Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T00:04:17.120Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Models of Invasion and Establishment for African Mustard (Brassica tournefortii)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kristin H. Berry*
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, 21803 Cactus Avenue, Suite F, Riverside, CA 92518
Timothy A. Gowan
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, 21803 Cactus Avenue, Suite F, Riverside, CA 92518
David M. Miller
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, MS-973, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Matthew L. Brooks
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, 40298 Junction Drive, Suite A, Oakhurst, CA 93644
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: kristin_berry@usgs.gov

Abstract

Introduced exotic plants can drive ecosystem change. We studied invasion and establishment of Brassica tournefortii (African mustard), a noxious weed, in the Chemehuevi Valley, western Sonoran Desert, California. We used long-term data sets of photographs, transects for biomass of annual plants, and densities of African mustard collected at irregular intervals between 1979 and 2009. We suggest that African mustard may have been present in low numbers along the main route of travel, a highway, in the late 1970s; invaded the valley along a major axial valley ephemeral stream channel and the highway; and by 2009, colonized 22 km into the eastern part of the valley. We developed predictive models for invasibility and establishment of African mustard. Both during the initial invasion and after establishment, significant predictor variables of African mustard densities were surficial geology, proximity to the highway and axial valley ephemeral stream channel, and number of small ephemeral stream channels. The axial valley ephemeral stream channel was the most vulnerable of the variables to invasions. Overall, African mustard rapidly colonized and quickly became established in naturally disturbed areas, such as stream channels, where geological surfaces were young and soils were weakly developed. Older geological surfaces (e.g., desert pavements with soils 140,000 to 300,000 years old) were less vulnerable. Microhabitats also influenced densities of African mustard, with densities higher under shrubs than in the interspaces. As African mustard became established, the proportional biomass of native winter annual plants declined. Early control is important because African mustard can colonize and become well established across a valley in 20 yr.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Abella, SR, Craig, DJ, Chiquoine, LP, Prengaman, KA, Schmid, SM, Embrey, TM (2011a) Relationships of native desert plants with red brome (Bromus rubens): toward identifying invasion-reducing species. Invasive Plant Sci Manag 4:115124 Google Scholar
Abella, SR, Lee, AC, Suazo, AA (2011b) Effects of burial depth and substrate on the emergence of Bromus rubens and Brassica tournefortii . Bull South Calif Acad Sci 110:1724 Google Scholar
Abella, SR, Smith, SD (2013) Annual–perennial plant relationships and species selection for desert restoration. J Arid Land 5:298309 Google Scholar
Abella, SR, Spencer, JE, Hoines, J, Nazarchyk, C (2009) Assessing an exotic plant surveying program in the Mojave Desert, Clark County, Nevada, USA. Environ Monit Assess 151:221230 Google Scholar
Abella, SR, Suazo, AA, Norman, CM, Newton, AC (2013) Treatment alternatives and timing affect seeds of African mustard (Brassica tournefortii), an invasive forb in American Southwest arid lands. Invasive Plant Sci Manag 6:559567 Google Scholar
Baldwin, BG, Keil, DJ, Markos, S, Mishler, BD, Patterson, R, Rosatti, TJ, Wilken, DH, eds. (2014) Jepson Flora Project. Jepson eFlora. http:/ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html. Accessed June 5, 2014Google Scholar
