Recovery of a Prairie Plant Community Following Sericea Lespedeza (Lespedeza Cuneata) Removal PDF Download
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Author: Molly M. Reichenborn Publisher: ISBN: Category : Electronic dissertations Languages : en Pages : 31
Book Description
Sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) is an invasive legume threatening plant communities in the southeastern and southcentral United States. In addition to reducing native species abundance, current evidence suggests that L. cuneata invasion may alter soil conditions in host communities. If correct, L. cuneata may create a soil legacy effect that impacts community recovery, even if control measures have effectively removed L. cuneata. I examined the recovery of a prairie plant community in Jefferson county, Kansas to determine if the historical presence of L. cuneata affected 1) the relative abundance of all species and 2) the colonization of native species in the community four years following L. cuneata removal. To address this, L. cuneata seeds were sown into 300 plots at a wide range of densities (0 to 10,000 seeds m-2 ) under different combinations of simulated disturbance and soil fertilization. After a three-year establishment period, the percent cover and stem density of L. cuneata was recorded, and the community was burned and sprayed with herbicide to eliminate L. cuneata. Fertilization and disturbance treatments were discontinued, and thirteen native forb species were sown into all plots. The stem density of all sown species was recorded annually over a four-year recovery period, and the percent cover of all species present was recorded in the fourth year of recovery. Analysis of community data in response to the historical presence of L. cuneata did not indicate the presence of a soil legacy effect. Although the relationship between community species cover and the historical cover of L. cuneata was significant in some cases, the variation explained by these comparisons was quite low. Similarly, the colonization of sown native species in the community was unrelated to the historical cover of L. cuneata. These results indicate that L. cuneata does not create a soil legacy effect if effectively controlled within the first three years of invasion, regardless of initial density.
Author: Molly M. Reichenborn Publisher: ISBN: Category : Electronic dissertations Languages : en Pages : 31
Book Description
Sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) is an invasive legume threatening plant communities in the southeastern and southcentral United States. In addition to reducing native species abundance, current evidence suggests that L. cuneata invasion may alter soil conditions in host communities. If correct, L. cuneata may create a soil legacy effect that impacts community recovery, even if control measures have effectively removed L. cuneata. I examined the recovery of a prairie plant community in Jefferson county, Kansas to determine if the historical presence of L. cuneata affected 1) the relative abundance of all species and 2) the colonization of native species in the community four years following L. cuneata removal. To address this, L. cuneata seeds were sown into 300 plots at a wide range of densities (0 to 10,000 seeds m-2 ) under different combinations of simulated disturbance and soil fertilization. After a three-year establishment period, the percent cover and stem density of L. cuneata was recorded, and the community was burned and sprayed with herbicide to eliminate L. cuneata. Fertilization and disturbance treatments were discontinued, and thirteen native forb species were sown into all plots. The stem density of all sown species was recorded annually over a four-year recovery period, and the percent cover of all species present was recorded in the fourth year of recovery. Analysis of community data in response to the historical presence of L. cuneata did not indicate the presence of a soil legacy effect. Although the relationship between community species cover and the historical cover of L. cuneata was significant in some cases, the variation explained by these comparisons was quite low. Similarly, the colonization of sown native species in the community was unrelated to the historical cover of L. cuneata. These results indicate that L. cuneata does not create a soil legacy effect if effectively controlled within the first three years of invasion, regardless of initial density.
Author: Eric Ntiamoah Publisher: GRIN Verlag ISBN: 3346113604 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 56
Book Description
Master's Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Biology - Botany, grade: 3.6, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (Graduate School), course: Environmental Science, language: English, abstract: Sericea lespedeza is an aggressive invasive plant which can suppress and displace native plant species in grasslands and prairies in the United States. The goal of the study is to determine how large the seed bank of lespedeza might be. Furthermore, the author tries to determine if a pre-emergent herbicide treatment could suppress Lespedeza germination and whether this provided benefits to a typical native species propagated into the site. In the work, the author first characterized the soil seed bank at different invaded sites on SIUE campus using the seedling emergence method. In the second part, the author assessed the success of a pre-emergent herbicide in preventing the germination of lespedeza seed bank after lespedeza removal. The growth of a native grass (Sorghastrum nutans) as a replacement species has also been evaluated. Currently Sericea lespedeza is rapidly spreading throughout the U.S and has been estimated to eventually invade about 61percent of the total land area. Lespedeza has become a successful colonizer because of its ability to tolerate and thrive under a wide range of environmental and soil conditions. Once established, lespedeza is very difficult to remove due to its persistent seed bank which can remain viable for years. To successfully control lespedeza, we must find effective ways to suppress or kill seeds in the soil, but this has received little research attention.
