Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T13:47:20.719Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effectiveness and Cost of Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum) Control at High Elevation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Amy L. Concilio
Amy L. Concilio*
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: amyconcilio@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Downy brome (Bromus tectorum) is an invasive, annual grass that has spread through much of the Great Basin desert but remains patchy at high elevation. This study evaluates control options for outlier infestations in the eastern Sierra Nevada, CA, based on their ecological effectiveness and their economic and practical feasibility. I tested the efficacy of hand-pulling, sheet-mulching, and soil solarization followed by broadcast and seedball seeding of native forbs and grasses. Downy brome cover, density, and dominance in the seed bank decreased with all removal treatments. Soil solarization and sheet mulching were most successful at eliminating downy brome (decreasing density by 99% after just 1 yr of treatment in both cases), but they had negative nontarget impacts on other herbaceous species. Germination of native seeds was low with both broadcast and seedball seeding, probably because of dry conditions. Each of the methods tested has potential for decreasing or eliminating small-scale, outlier infestations of downy brome along roadsides and in disturbed sites and thereby helping to contain the invasion.

Keywords

Downy brome, Bromus tectorum L.CheatgrassGreat Basin desertmulchingnontarget impactsrangeland seedingseed bankSierra Nevadasoil solarization
Type
Research
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , December 2013 , pp. 502 - 511
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.)

