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Barriers to invasive infilling by Brachypodium sylvaticum in Pacific Northwest forests

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Abstract

The success of invasive plants is often dependent on continued natural and anthropogenic habitat perturbations but it is less clear whether invasive species are capable of infiltrating undisturbed plant communities (range infilling). We studied the ecology of Brachypodium sylvaticum (slender false brome), a Eurasian bunchgrass that forms dense and expansive monocultures in forests of Oregon’s Willamette Valley with the objective of assessing its potential to infill undisturbed forests near the edge of its expanding range. Observations suggest that B. sylvaticum may be associated with sites that have a history of disturbance, but infestations appear to be spreading in forest understory habitats. We assessed the effects of leaf litter depth and texture (proportions of coniferous and deciduous litter) on seedling recruitment in the field and in a controlled experiment. Coniferous litter facilitated the establishment and growth while the presence of deciduous litter severely reduced B. sylvaticum recruitment. Survival and growth of established B. sylvaticum seedlings was highest in the coniferous litter. Leaf litter treatments contributed to the retention of soil moisture and seedlings had increased biomass and more tillering with deeper litter. Field surveys partially corroborated these results; recruitment occurs at the edge of existing B. sylvaticum populations where leaf litter depth is moderate, but B. sylvaticum is absent from regions of the understory characterized by deeper and less dense leaf litter. These results suggest that B. sylvaticum has the potential to invade native understory communities, but the progress of invasion will depend on the frequency and intensity of perturbations of the accumulated leaf litter.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the biology senior capstone students from the summer of 2010 (Emma Bell, James Choban, James Dunn, Ganaji Ganesh, Nina Jiminez, Naomi Scott, Jennifer Wetzold, Bianca Nettles, and Bram Stone) and 2012 (Emily Blue, Ryan Castro, Steven Heckethorn, Ashley Howell, Keeley Jensen, Roman Kondratyev, Caitlin Maraist, Kevin McWhirter, and Michelle Williamson) for assistance with data collection in the field. We also thank the staff and administrators of Milo McIver State Park for access to the property. Tanya Cheeke, Caitlin Lee, Rachael Workman, and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful feedback on a previous draft the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Biology, Portland State University, Portland, OR, 97207, USA

    Laura A. V. Taylor, Erik A. Hasenkopf & Mitchell B. Cruzan

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  1. Laura A. V. Taylor
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  2. Erik A. Hasenkopf
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  3. Mitchell B. Cruzan
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Correspondence to Mitchell B. Cruzan.

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Taylor, L.A.V., Hasenkopf, E.A. & Cruzan, M.B. Barriers to invasive infilling by Brachypodium sylvaticum in Pacific Northwest forests. Biol Invasions 17, 2247–2260 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-015-0871-x

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