Author: Garth Arnold Gatson Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
The largest intact remnant of the tallgrass prairie, the Flint Hills ecoregion, is currently under threat from the invasive weed sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata [Dumont] G. Don; SL). The objectives of this research were to evaluate the efficacy of late-season prescribed burning and fall herbicide application, alone and in concert, for comprehensive control of sericea lespedeza and to assess their broader treatment impacts on native plant communities. A 31-ha native tallgrass pasture with a light to moderate infestation of SL was divided into 16 subunits for this experiment. Each subunit was randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments: negative control, spray-only, burn-only, or burn-plus-spray. A prescribed burn was conducted on burn-only and burn-plus-spray subunits in early September 2016. Following the re-emergence of SL, spray-only and burn-plus-spray subunits received a broadcast application of metsulfuron methyl (Escort XP, DuPont, Wilmington, DE) at a rate of 70.1 g ˖ ha−1 in late September. Frequency and vigor of SL, total forage biomass, soil cover, and plant species composition were measured along permanent 100-m transects in each subunit prior to treatment application and again 12 mo later, in 2017 (i.e., 1 YAT). In 30 x 30-cm plots at 1-m intervals along each transect, the presence or absence of SL was noted. Where SL was present, crown maturity and maximum stem length of the SL plant nearest to the transect were recorded. Presence of multiple stems in plots was also recorded. Prior to treatment application, SL comprised 1 ± 2.0% of total basal cover and was not different between treatments (P = 0.38). One YAT, SL was more abundant (P ≤ 0.02) in negative control subunits than in spray-only, burn-only, or burn-plus-spray subunits, which were not different (P ≥ 0.95) from one another. Aerial frequency of SL, abundance of mature SL crowns, and incidence of plots with multiple SL stems were greatest (P ≤ 0.03) for negative controls, although not different (P ≥ 0.50) between the other 3 treatments. The change in forage biomass production 1 YAT did not differ (P = 0.16) between treatments. A tendency (P = 0.06) for a shift from litter cover to bare soil was noted when the spray-only, burn-only, and burn-plus-spray treatments were compared to the negative control. Graminoid basal cover was greater (P
Author: Eric Lissner Ntiamoah Publisher: ISBN: Category : Grassland restoration Languages : en Pages : 46
Book Description
Sericea lespedeza is an aggressive invasive plant which can suppress and displace native plant species in grasslands and prairies in the United States. Currently is rapidly spreading throughout the U.S and has been estimated to eventually invade about 61% of the total land area. Lespedeza has become a successful colonizer because of its ability to tolerate and thrive under a wide range of environmental and soil conditions. Once established, lespedeza is very difficult to remove due to its persistent seed bank which can remain viable for years. To successfully control lespedeza, we must find effective ways to suppress or kill seeds in the soil, but this has received little research attention. In our work, we first characterized the soil seed bank at different invaded sites on SIUE campus using the seedling emergence method. In the second part of this research, we assessed the success of a pre-emergent herbicide (Preen®) in preventing the germination of lespedeza seed bank after lespedeza removal. We also evaluated the growth of a native grass (Sorghastrum nutans) as a replacement species. The results from the soil seed bank study showed that lespedeza germinates rapidly (
Author: Sarah B. Ogden Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
Sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) is an invasive forb that reduces native grass and forb abundance in tall-grass prairie by up to 92%. Controlling invasions is difficult because traditional land management tools used in the Flint Hills, broad spectrum herbicides, spring prescribed fire, and cattle grazing, are ineffective against sericea. Recent research has demonstrated, however, that mid- and late summer prescribed fire and spring fire with early season grazing by steers followed by late season grazing by sheep are effective at reducing sericea whole plant mass, number of seeds produced, and seed mass. Field results were from two separate experiments conducted in tall-grass prairie study sites in the Flint Hills. On a Geary County, Kansas, study site, the utility of 1) spring fire (control), 2) mid-summer fire, and 3) late summer fire on sericea control were compared. On a Woodson County, Kansas, study site, the utility of 1) spring fire with early season steer grazing followed by rest (control) and 2) spring fire with early season steer grazing and late season sheep grazing on sericea control were compared. At the same study sites, I measured responses by the native wildlife community to use of summer fire and sheep grazing, relative to their controls, to manage sericea lespedeza. Specifically, my objectives were to compare grassland songbird density, grassland songbird nest survival, and grassland butterfly species composition and density among treatments at both study sites. I also related patterns in the vegetation community of each treatment for each study site to respective patterns in grassland bird and butterfly communities. Within study sites, density, nest density, and nest success of grassland bird communities responded similarly to treatments and controls, with the exception that densities of Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savanarrum) were 3.4- and 2.2-fold greater in mid- and late summer fire plots than spring fire plots, respectively, in the Geary County study site. Species compositions of butterfly communities were similar across treatments within experiments, but grassland specialist species comprised only 8.6 and 1.2% of all butterfly observations in the Geary County and Woodson County experiments, respectively. Grassland specialist butterfly species may benefit from summer fire, as their nectar sources were more abundant in Summer Fire plots than Spring Fire plots. Overall, within each experiment, grassland bird and butterfly communities were similar across treatments, suggesting that treatments did not negatively affect grassland songbird and butterfly communities. I additionally demonstrated that Dickcissel (Spiza americana) nest sites contain a lower proportion of sericea than random points, the first evidence that the invasion is detrimental to grassland songbird species. Lacking control, the continued sericea invasion will out compete cumulatively more forb plants resulting in declining quality of grassland bird nesting habitat on the landscape. Controlling sericea lespedeza invasions will allow native forb species to increase in abundance and improve the condition of grasslands for native wildlife and livestock producers. Therefore, I advocate use of summer fire or spring fire with a combination of cattle and sheep grazing to control sericea lespedeza with the long-term goal of tall-grass prairie restoration.
