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Non-native competitive perennial grass impedes the spread of an invasive annual grass

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Abstract

Invasive plants are degrading wildlands around the globe by displacing native species, reducing biodiversity, and altering ecological functions. The current approach of applying herbicides to invasive plants in wildlands has not been effective at curtailing their expansion and, in certain circumstances, may do more harm than good. Preventing the spread of invasive species has been identified as an important strategy to protect wildlands. However, few prevention strategies have actually been tested. We hypothesized that establishing competitive vegetation next to infestations would increase the biotic resistance of the plant community to invasion and decrease the invasive species propagule pressure beyond the competitive vegetation. To evaluate this, we established twelve competitive vegetation barriers in front of invasive annual grass, Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski, infestations. The non-native perennial grass Agropyron desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) Schult. was seeded into plant communities adjacent to the infestations to create the competitive vegetation barriers. Soil nutrient concentrations and the spread of T. caput-medusae were compared between where A. desertorum was seeded and not seeded (control treatment) 3 years after treatment. Less T. caput-medusae and lower soil ammonium and potassium concentrations in the competitive vegetation barrier than control treatment (P ≤ 0.01) suggest that establishing competitive vegetation increased the biotic resistance of the plant communities to invasion. Taeniatherum caput-medusae cover and density in the plant communities protected by the competitive vegetation barrier (locales across the barriers from the infestations) were ~42- and 47-fold less, respectively, than unprotected plant communities (P < 0.01). This suggests that invasive plant propagule pressure was decreased in the plant communities protected by competitive vegetation barriers. The establishment of competitive vegetation around infestations may be an effective strategy to prevent or at least reduce the spread of invasive plant species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Brett Bingham, Stacy McKnight, Elaine Cramer, Tate Walters, Julie Garner, Shawna Lang, Josh Monson, Matt Coffman, Eric Hough, and Rachel Svejcar for assisting with data collection. The authors also are grateful to the Burns-District Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for providing the land for this research project. Specifically, the authors thank Lesley Richman, BLM Weed Ecologist, for assisting with locating and securing the study area. The authors also appreciate thoughtful reviews of the manuscript by Ed Vasquez and Dustin Johnson. The Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center is jointly funded by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service and Oregon State University. This experiment complies with the current laws of the country it which it was performed.

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  1. USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Burns, OR, USA

    Kirk W. Davies, Aleta M. Nafus & Roger L. Sheley

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  1. Kirk W. Davies
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  2. Aleta M. Nafus
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  3. Roger L. Sheley
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Correspondence to Kirk W. Davies.

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Davies, K.W., Nafus, A.M. & Sheley, R.L. Non-native competitive perennial grass impedes the spread of an invasive annual grass. Biol Invasions 12, 3187–3194 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9710-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9710-2

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