects propagate onto the (grasses versus forbs) and depending on seed mass following stage of the recruitment process. As far as (differences between small-seeded, medium-seeded, we know, there are no published studies that have and large-seeded species). Some authors (Goldberg addressed this subject. et al. 2001; Rebollo et al. 2001) studying annual In this article, we characterize the relationships plant communities have found greater seedling between the three plant developmental stages.

Download or read book Functional Traits Predict Native Plant Response to Climate Change and Invasive Grasses written by Marina Louisa LaForgia and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major challenge in ecology is predicting how species, populations, and communities will respond to climate change. These predictions are complicated by the spread of invasive species, which may counteract or reinforce climate-driven responses. For my dissertation research, I investigated how a plant's stress response strategy, as explained by functional traits related to drought tolerance (Specific Leaf Area, SLA; Relative Growth Rate, RGR; Water Use Efficiency, WUE), can predict population and community response to climatic variability, invasive species, and their interactions. I utilized a variety of methods to understand these dynamics, focusing on California annual grasslands, a highly variable system dominated in biomass by fast-growing invasive annual grasses and in species diversity by less abundant native annual forbs. In my first chapter, I investigate drought-induced changes in aboveground vegetative cover and seed bank abundance in ~15 invasive annual grass species and ~70 native annual forb species across 80 grassland sites to understand how the seed bank's capacity to buffer aboveground populations differs between native forbs and invasive grasses as well as between forbs that vary in their drought tolerance. I found that invasive annual grass seed bank abundance and aboveground cover crashed after two years of drought, indicating a lack of a seed bank, but that native annual forbs increased in seed bank abundance. Aboveground, drought intolerant high-SLA forbs did not change, while drought tolerant low-SLA forbs increased in cover. Seed dormancy is thus an important mechanism in buffering native annual forb populations during drought, especially drought intolerant natives. This work also suggests that drought might impose an indirect benefit on these forbs by reducing invasive grass dominance. In my second chapter, I use an experimental manipulation to clarify how the interactive effects of invasive grasses and climate (increased rainfall, drought) differentially affect the demographic rates of forbs adapted to drought through avoidance ("avoiders"; high RGR/low WUE) versus forbs adapted to drought through tolerance ("tolerators"; low RGR/high WUE). I found that the presence of invasive grass significantly limited the capacity of all forbs to cope with climatic variability but with stronger effects on avoiders. Invasive grasses dampened the beneficial effects of watering on tolerator mortality and made drought worse for avoiders through increased mortality and decreased seed set. Finally, while the majority of studies investigating invader impacts on native species focus on the effects of live competition, many invasive species also alter ecosystems through their production of litter, but how this litter shifts the functional composition of a community remains uncertain. For my third chapter, I manipulated invasive grass and litter presence at my annual grassland site to test how litter differentially affects demographic rates of avoiders and tolerators. I found that the presence of invasive litter had a stronger effect than live grass competition on all forbs, but with stronger effects on avoiders through decreased germination and lower seed set. Invasive grasses thus selectively harm forbs with drought avoiding traits like high SLA, low WUE, and high RGR by intensifying competition in drought years and by dampening the beneficial effects of wet years through litter production.

Download or read book Grasslands and Climate Change written by David J. Gibson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-03-21 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive assessment of the effects of climate change on global grasslands and the mitigating role that ecologists can play.

Download or read book Biotic and Abiotic Determinants of Invasibility in California Grassland written by Jeffrey Schuyler Dukes and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Cabi Invasives written by Thomas A. Monaco and published by CABI. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together ecology and management of invasive plants within natural and agricultural ecosystems, this book bridges the knowledge gap between the processes operating within ecosystems and the practices used to prevent, contain, control and eradicate invasive plant species. The book targets key processes that can be managed, the impact of invasive plants on these ecosystem processes and illustrates how adopting ecologically based principles can influence the ecosystem and lead to effective land management. It is suitable for researchers, practitioners and students of ecology, invasive spe.

Download or read book Issues in Ecosystem Ecology 2011 Edition written by and published by ScholarlyEditions. This book was released on 2012-01-09 with total page 1999 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Issues in Ecosystem Ecology / 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Ecosystem Ecology. The editors have built Issues in Ecosystem Ecology: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Ecosystem Ecology in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Ecosystem Ecology: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.