Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T01:52:09.107Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fire Alters Emergence of Invasive Plant Species from Soil Surface-Deposited Seeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Lance T. Vermeire  and
Matthew J. Rinella
Lance T. Vermeire*
Affiliation:
Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 243 Fort Keogh Road, Miles City, MT 59301
Matthew J. Rinella
Affiliation:
Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 243 Fort Keogh Road, Miles City, MT 59301
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: Lance.Vermeire@ars.usda.gov
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Restoration of historic fire regimes is complicated by concerns about exotic plant invasions, yet little is known of how the two may interact. Seeds of Japanese brome, spotted knapweed, Russian knapweed, and leafy spurge were subjected to fire at six fuel loads (100 to 700 g m−2) and a nonburned control. Fires were simulated with field-cured grass and time–temperature profiles were developed from thermocouples at the soil surface. Emergence was determined by species and fuel load in growth chambers. Fuel load explained 98% of variation in mean heat dosage and emergence decreased with increasing fuel load across species. Emergence was reduced 79 to 88% relative to nonburned treatment with 100 g m−2 of fuel and at least 97% with 200 g m−2 of fuel. Emergence probabilities were less than 0.01 for all species but spotted knapweed with a 300 g m−2 fuel load. Results indicate high potential for fire to disrupt the life cycle of invasive species through direct seed mortality. The relationship between fuel load and seedling emergence provides good predictability of fire effects on surface-deposited seeds. A single fire is unlikely to eradicate many invasive species because they often produce abundant seeds and some will undoubtedly escape fire. However, abrupt reductions in seedling emergence with relatively light fuel loads indicate that fire may be an effective tool for increasing mortality of invasive plant seed across a broad range of habitats.

Keywords

Japanese brome, Bromus japonicus Thunb. ex Murr.spotted knapweed, Centaurea maculosa Lam.Russian knapweed, Acroptilon repens (L.) DCleafy spurge, Euphorbia esula L.Germinationgrasslandinvasionprescribed burningseed mortality
Type
Weed Management
Information
Weed Science , Volume 57 , Issue 3 , June 2009 , pp. 304 - 310
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

Adkins, S. W. and Peters, N. C. B. 2001. Smoke derived from burnt vegetation stimulates germination of arable weeds. Seed Sci. Res. 11:213–222.Google Scholar
Ascard, J. 1998. Comparison of flaming and infrared radiation techniques for thermal weed control. Weed Res. 38:69–76.Google Scholar
Axelrod, D. I. 1985. Rise of the grassland biome, central North America. Bot. Rev. 51:163–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowes, G. and Thomas, G. 1978. Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) control based on a population model. Pages 254–256. in. Proceedings of the 1st International Rangeland Congress. Denver, CO.Google Scholar
Bradstock, R. A. and Auld, T. D. 1995. Soil temperatures during experimental bushfires in relation to fire intensity: consequences for legume germination and fire management in south-eastern Australia. J. Appl. Ecol. 32:76–84.Google Scholar
Branson, D. H. and Vermeire, L. T. 2007. Grasshopper egg mortality mediated by oviposition tactics and fire intensity. Ecol. Entomol. 32:128–134.CrossRefGoogle 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
Burke, M. J. W. and Grime, J. P. 1996. An experimental study of plant community invasibility. Ecology. 77:776–790.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, J. C. 1995. Relationships between seed fates and seedling establishment in an alpine ecosystem. Ecology. 76:2124–2133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, J. C. and MacMahon, J. A. 1994. A day in the life of a seed: movements and fates of seeds and their implications for natural and managed systems. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 25:263–292.Google Scholar
Chambers, J. C., MacMahon, J. A., and Haefner, J. H. 1991. Seed entrapment in alpine ecosystems: effects of soil particle size and diaspore morphology. Ecology. 72:1668–1677.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chauhan, B. S., Gill, G., and Preston, C. 2006. Influence of environmental factors on seed germination and seedling emergence of rigid ryegrass (Lolium rigidum). Weed Sci. 54:1004–1012.Google Scholar
