Physical disturbance shapes vascular plant diversity more profoundly than fire in the sagebrush steppe of southeastern Idaho, U.S.A

Lavin, Matt; Brummer, Tyler J.; Quire, Ryan; Maxwell, Bruce D.; Rew, Lisa J.

doi:10.1002/ece3.574

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(83 reference statements)

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“…Mean native functional group differences between development categories generally had smaller magnitudes than fire, yet differences between functional groups indicated that considering type and activity associated with physical disturbances is warranted (Lavin et al. , Bradley et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Collectively, resilience and resistance to invasion vary across the sagebrush biome due to community composition and climate and their interaction with disturbances (Lavin et al. , Taylor et al. , Brummer et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Management responses to disturbance can affect a site's trajectory, with common post-fire treatments such as drill seeding, aerial seeding, and herbicide application employed to aid recovery of desirable species and prevent invasive species establishment (Knutson et al 2014, Welty et al 2019. Collectively, resilience and resistance to invasion vary across the sagebrush biome due to community composition and climate and their interaction with disturbances (Lavin et al 2013, Taylor et al 2014, Brummer et al 2016.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fire and development influences on sagebrush community plant groups across a climate gradient in northern Nevada

et al. 2019

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The sagebrush biome covers much of the western United States yet is at risk from ongoing disturbances. Physical disturbances such as fire often overcome the resistance of sagebrush communities to biological disturbances such as invasion by non‐native species, but the impact of burn severity or combined disturbance types on sagebrush community composition remains unclear. We examined the relationship between native functional groups and non‐native annual grass cover to the number of fires, burn severity, anthropogenic development, and vegetation treatments in northern Nevada, USA. We used Bureau of Land Management vegetation monitoring plots and existing climate, fire, and vegetation treatment databases to explore relationships using beta regression. After accounting for mean annual precipitation and temperature, and elevation, we quantified functional group mean cover related to levels of burn severity, numbers of fires, development, and vegetation treatments. Native herbaceous (grass and forb) groups were resilient to fire, but fire caused large declines in shrub and sagebrush cover. Non‐native annual grass cover was associated with higher burn severity and the first fire at a site. We did not find evidence that post‐fire restoration treatments were associated with increased native cover or decreased non‐native cover. However, shrub control and soil disturbing treatments (discing and chaining) were associated with decreased native perennial grass cover and increased non‐native annual grass cover. Functional groups displayed varying patterns related to anthropogenic development and fire. For example, development had a larger impact on non‐native cover at lower levels of burn severity, whereas forbs increased following fire only at lower levels of development. Although in some cases sagebrush communities showed resilience to disturbance, our results showed resistance to invasion by non‐native annual grasses can be overcome by combinations of disturbances at lower levels or by severe events.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fire and development influences on sagebrush community plant groups across a climate gradient in northern Nevada

et al. 2019

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“…However, it should be noted that risk is involved, particularly if the seeding fails. Disturbance of the soil surface by mechanical seeding operations can damage existing native vegetation (Knutson et al, 2014; see sandberg bluegrass data) or create microsite disturbances that facilitate downy brome invasion (Lavin et al, 2013).…”

Section: The "At-risk" Statementioning

confidence: 99%

The potential of novel native plant materials for the restoration of novel ecosystems

Jones

Monaco

Rigby

2015

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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Extensive ecological change has been sustained by many dryland ecosystems throughout the world, resulting in conversion to so-called novel ecosystems. It is within such ecological contexts that native plant materials destined for ecological applications must be able to function. In the Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis [Beetle & A.M. Young] S.L. Welsh) ecosystems of the Intermountain West, for example, novel ecosystem structure and functioning are pervasive. Invasive species, particularly annual grasses, fuel repeated wildfires that drive previously stable ecosystem states across thresholds to less desirable states that are highly recalcitrant to restoration efforts. Structural changes include reductions of native flora, damage to biological soil crusts, and alterations to soil microbiota. Functional changes include altered hydrologic and nutrient cycling, leading to permanent losses of soil organic matter and nitrogen that favor the invaders. We argue that there is an important place in restoration for plant materials that are novel and/or non-local that have been developed to be more effective in the novel ecosystems for which they are intended, thus qualifying them as "ecologically appropriate." Such plant materials may be considered as an alternative to natural/local "genetically appropriate" plant materials, which are sometimes deemed best adapted due to vetting by historical evolutionary processes.

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“…Unusual phenotypical plasticity and greater efficiency in water and/or nitrogen use probably enable B. tectorum to be more suited to frequent disturbance than native species (Mack & Pyke, 1983; Rice et al, 1992; Lowe, Lauenroth & Burke, 2003). However, undisturbed sagebrush habitats for example, are resistant to B. tectorum invasion (Lavin et al, 2013). Thus, the conservation status of each environment may then determine the magnitude of the invasion (Rickard & Vaughan, 1988; Bradford & Lauenroth, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergy between roads and disturbance favour Bromus tectorum L. invasion

Speziale

Virgilio

Lescano

et al. 2018

PeerJ

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BackgroundGlobal change produces pervasive negative impacts on biodiversity worldwide. Land use change and biological invasions are two of the major drivers of global change that often coexist; however, the effects of their interaction on natural habitats have been little investigated. In particular, we aimed to analyse whether the invasion of an introduced grass (Bromus tectorum; cheatgrass) along roads verges and the disturbance level in the natural surrounding habitat interact to influence the degree of B. tectorum invasion in the latter habitats in north-western Patagonia.MethodsAlong six different roads, totalling approximately 370 km, we set two 50 m × 2 m sampling plots every 5 km (73 plots in total). One plot was placed parallel to the road (on the roadside) and the other one perpendicular to it, towards the interior of the natural surrounding habitat. In each plot, we estimated the B. tectorum plant density in 1 m2 subplots placed every 5 m. In the natural habitat, we registered the vegetation type (grassy steppe, shrub-steppe, shrubland, and wet-meadow) and the disturbance level (low, intermediate, and high). Disturbance level was visually categorized according to different signs of habitat degradation by anthropogenic use.ResultsB. tectorum density showed an exponential decay from roadsides towards the interior of natural habitats. The degree of B. tectorum invasion inside natural habitats was positively related to B. tectorum density on roadsides only when the disturbance level was low. Shrub-steppes, grassy steppes and shrublands showed similar mean density of B. tectorum. Wet-meadows had the lowest densities of B. tectorum. Intermediate and highly disturbed environments presented higher B. tectorum density than those areas with low disturbance.DiscussionOur study highlights the importance of the interaction between road verges and disturbance levels on B. tectorum invasion in natural habitats surrounding roads of north-western Patagonia, particularly evidencing its significance in the invasion onset. The importance of invasion in road verges depends on disturbance level, with better conserved environments being more resistant to invasion at low levels of B. tectorum density along road verges, but more susceptible to road verges invasion at higher levels of disturbance. All the habitats except wet-meadows were invaded at a similar degree by B. tectorum, which reflects its adaptability to multiple habitat conditions. Overall, our work showed that synergies among global change drivers impact native environments favouring the invasion of B. tectorum.

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Physical disturbance shapes vascular plant diversity more profoundly than fire in the sagebrush steppe of southeastern Idaho, U.S.A

Cited by 14 publications

References 46 publications

Fire and development influences on sagebrush community plant groups across a climate gradient in northern Nevada

Fire and development influences on sagebrush community plant groups across a climate gradient in northern Nevada

The potential of novel native plant materials for the restoration of novel ecosystems

Synergy between roads and disturbance favour Bromus tectorum L. invasion

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