Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Landscape Context Predicts Reed Canarygrass Invasion: Implications for Management

  • Article
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Understanding the landscape distribution of invasive species has become an important tool to help land managers focus their efforts. We used land cover data to predict the proportion of wetlands in a watershed dominated by reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.), one of the most dominant wetland invaders in North America over the past century. Our results indicated that the landscape configuration of a watershed was a better predictor than the landscape composition of a watershed, with the adjacency of wetlands to agriculture and open water identified as the best predictors of the proportion of wetlands in a watershed dominated by reed canarygrass. In contrast, proportion of agriculture and open water were identified as the next best predictors in our regression tree, but explained significantly less variability. These results suggest that the risk of invasion by reed canarygrass varies among watersheds, and further that the potential for restoration success may similarly vary across the landscape. We argue that it is essential to understand the landscape context of a wetland before attempting a restoration project because success may be mediated by factors outside the local site.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anselin L, Syabri I, Kho Y (2006) GeoDa: an introduction to spatial data analysis. Geographical Analysis 38:5–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babbitt B (1998) Statement by Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt on invasive alien species. ‘Science in Wildlife Weed Management’ Symposium, Denver, CO, April 8, 1998. U.S. Dept. of the Interior News Release. (http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/bbstat.htm)

  • Bernthal TW, Willis KG (2004) Using LANDSAT 7 Imagery to map invasive Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea) A landscape level wetland monitoring methodology. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources PUB-SS-992

  • Bourg NA, McShea WJ, Gill DE (2005) Putting a CART before the search: successful habitat predicton for a rare forest herb. Ecology 86:2793–2804

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breiman L, Friedman JH, Olshen RA, Stone CG (1984) Classification and regression trees. Wadsworth, Belmont

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter SR, Caraco NF, Correll DL, Howarth RW, Sharpley AN, Smith VH (1998) Nonpoint pollution of surface waters with phosphorus and nitrogen. Ecological Applications 8:559–568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis MA, Grime JP, Thompson K (2000) Fluctuating resources in plant communities: a general theory of invasibility. Journal of Ecology 88:528–534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De’ath G, Fabricius KE (2000) Classification and regression trees: a powerful yet simple technique for ecological data analysis. Ecology 81:3178–3192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franklin J (1998) Predicting the distribution of shrub species in Southern California from climate and terrain-derived variables. Journal of Vegetation Science 9:733–748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green EK, Galatowitsch SM (2001) Differences in wetland plant community establishment with additions of nitrate-N and invasive species (Phalaris arundinacea and Typha X glauca). Canadian Journal of Botany 79:170–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins SI, Richardson DM (1999) Predicting plant migration rates in a changing world: the role of long-distance dispersal. The American Naturalist 153:464–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins SI, Richardson DM, Cowling RM (2000) Using a dynamic landscape model for planning the management of alien plant invasions. Ecological Applications 10:1833–1848

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins SI, Richardson DM, Cowling RM (2001) Validation of a spatial simulation model of a spreading alien plant population. Journal of Applied Ecology 38:571–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs RJ et al (2006) Novel ecosystems: theoretical and management aspects of the new ecological world order. Global Ecology and Biogeography 15:1–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs RJ, Humphries SE (1995) An integrated approach to the ecology and management of plant invasions. Conservation Biology 9:761–770

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katterer T, Andren O (1999) Growth dynamics of reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) and its allocation of biomass and nitrogen belowground in a field receiving daily irrigation and fertilization. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 54:21–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kercher SM, Herr-Turoff A, Zedler JB (2007) Understanding invasion as a process: the case of Phalaris arundinacea in wet prairies. Biological Invasions 9:657–665

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kercher SM, Zedler JB (2004) Multiple disturbances accelerate invasion of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) in a mesocosm study. Oecologia 138:455–464

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lass LW, Prather TS, Glenn NF, Weber KT, Mundt JT, Pettingill J (2005) A review of remote sensing of invasive weeds and example of the early detection of spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) and babysbreath (Gypsophila paniculata) with a hyperspectral sensor. Weed Science 53:242–251

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lavergne S, Molofsky J (2004) Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) as a biological model in the study of plant invasions. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 23:415–429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindenmayer D et al (2008) A checklist for ecological management of landscapes for conservation. Ecology Letters 11:78–91