Chippindale, H. G. and Milton, W. E. J. 1934. On the viable seeds present in the soil beneath pastures. J. Ecol. 22:508–531.Google Scholar
Davis, E. S., Fay, P. K., Chicoine, T. K., and Lacey, C. A. 1993. Persistence of spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) in soil. Weed Sci. 41:57–61.Google Scholar
Davis, M. A., Grime, J. P., and Thompson, K. 2000. Fluctuating resources in plant communities: a general theory of invasibility. J. Ecol. 88:528–534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, M. A. and Pelsor, M. 2001. Experimental support for a resource-based mechanistic model of invasibility. Ecol. Lett. 4:421–428.Google Scholar
DiTomaso, J. M., Brooks, T. M., Allen, E. B., Minnich, R., Rice, P. M., and Kyser, G. B. 2006. Control of invasive weeds with prescribed burning. Weed Technol. 20:535–548.Google Scholar
Dodson, E. K. and Fiedler, C. E. 2006. Impacts of restoration treatments on alien plant invasion in Pinus ponderosa forests, Montana, USA. J. Appl. Ecol. 43:887–897.Google Scholar
Emery, S. M. and Gross, K. L. 2005. Effects of timing of prescribed fire on the demography of an invasive plant, spotted knapweed Centaurea maculosa. J. Appl. Ecol. 42:60–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, R. A. and Young, J. A. 1970. Plant litter and establishment of alien annual weed species in rangeland communities. Weed Sci. 18:697–703.Google Scholar
Gashaw, M. and Michelsen, A. 2002. Influence of heat shock on seed germination of plants from regularly burnt savanna woodlands and grasslands in Ethiopia. Plant Ecol. 159:83–93.Google Scholar
Gelman, A., Carlin, J. B., Stern, H. S., and Rubin, D. B. 2004. Bayesian data analysis. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL Chapman and Hall/CRC.Google Scholar
Gillespie, I. G. and Allen, E. B. 2004. Fire and competition in a southern California grassland: impacts on the rare forb Erodium macrophyllum. J. Appl. Ecol. 41:643–652.Google Scholar
Gleadow, R. M. and Narayan, I. 2007. Temperature thresholds for germination and survival of Pittosporum undulatum: implications for management by fire. Acta Oecol. 31:151–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grace, J. B., Smith, M. D., Grace, S. L., Collins, S. L., and Stohlgren, T. J. 2001. Interactions between fire and invasive plants in temperate grasslands of North America. Pages 40–65. In Galley, K. E. M. and Wilson, T. P. Proceedings of the Invasive Species Workshop: The Role of Fire in the Control and Spread of Invasive Species. Tallahassee, FL Tall Timbers Research Station.Google Scholar
Grime, J. P. 2001. Plant Strategies, Vegetation Processes, and Ecosystem Properties. 2nd ed. West Sussex, UK John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Gross, K. L., Mittelbach, G. G., and Reynolds, H. L. 2005. Grassland invasibility and diversity: responses to nutrients, seed input, and disturbance. Ecology. 86:476–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grundy, A. C., Mead, A., and Bond, W. 1996. Modelling the effect of weed-seed distribution in the soil profile on seedling emergence. Weed Res. 36:375–384.Google Scholar
Huenneke, L. F., Hamburg, S. P., Koide, R., Mooney, H. A., and Vitousek, P. M. 1990. Effects of soil resources on plant invasion and community structure in Californian serpentine grassland. Ecology. 71:478–491.Google Scholar
Hulme, P. E. 2006. Beyond control: wider implications for the management of biological invasions. J. Appl. Ecol. 43:835–847.Google Scholar
Jutila, H. M. and Grace, J. B. 2002. Effects of disturbance on germination and seedling establishment in a coastal prairie grassland: a test of the competitive release hypothesis. J. Ecol. 90:291–302.Google Scholar
Keeley, J. E. 1987. Role of fire in seed germination of woody taxa in California chaparral. Ecology. 68:434–443.Google Scholar
Keeley, J. E. 2006. Fire management impacts on invasive plants in the western United States. Conserv. Biol. 20:375–384.Google Scholar
Keeley, J. E. and Fotheringham, C. J. 1998. Mechanism of smoke-induced seed germination in a post-fire chaparral annual. J. Ecol. 86:27–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knapp, P. A. 1996. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) dominance in the Great Basin Desert. Global Environ. Change. 6:37–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kyser, G. B. and DiTomaso, J. M. 2002. Instability in a grassland community after the control of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) with prescribed burning. Weed Sci. 50:648–657.Google Scholar