Footnotes

Current address: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309

References

Literature Cited

Arora, A. and Yaduraju, N. T. 1998. High-temperature effects on germination and viability of weed seeds in soil. J. Agron. Crop Sci. 181:35–43.Google Scholar
Banerjee, M. J., Gerhart, V. J., and Glenn, E. P. 2006. Native plant regeneration on abandoned desert farmland: effects of irrigation, soil preparation, and amendments on seedling establishment. Restor. Ecol. 14:339–348.Google Scholar
Banks, E. R. and Baker, W. L. 2011. Scale and pattern of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion in Rocky Mountain National Park. Nat. Area. J. 31:377–390.Google Scholar
Bond, W. and Grundy, A. C. 2001. Non-chemical weed management in organic farming systems. Weed Res. 41:383–405.Google Scholar
Borman, M. M. 2000. The Great Basin: Healing the Land. Boise, ID U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 36 p.Google Scholar
Brooks, M. L., D'Antonio, C. M., Richardson, D. M., Grace, J. B., Keeley, J. E., DiTomaso, J. M., Hobbs, R. J., Pellant, M., and Pyke, D. 2004. Effects of invasive alien plants on fire regimes. Bioscience 54:677–688.Google Scholar
Carpenter, A. T. and Murray, T. A. 2005. The Nature Conservancy. Element Stewardship Abstract for Bromus tectorum L. (Anisantha tectorum (L.) Nevski) cheatgrass, downy brome. Arlington, VA The Nature Conservancy.Google Scholar
[CDFA] California Department of Food and Agriculture. 2012. Yellow Starthistle Leading Edge Project: Program Details. http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/ipc/ystmapping/ystmapping_hp.htm. Accessed: April 9, 2012.Google Scholar
Chambers, J. C., Roundy, B. A., Blank, R. R., Meyer, S. E., and Whittaker, A. 2007. What makes Great Basin sagebrush ecosystems invasible by Bromus tectorum? Ecol. Monogr. 77:117–145.Google Scholar
Chen, Y. and Katan, J. 1980. Effect of solar heating of soils by transparent polyethylene mulching on their chemical properties. Soil Sci. 130:271–277.Google Scholar
Concilio, A. L. 2012. Bromus tectorum Invasion and Global Change: Likelihood of Spread and Feasibility of Control. Ph.D Dissertation. Santa Cruz, CA University of California. 221 p.Google Scholar
Concilio, A. L., Loik, M. E., and Belnap, J. 2013. Global change effects on Bromus tectorum L. (Poaceae) at its high-elevation range margin. Glob. Chang. Biol. 19:161–172.Google Scholar
D'Antonio, C. and Meyerson, L. A. 2002. Exotic plant species as problems and solutions in ecological restoration: a synthesis. Restor. Ecol. 10:703–713.Google Scholar
D'Antonio, C. M. and Vitousek, P. M. 1992. Biological invasions by exotic grasses, the grass/fire cycle, and global change. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 23:63–87.Google Scholar
Daubenmire, R. 1959. A canopy-coverage method of vegetational analysis. Northwest Sci. 33:43–64.Google Scholar
DiTomaso, J. M. 2000. Invasive weeds in rangelands: species, impacts, and management. Weed Sci. 48:255–265.Google Scholar
Elmore, C., Stapleton, J., Bell, C., and Devay, J. 1997. Soil Solarization: A Nonpesticidal Method for Controlling Diseases, Nematodes, and Weeds. Oakland, CA University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication 21377. 17 p.Google Scholar
Ethridge, D. E., Sherwood, R. D., Sosebee, R. E., and Herbel, C. H. 1997. Economic feasibility of rangeland seeding in the arid southwest. J. Range Manag. 50:185–190.Google Scholar
Forbis, T. A. 2011. Germination phenology of some Great Basin native annual forb species. Plant Species Biol. 25:221–230.Google Scholar
Griffith, A. B. and Loik, M. E. 2010. Effects of climate and snow depth on Bromus tectorum population dynamics at high elevation. Oecologia 164:821–832.Google Scholar
Hardegree, S. P. 1994. Matric priming increases germination rate of Great Basin native perennial grasses. Agron. J. 86:289–293.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, R. A. and Viers, J. H. 2011. Tarping as an alternative for perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) control. Invasive Plant Sci. Manag. 4:66–72.Google Scholar
Kettenring, K. M. and Adams, C. R. 2011. Lessons learned from invasive plant control experiments: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Appl. Ecol. 48:970–979.Google Scholar
Knapp, P. A. 1996. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) dominance in the Great Basin Desert—history, persistence, and influences to human activities. Glob. Environ. Chang. 6:37–52.Google Scholar
Mack, R. N. and Foster, S. K. 2009. Eradicating plant invaders: combining ecologically based tactics and broad-sense strategy. Pages 35–60 in Inderjit, , ed. Management of Invasive Weeds. New York Springer.Google Scholar
Mack, R. N. and Pyke, D. A. 1983. The demography of Bromus tectorum—variation in time and space. J. Ecol. 71:69–93.Google Scholar
Masters, R. A. and Sheley, R. L. 2001. Principles and practices for managing rangeland invasive plants. J. Range Manag. 54:502–517.Google Scholar
McIver, J. D., Bruson, M., Bunting, S. C., Chambers, J., Devoe, N., Doescher, P. S., Grace, J., Johnson, D., Knick, S., Miller, R., Pellent, M., Pierson, F., Pyke, D., Rollins, K., Roundy, B., Schupp, E., Tausch, R., and Turner, D. 2010. The Sagesteppe Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP): A Test of State-and-Transition Theory. Fort Collins, CO U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station RMRS-GTR-237. 21 p.Google Scholar
Monsen, S. B. 2004. History of range and wildlife habitat restoration in the Intermountain West. Pages 1–5 in Monsen, S. B., Stevens, R., and Shaw, N. L., eds. Restoring Western Ranges and Wildlands. Volume 1. Fort Collins, CO U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station RMRS-GTR-136.Google Scholar
Monsen, S. B. and Stevens, R. 2004. Seedbed preparation and seeding practices. Pages 122–154 in Monsen, S. B., Stevens, R., and Shaw, N. L., eds. Restoring Western Ranges and Wildlands. Volume 1. Fort Collins, Colorado U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station RMRS-GTR-136.Google Scholar
Moody, M. E. and Mack, R. N. 1988. Controlling the spread of plant invasions—the importance of nascent foci. J. Appl. Ecol. 25:1009–1021.Google Scholar
Neuhauser, M. and Bretz, F. 2001. Nonparametric all-pairs multiple comparisons. Biometrical J. 43:571–580.Google Scholar
[OPM] U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 2012. OPM.GOV: 2012 General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay Tables. http://www.opm.gov/oca/12tables/indexGS.asp. Accessed: March 23, 2012.Google Scholar
Orr, B. K. and Howald, A. M. 2000. A Flora of the Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve. Santa Barbara, CA The Herbarium, Museum of Systematics and Ecology, MSE Environmental Rep. 16.Google Scholar
Owen, S. M., Sieg, C. H., and Gehring, C. A. 2011. Rehabilitating downy brome (Bromus tectorum)-invaded shrublands using imazapic and seeding with native shrubs. Invasive Plant Sci. Manag. 4:223–233.Google Scholar
Pellant, M., Abbey, B., and Karl, S. 2004. Restoring the Great Basin Desert, USA: integrating science, management, and people. Environ. Monit. Assess. 99:169–179.Google Scholar
Scopa, A. and Dumontet, S. 2007. Soil solarization: effects on soil microbiological parameters. J. Plant Nutr. 30:537–547.Google Scholar
Teasdale, J. R. and Mohler, C. L. 2000. The quantitative relationship between weed emergence and the physical properties of mulches. Weed Sci. 48:385–392.Google Scholar
Thill, D. C., Beck, K. G., and Callihan, R. H. 1984. The biology of downy brome (Bromus tectorum). Weed Sci. 32:7–12.Google Scholar
Tu, M., Hurd, C., Randall, J. M., and Conservancy, T. N. 2001. All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository). Weed Control Methods Handbook: Tools & Techniques for Use in Natural Areas. http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/govdocs/533/. Accessed: January 22, 2012.Google Scholar
With, K. A. 2002. The landscape ecology of invasive spread. Conserv. Biol. 16:1192–1203.Google Scholar
Young, J. A., Evans, R. A., and Eckert, R. E. 1969. Population dynamics of downy brome. Weed Sci. 17:20–26.Google Scholar
Zink, T. A. and Allen, M. F. 1998. The effects of organic amendments on the restoration of a disturbed coastal sage scrub habitat. Restor. Ecol. 6:52–58.Google Scholar