Bangle, DN, Walker, LR, Powell, EA (2008) Seed germination of the invasive plant Brassica tournefortii (Sahara mustard) in the Mojave Desert. West N Am Nat 68:334342 Google Scholar
Barrows, CW, Allen, EB, Brooks, ML, Allen, MF (2009) Effects of an invasive plant on a desert sand dune landscape. Biol Invasions 11:673686 Google Scholar
Bedford, DR (2003) Surficial and bedrock geologic map database of the Kelso 7.5 minute quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03–501. 34 pGoogle Scholar
Bedford, DR, Miller, DM, Phelps, GA (2010) Surficial geologic map of the Amboy 30′ × 60′ quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 1309, scale 1 ∶ 100,000Google Scholar
Bedford, DR, Miller, DM, Schmidt, KM, Phelps, GA (2009) Landscape-scale relationships between surficial geology, soil texture, topography, and creosote bush size and density in the eastern Mojave Desert of California. Pages 252277 in Webb, RH, Fenstermaker, LF, Heaton, JF, Hughson, DL, McDonald, EV, Miller, DM, eds. The Mojave Desert: Ecosystem Processes and Sustainability. Reno University of Nevada Press Google Scholar
Bowers, JE, Bean, TM, Turner, RM (2006) Two decades of change in distribution of exotic plants at the Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona. Madroño 53:252263 Google Scholar
Brooks, ML (1999) Habitat invasibility and dominance by alien annual plants in the western Mojave Desert. Biol Invasions 1:325337 Google Scholar
Brooks, ML (2000) Competition between alien annual grasses and native annual plants in the Mojave Desert. Am Midl Nat 144:92108 Google Scholar
Brooks, ML (2009) Spatial and temporal distribution of nonnative plants in upland areas of the Mojave Desert. Pages 101124 in Webb, RH, Fenstermaker, LF, Heaton, JF, Hughson, DL, McDonald, EV, Miller, DM, eds. The Mojave Desert: Ecosystem Processes and Sustainability. Reno University of Nevada Press Google Scholar
Brooks, ML, Lair, BM (2009) Ecological effects of vehicular routes in a desert ecosystem. Pages 168195 in Webb, RH, Fenstermaker, LF, Heaton, JF, Hughson, DL, McDonald, EV, Miller, DM, eds. The Mojave Desert: Ecosystem Processes and Sustainability. Reno University of Nevada Press Google Scholar
Brooks, ML, Minnich, RA (2006) Southeastern Deserts Bioregion. Pages 391414 in Sugihara, NG, van Wagtendonk, JW, Shaffer, KE, Fites-Kaufman, J, Thode, AE, eds. Fire in California's Ecosystems. Berkeley University of California Press Google Scholar
Brooks, ML, Pyke, DA (2001) Invasive plants and fire in the deserts of North America. Pages 114 in Galley, KEM, Wilson, TP, eds. Proceedings of the Invasive Species Workshop: The Role of Fire in the Control and Spread of Invasive Species. Fire Conference 2000: The First National Congress on Fire Ecology, Prevention, and Management. Tallahassee, FL Tall Timbers Research Station, Misc Publ No 11Google Scholar
California Invasive Plant Council (2006) California Invasive Plant Inventory, Cal-IPC Publication 2006–02. Berkeley California Invasive Plant Council., http://www.cal-ipc.org/ Accessed June 6, 2013Google Scholar
Chauhan, BS, Gill, G, Preston, C (2006a) African mustard (B. tournefortii) germination in southern Australia. Weed Sci 54:891897 Google Scholar
Chauhan, BS, Gill, G, Preston, C (2006b) Seedling recruitment pattern and depth of recruitment of 10 weed species in minimum tillage and no-till seeding systems. Weed Sci 54:658668 Google Scholar
Craig, DJ, Craig, JE, Abella, SR, Vanier, CH (2010) Factors affecting exotic annual plant cover and richness along roadsides in the eastern Mojave Desert, USA. J Arid Environ 74:702707 Google Scholar
Forman, RT, Sperling, D, Bissonette, JA, Clevenger, AP, Cutshall, CD, Dale, VH, Fahrig, L, France, R, Goldman, CR, Heanue, K, Jones, JA, Swanson, FJ, Turrentine, T, Winter, TC (2003) Road Ecology: Science and Solutions. Washington, DC Island Press. 481 pGoogle Scholar