Laterra, P., Ortega, E. Z., Ochoa, M. D., Vignolio, O. R., and Fernandez, O. N. 2006. Interactive influences of fire intensity and vertical seed distribution of seed banks on post-fire recolonization of a tall-tussock grassland in Argentina. Austral. Ecol. 31:608–622.Google Scholar
Legg, C. J., Maltby, E., and Proctor, M. C. F. 1992. The ecology of severe Moorland fire on the North York Moors: seed distribution and seedling establishment of Calluna vulgaris. J. Ecol. 80:737–752.Google Scholar
Levitt, J. 1972. Responses of Plants to Environmental Stresses. New York Academic.Google Scholar
MacDonald, N. W., Scull, B. T., and Abella, S. R. 2007. Mid-spring burning reduces spotted knapweed and increases native grasses during a Michigan experimental grassland establishment. Restor. Ecol. 15:118–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maret, M. P. and Wilson, M. V. 2000. Fire and seedling population dynamics in western Oregon prairies. J. Veg. Sci. 11:307–314.Google Scholar
Mucunguzi, P. and Oryem-Origa, H. 1996. Effects of heat and fire on the germination of Acacia sieberianna D.C. and Acacia gerrardii Benth. in Uganda. J. Trop. Ecol. 12:1–10.Google Scholar
Pate, J. S., Casson, N. E., Rullo, J., and Kuo, J. 1985. Biology of fire ephemerals of the sandplains of the Kwongan of south-western Australia. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 12:641–655.Google Scholar
Paynter, Q. and Flanagan, G. J. 2004. Integrating herbicide and mechanical control treatments with fire and biological control to manage invasive wetland shrub, Mimosa pigra. J. Appl. Ecol. 41:615–629.Google Scholar
Prober, S. M., Thiele, K. R., Lunt, I. D., and Koen, T. B. 2005. Restoring ecological function in temperate grassy woodlands: manipulating soil nutrients, exotic annuals and native perennial grasses through carbon supplements and spring burns. J. Appl. Ecol. 42:1073–1085.Google Scholar
Pyne, S. J., Andrews, P. L., and Laven, R. D. 1996. Introduction to Wildland Fire. 2nd ed. New York John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Qinfeng, G., Rundel, P. W., and Goodall, D. W. 1998. Horizontal and vertical distribution of desert seed banks: patterns, causes, and implications. J. Arid Environ. 38:465–478.Google Scholar
Rask, A. M. and Kristoffersen, P. 2007. A review of non-chemical weed control on hard surfaces. Weed Res. 47:370–380.Google Scholar
Roberts, F. H., Britton, C. M., Wester, D. B., and Clark, R. G. 1988. Fire effects on tobosagrass and weeping lovegrass. J. Range Manage. 41:407–409.Google Scholar
Rotundo, J. L. and Aguiar, M. R. 2004. Vertical seed distribution in the soil constrains regeneration of Bromus pictus in a Patagonian steppe. J. Veg. Sci. 15:515–522.Google Scholar
SAS Institute, Inc 1989. SAS/STAT User's Guide, Version 6. 4th ed., Volume 2. Cary, NC SAS Institute.Google Scholar
Sheley, R. L. and Petroff, J. K. 1999. Biology and management of noxious rangeland weeds. Corvallis, OR Oregon State University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, M. D. and Knapp, A. K. 1999. Exotic plant species in a C4-dominated grassland: invasibility, disturbance, and community structure. Oecologia. 120:605–612.Google Scholar
Stinson, K. J. and Wright, H. A. 1969. Temperatures of headfires in the southern mixed prairie of Texas. J. Range Manage. 22:169–174.Google Scholar
Thanos, C. A. and Rundel, P. W. 1995. Fire-followers in chaparral: nitrogenous compounds trigger seed germination. J. Ecol. 83:207–215.Google Scholar
Thompson, K., Hodgson, J. G., Grime, J. P., and Burke, M. J. W. 2001. Plant traits and temporal scale: evidence from a 5-year invasion experiment using native species. J. Ecol. 89:1054–1060.Google Scholar
Vermeire, L. T., Mitchel, R. B., Fuhlendorf, S. D., and Wester, D. B. 2004. Selective control of rangeland grasshoppers with prescribed fire. J. Range Manage. 57:29–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vitousek, P. M., Aber, J. D., Howarth, R. W., Likens, G. E., Matson, P. A., Schindler, D. W., Schlesinger, W. H., and Tilman, D. G. 1997. Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: sources and consequences. Ecol. Appl. 7:737–750.Google Scholar
Whelan, R. J. 1995. The ecology of fire. Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Whisenant, S. G. 1990. Postfire population dynamics of Bromus japonicus. Am. Midl. Nat. 123:301–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, H. A. and Bailey, A. W. 1982. Fire ecology, United States and Southern Canada. New York John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Wright, H. A., Bunting, S. C., and Neuenschwander, L. F. 1976. Effect of fire on honey mesquite. J. Range Manage. 29:467–471.Google Scholar