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lindig-Cisneros R, Zedler JB (2002) Relationships between canopy complexity and germination microsites for Phalaris arundinacea L. Oecologia 133:159–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDougall AS, Turkington R (2005) Are invasive species the drivers or passengers of change in degraded ecosystems? Ecology 86:42–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maurer DA, Lindig-Cisneros R, Werner KJ, Kercher S, Miller R, Zedler JB (2003) The replacement of Wetland vegetation by reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea). Ecological Restoration 21:116–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maurer DA, Zedler JB (2002) Differential invasion of a wetland grass explained by tests of nutrients and light availability on establishment and clonal growth. Oecologia 131:279–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayo Foundation (2002) RPART3 for S-PLUS 6 for Windows. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Rochester, Minnesota

  • McGarigal K, Cushman SA, Neel MC, Ene E (2002) Fragstats: spatial analysis program for categorical maps

  • Merigliano MF, Lesica P (1998) The native status of reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) in the Inland Northwest, USA. Natural Areas Journal 18:223–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller RC, Zedler JB (2003) Responses of native and invasive wetland plants to hydroperiod and water depth. Plant Ecology 167:57–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mooney HA, Hobbs RJ (eds) (2000) Invasive species in a changing world. Island Press, Washington, DC

  • O’Neill RV et al (1997) Monitoring environmental quality at the landscape scale. Bioscience 47:513–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry LG, Galatowitsch SM, Rosen CJ (2004) Competitive control of invasive vegetation: a native wetland sedge suppresses Phalaris arundinacea in carbon-enriched soil. Journal of Applied Ecology 41:151–162

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pimentel D et al (1995) Environmental and economic costs of soil erosion and conservation benefits. Science 267:1117–1123

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhardt Adams C, Galatowitsch SM (2006) Increasing the effectiveness of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) control in wet meadow restorations. Restoration Ecology 14:441–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinhardt Adams C, Galatowitsch SM (2005) Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass): rapid growth and growth pattern in conditions approximating newly restored wetlands. Ecoscience 12:569–573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice JS, Pinkerton BW (1993) Reed canarygrass survival under cyclic inundation. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 48:132–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Sebert-Cuvillier E, Simon-Goyheneche V, Paccaut F, Chabrerie O, Goubet O, Decocq G (2008) Spatial spread of an alien tree species in a heterogeneous forest landscape: a spatially realistic simulation model. Landscape Ecology 23:787–801

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skaggs RW, Breve M (1994) Hydrologic and water quality impacts of agricultural drainage. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 24:1–32

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stohlgren T, Otsuki Y, Villa C, Lee M, Belnap J (2001) Patterns of plant invasions: a case example in native species hotspots and rare habitats. Biological Invasions 3:37–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Usio N, Nakajima H, Kamiyama R, Wakana I, Hiruta S, Takamura N (2006) Predicting the distribution of invasive crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) in a Kusiro Moor marsh (Japan) using classification and regression trees. Ecological Research 21:271–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vayssieres MP, Plant RE, Allen-Diaz BH (2000) Classification trees: an alternative non-parametric approach for predicting species distributions. Journal of Vegetation Science 11:679–694

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner KJ, Zedler JB (2002) How sedge meadow soils, microtopography, and vegetation respond to sedimentation. Wetlands 22:451–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westerberg L, Wennergren U (2003) Predicting the spatial distribution of a population in a heterogeneous landscape. Ecological Modeling 166:53–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wickham JD, O’Neill RV, Riitters KH, Smith ER, Wade TG, Jones KB (2002) Geographic targeting of increases in nutrient export due to future urbanization. Ecological Applications 12:93–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (1984–1996) Wisconsin Wetlands Inventory. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI

Download references

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Monica Turner, whose landscape ecology class inspired this project. Thanks to Tom Bernthal, Kevin Willis, and the Wisconsin DNR for the use of their data. Finally, thanks to several anonymous reviewers whose suggestions greatly improved the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1575 Linden Dr., Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Andrew R. Jakubowski & Randall D. Jackson

  2. USDA-ARS, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, 1925 Linden Dr., Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Michael D. Casler

Authors
  1. Andrew R. Jakubowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael D. Casler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Randall D. Jackson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew R. Jakubowski.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jakubowski, A.R., Casler, M.D. & Jackson, R.D. Landscape Context Predicts Reed Canarygrass Invasion: Implications for Management. Wetlands 30, 685–692 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0078-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0078-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation