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Developing minimal-input techniques for invasive plant management: perimeter treatments enlarge native grass patches

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2020

Scott R. Abella Open the ORCID record for Scott R. Abella [Opens in a new window] ,
Lindsay P. Chiquoine ,
Jeremy M. Moss ,
Eric D. Lassance  and
Charles D. Schelz
Scott R. Abella*
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Lindsay P. Chiquoine
Affiliation:
Research Associate, School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Jeremy M. Moss
Affiliation:
Archaeologist and Chief of Resource Stewardship and Science, Pecos National Historical Park, National Park Service, Pecos, NM, USA
Eric D. Lassance
Affiliation:
Biologist, Pecos National Historical Park, National Park Service, Pecos, NM, USA
Charles D. Schelz
Affiliation:
Ecologist, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, Bureau of Land Management, Medford, OR, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Scott R. Abella, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Life Sciences, 4505 South Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV89154-4004. (Email: scott.abella@unlv.edu)
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Abstract

There is a continual need for invasive plant science to develop approaches for cost-effectively benefiting native over nonnative species in dynamic management and biophysical contexts, including within predominantly nonnative plant landscapes containing only small patches of native plants. Our objective was to test the effectiveness of a minimal-input strategy for enlarging native species patches within a nonnative plant matrix. In Pecos National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA, we identified 40 native perennial grass patches within a matrix of the nonnative annual forb kochia [Bassia scoparia (L.) A.J. Scott]. We mechanically cut B. scoparia in a 2-m-wide ring surrounding the perimeters of half the native grass patches (with the other half as uncut controls) and measured change in native grass patch size (relative to pretreatment) for 3 yr. Native grass patches around which B. scoparia was cut grew quickly the first posttreatment year and by the third year had increased in size four times more than control patches. Treated native grass patches expanded by an average of 25 m2, from 4 m2 in October 2015 before treatment to 29 m2 in October 2018. The experiment occurred during a dry period, conditions that should favor B. scoparia and contraction of the native grasses, suggesting that the observed increase in native grasses occurred despite suboptimal climatic conditions. Strategically treating around native patches to enlarge them over time showed promise as a minimal-input technique for increasing the proportion of the landscape dominated by native plants.

Keywords

Archaeological resourcesBassia scopariacultural resource managementkochianational parkperennial grass
Type
Note
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , June 2020 , pp. 108 - 113
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States.
Copyright
© Weed Science Society of America, 2020

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Footnotes

Associate Editor: Edith Allen, University of California, Riverside

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