Frenkel, RE (1970) Ruderal Vegetation Along Some California Roadsides. University of California Publications in Geography Vol. 29. Berkeley University of California Press. 173 pGoogle Scholar
Garcia-Moya, E, McKell, CM (1970) Contribution of shrubs to the nitrogen economy of a desert-wash plant community. Ecology 51:8188 Google Scholar
Halvorson, WL, Bolton, J Jr., Smith, JL, Rossi, RE (1994) Geostatistical analysis of resource islands under Artemisia tridentata in the shrub-steppe. Great Basin Nat 54:313328 Google Scholar
Hamerlynck, EP, McAuliffe, JR, McDonald, EV, Smith, SD (2002) Ecological responses of two Mojave Desert shrubs to soil horizon development and soil water dynamics. Ecology 83:768779 Google Scholar
Hereford, R, Webb, RH, Longpré, CI (2006) Precipitation history and ecosystem response to multidecadal precipitation variability in the Mojave Desert region, 1893–2001. J Arid Environ 67(Suppl):1334 Google Scholar
Littell, RC, Milliken, GA, Stroup, WW, Wolfinger, RD (1996) SAS System for Mixed Models. Cary, NC SAS Institute Inc. 633 pGoogle Scholar
Manning, JC (1992) Applied Principles of Hydrology. 2nd edn. New York Macmillan. 294 pGoogle Scholar
Marushia, RG, Brooks, ML, Holt, JS (2012) Phenology, growth, and fecundity as determinants of distribution in closely related nonnative taxa. Invasive Plant Sci Manag 5:217229 Google Scholar
Marushia, RG, Cadotte, MW, Holt, JS (2010) Phenology as a basis for management of exotic annual plants in desert invasions. J Appl Ecol 47:12901299 Google Scholar
McAuliffe, JR (1994) Landscape evolution, soil formation, and ecological patterns and processes in Sonoran Desert bajadas. Ecol Monogr 64:111148 Google Scholar
McFadden, LD, Ritter, JB, Wells, SG (1989) Use of multiparameter relative-age methods for age estimation and correlation of alluvial fan surfaces on a desert piedmont, eastern Mojave Desert, California. Quat Res 32:276290 Google Scholar
Miller, DM (2012) Surficial geologic map of the Ivanpah 30′ × 60′ quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California, and Clark County, Nevada. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3206, scale 1 ∶ 100,000, 14 pGoogle Scholar
Miller, DM, Bedford, DR, Hughson, DL, McDonald, EV, Robinson, SE, Schmidt, KM (2009) Mapping Mojave Desert ecosystem properties with surficial geology. Pages 225251 in Webb, RH, Fenstermaker, LF, Heaton, JS, Hughson, DL, McDonald, EV, Miller, DM, eds. The Mojave Desert: Ecosystem Processes and Sustainability. Reno University of Nevada Press Google Scholar
Miller, DM, Schmidt, KM, Mahan, SA, McGeehin, JP, Owen, LA, Barron, JA, Lehmkuhl, F, Löhrer, R (2010) Holocene landscape response to seasonality of storms in the Mojave Desert. Quat Int 215:4561 Google Scholar
Minnich, RA (2008) California's Fading Wildflowers: Lost Legacy and Biological Invasions. Berkeley and Los Angeles University of California Press. 344 pGoogle Scholar
Minnich, RA, Sanders, AC (2000) Brassica tournefortii Gouan. Pages 6872 in Bossard, CC, Randall, JM, Hoshovsky, MC, eds. Invasive Plants of California's Wildlands. Berkeley University of California Press Google Scholar
Muller, CH (1953) The association of desert annuals with shrubs. Am J Bot 40:5260 Google Scholar
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1985–2009) Climatological Data for California and Arizona. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html. Accessed August 1, 2010Google Scholar
Prose, DV (1985) Persisting effects of armored military maneuvers on some soils of the Mojave Desert, California. Environ Geol Water Sci 7:163170 Google Scholar
Richardson, DM, Pyšek, P, Rejmánek, M, Barbour, MG, Panetta, FD, West, CJ (2000) Naturalization and invasion of alien plants: concepts and definitions. Divers Distrib 6:93107 Google Scholar
