Fire, livestock grazing, topography, and precipitation affect occurrence and prevalence of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) in the central Great Basin, USA

Williamson, Matthew A.; Fleishman, Erica; Nally, Ralph Charles Mac; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Bradley, Bethany A.; Dobkin, David S.; Board, David I.; Fogarty, Frank A.; Horning, Ned; Leu, Matthias; Zillig, Martha W.

doi:10.1007/s10530-019-02120-8

Cited by 64 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The redundancy analysis showed an association of greater vegetation cover, especially of the invasive Bromus tectorum , with warmer winter temperatures and higher solar radiation. Similar relationships with incident solar radiation have been observed from studies elsewhere in the Great Basin (Condon et al, 2011; Williamson et al, 2020). Warmer winter temperatures result in rapid snowmelt and increasing soil moisture which support regeneration of winter annuals, such as the invasive Bromus tectorum .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Quantifying the relationship between soil seed bank and plant community assemblage in sites harboring the threatened Ivesia webberi in the western Great Basin Desert

Borokini

Peacock

2020

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions: The soil seed bank is an important ecosystem component that can be pivotal for long-term persistence of many plant species, especially after disturbances followed by the invasion of alien weeds. However, many Great Basin Desert perennials produce relatively few viable seeds, while large areas of the Great Basin are currently invaded by alien weeds. This could result in dissimilarity in floristic composition between the above-ground vegetative community and the soil seed bank, causing abrupt plant community shifts following disturbance. Therefore, we asked what is the relationship in the floristic composition between the above-ground communities and the soil seed bank in sites where the threatened Ivesia webberi occurs? Location: The Great Basin Desert, United States. Methods: We used Dice-Sorensen's similarity index to estimate similarity between the standing vegetation and the soil seed bank. Redundancy analysis and variation partitioning were used to quantify the relationship between the total abundance of the sampled above-ground flora and the soil seed bank, accounting for effects of spatial processes and environmental variables describing climate, soils, and vegetation in the 10 sites. Results: Findings reveal high dissimilarity in species assemblage and abundance between the above-ground plant communities and the soil seed bank. Most of the dominant native plant species sampled in the standing vegetation were absent in the soil seed bank, and the soil seed bank was dominated by invasive alien weeds. Conclusions: Divergence in the floristic composition between the above-ground communities and the soil seed bank in Ivesia webberi habitat indicates low resilience and high risk of native species loss following perturbation. Post-disturbance succession in these plant communities may be largely dominated by invasive annual species; therefore, reduction of invasive species and native plant seeding may be necessary to sustain the ecological legacies of the desert ecosystem.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Quantifying the relationship between soil seed bank and plant community assemblage in sites harboring the threatened Ivesia webberi in the western Great Basin Desert

Borokini

Peacock

2020

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…Studies which do not explicitly include effects of past intense grazing, relevant to much of the Great Basin (Morris and Rowe 2014) and much of the western USA (Holechek 1981), or major environmental gradients such as low soil fertility (Harrison et al 2003) or weather (Vermeire et al 2008, Morris et al 2016), are likely to arrive at different conclusions regarding the effects of contemporary grazing on plant communities. Furthermore, documenting the nuanced differences between contemporary cattle grazing and past, less regulated practices may be critical for sustainably managing grazing in dryland systems to avoid potential negative effects from increases in invasive species (Williamson et al 2020) or greater soil erosion (Fick et al 2020). Identifying the relative impacts of contemporary livestock grazing practices, historic intense grazing, and environmental variation on plant community structure could help develop the predictive framework necessary to manage for plant composition goals in sagebrush steppe, such as those associated with wildlife habitat, or ecosystem services associated with greater density and diversity of native species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recovery of the herbaceous component of degraded sagebrush steppe is unimpeded by 75 years of moderate cattle grazing

et al. 2021

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Understanding the effects of contemporary cattle grazing on herbaceous perennial communities in big sagebrush steppe is important for managing for wildlife habitat, plant diversity, and productivity, yet potentially complicated by legacy impacts of historic, often higher intensity, livestock grazing. Here, we evaluate whether recovery of herbaceous communities in eastern Oregon, USA, after the cessation of intense spring sheep grazing (1935) was affected by moderate cattle grazing in paired plots with or without grazing over the past 75 yr (1936-2011). We tested for the effects of cattle grazing on herbaceous community recovery, as indicated by changes over time in plant density, and composition, as measured by Bray-Curtis dissimilarity. We also included current and prior to sampling year precipitation anomalies, to account for the weather effects, and a random term for pasture location of plot pairs to include potential subtle differences in abiotic environment and grazing management. We further tested whether time since cessation of intense sheep grazing and moderate cattle grazing were associated with convergence or divergence in community composition indicated by changes in evenness, richness, species relative abundance (rank order), and turnover or species appearance or disappearance. Total perennial herbaceous, forb, and grass density increased over time in sites grazed and ungrazed by cattle, though species varied in the direction of their response to contemporary cattle grazing. Community composition metrics indicated convergence over time including increasing evenness, decreasing Bray-Curtis dissimilarity, decreasing shifts in species relative abundance (rank order), and lower rates of species turnover (and gain and loss). Contemporary cattle grazing was not associated with convergence or divergence in composition. Precipitation anomalies for the current or prior water year were only occasionally significant in herbaceous density and community composition change models. Our results indicate similar long-term recovery trajectories occurred in sites with moderate cattle grazing or removal of all livestock following cessation of intense sheep grazing. Management planning and resource assessment focused on herbaceous perennial communities in sagebrush steppe should seek to separate the impacts of historic from contemporary livestock grazing practices.

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“…It has been suggested that B. tectoru m is able to successfully invade and establish because it has more competitive life history traits than native plants, traits that include high specific leaf area, high nitrogen-use efficiency, faster relative growth rates, and higher and faster rates of seed production ( Hulbert, 1955 ; Harris, 1967 ; Wainwright et al, 2012 ). Using these traits, B. tectorum has been shown to respond to disturbances including fire, nutrient deposition, and climate change via an increased capacity to tune growth strategies (including phenology) to extant conditions, thereby increasing invasiveness ( He et al, 2011 ; Liu et al, 2013 ; Peeler and Smithwick, 2018 ; Mesa and Dlugosch, 2020 ; Williamson et al, 2020 ). Once established, B. tectorum can limit water availability and the species’ relatively early phenology can further exacerbate negative impacts on native plants ( Harris, 1967 ; Melgoza et al, 1990 ; Eliason and Allen, 1997 ; Booth et al, 2003 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Warming Changes Phenology and Shortens Growing Season of the Dominant Invasive Plant Bromus tectorum (Cheatgrass)

et al. 2020

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Fire, livestock grazing, topography, and precipitation affect occurrence and prevalence of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) in the central Great Basin, USA

Cited by 64 publications

References 51 publications

Quantifying the relationship between soil seed bank and plant community assemblage in sites harboring the threatened Ivesia webberi in the western Great Basin Desert

Quantifying the relationship between soil seed bank and plant community assemblage in sites harboring the threatened Ivesia webberi in the western Great Basin Desert

Recovery of the herbaceous component of degraded sagebrush steppe is unimpeded by 75 years of moderate cattle grazing

Experimental Warming Changes Phenology and Shortens Growing Season of the Dominant Invasive Plant Bromus tectorum (Cheatgrass)

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