Rodríguez-Buriticá, S, Miriti, MN (2009) Biting the hand that feeds: the invasive grass Schismus barbatus (Poaceae) is facilitated by, but reduces establishment of, the native shrub Ambrosia dumosa (Asteraceae). J Veg Sci 20:241250 Google Scholar
Rowlands, PG (1995) Regional bioclimatology of the California Desert. Pages 95134 in Latting, J, Rowlands, PG, eds. The California Desert: An Introduction to Natural Resources and Man's Impact. Riverside, California June Latting Books Google Scholar
Rowlands, P, Johnson, H, Ritter, E, Endo, A (1982 The Mojave Desert. Pages 103162 in Bender, GL, ed. Reference Handbook on the Deserts of North America. Westport, Connecticut. Greenwood Press Google Scholar
Ruegers, H (1903) Rueger's automobile and miners' road map of Southern California. Los Angeles Henry Ruegers Google Scholar
San Bernardino County, California (1925) Map of San Bernardino County, California, Showing roads, railroads, springs and mining districts of the desert portion. JP Kemmerer, County SurveyorGoogle Scholar
Sánchez-Flores, E (2007) GARP modeling of natural and human factors affecting the potential distribution of the invasives Schismus arabicus and Brassica tournefortii in ‘El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar’ Biosphere Reserve. Ecol Model 204:457474 Google Scholar
Sawyer, JO, Keeler-Wolf, T, Evens, JM (2009) A Manual of California Vegetation. 2nd edn. Sacramento California Native Plant Society Press Google Scholar
Schenk, HJ, Holzapfel, C, Hamilton, JG, Mahall, BE (2003) Spatial ecology of a small desert shrub on adjacent geological substrates. J Ecol 91:383395 Google Scholar
Schlesinger, WH, Raikes, JA, Hartley, AE, Cross, AF (1996) On the spatial pattern of soil nutrients in desert ecosystems. Ecology 77:364374 Google Scholar
Suazo, AA, Spencer, JE, Engel, EC, Abella, SR (2012) Responses of native and non-native Mojave Desert winter annuals to soil disturbance and water additions. Biol Invasions 14:215227 Google Scholar
Thurston, AG (1915) Thurston's auto-highway, mountain and desert map. Pasadena, California Western Map and Publishing Co Google Scholar
Trader, MR, Brooks, ML, Draper, JV (2006) Seed production by the non-native Brassica tournefortiii (Sahara mustard) along desert roadsides. Madroño 53:313320 Google Scholar
[USDA] U.S. Department of Agriculture (2005) Noxious Weed List. Berkeley University of California Press Google Scholar
[USDI BLM] U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (1980) California Desert Conservation Area Plan, 1980. Riverside, CA U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, California Desert Program Google Scholar
[USDI BLM] U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (2002) Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert Coordinated Management Plan. Record of Decision. Riverside, CA U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, D1–D11Google Scholar
[USDI BLM and California Department of Fish and Game] U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and California Department of Fish and Game (2002) Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert Coordinated Management Plan, an Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan 1980 and Sikes Act Plan with the California Dept. of Fish and Game, and Final Environmental Impact Statement. Vol. 1. Riverside, CA U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Google Scholar
Van Devender, TR, Felger, RS, Búrquez, MA (1997) Exotic plants in the Sonoran Desert region, Arizona and Sonora. Pages 1015 in Kelly, M, Wagner, E, Warner, P, eds. Proceedings: California Exotic Pest Plant Council Symposium, Vol 3. U.S. California Exotic Pest Plant Council Google Scholar
Whitford, WG (2002) Ecology of Desert Systems. London, UK Academic Press. 343 pGoogle Scholar