Author: Matthew Steven Hodges Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 81
Book Description
Invasive plant species present a growing threat to biodiversity. Many invasive plants are able to recruit microbial symbionts in their novel range and establish plant-soil feedbacks that influence growth and fitness. These alterations, referred to as soil legacy effects, can linger for decades after the removal of invasive species and impact efforts to restore native plant populations. The process of restoring organisms and their interactions with one another, referred to as ecological restoration, occurs by repairing these damages and alterations to ecosystem diversity and ecosystem dynamics. In a series of growth room experiments, I analyzed the plant-soil feedback of an invasive legume, Lespedeza cuneata, and how soil legacy effects caused by invasion and use of glyphosate herbicide influence the growth and competitive interactions of three native plant species. In contrast to studies of L. cuneata in prairie ecosystems, my investigation suggests that positive plant-soil feedback does not significantly contribute to its growth or spread in the floodplains of eastern North Carolina, as a history of invasion did not significantly improve the seed germination, seedling survival, growth, or root nodule formation of the invasive legume. The absence of evidence for positive plant-soil feedback in my experiment might be attributed to frequent flooding observed in a floodplain system and the resulting homogenization of soil biota. Findings from my study also suggest that the application of glyphosate herbicide alone creates areas where L. cuneata can readily reinvade, as it significantly reduced the number and diversity of seedlings to emerge from the seed bank while significantly increasing the aboveground biomass and nodule formation of L. cuneata. Concerning the restoration of native flora, my investigation suggests that Chasmanthium latifolium, as opposed to Solidago altissima or Chamaecrista nictitans, may be more susceptible to negative impacts caused by a L. cuneata invasion or glyphosate herbicide and therefore less suitable for initial efforts to restore populations of native flora. Results from my competition experiments also suggest that while S. altissima and Cham. nictitans may not be able to suppress populations of L. cuneata, the two native forbs would be successful in preventing areas from being reinvaded while areas occupied solely by Chas. latifolium may be at risk of reinvasion. Control of invasive species requires active participation by conservation professionals and the public. Outreach events and citizen-science programs can provide members of the community of all ages and careers the opportunity to play an active role in conservation efforts through data collection, species monitoring, restoration, invasive species removal, or a wide variety of other necessary tasks. To assess undergraduate attitudes towards conservation and involve students in the management of an invasive plant, an engagement event was held on a local greenway with an ongoing invasion of L. cuneata. During the outreach event, participants manually removed invasive plants while engaging in discussions centered on invasive species, local flora, and conservation. Voluntary participant data surveys suggested that the event positively impacted participants' perception of the natural world and encouraged them to seek out similar opportunities in the future. Survey results also showed that opinions towards conservation were influenced by the undergraduate major of students.
Author: Richard P. Dick Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 0891188541 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 416
Book Description
Methods of Soil Enzymology provides the first comprehensive set of vetted methods for studying enzymes in soils. Readers will especially benefit from the step-by-step explanation of the lab procedures, as well as background information for using these methods effectively and analyzing data. Main topics include activity assays, enzyme extraction, and synthetic enzyme complexes. Each method covered includes background informaton, step-by-step descriptions of the procedure, and special comments regarding nuances, pitfalls, and interpretation of the method. Learn the latest research methods, including enzyme extraction methods and procedures for creating synthetic enzyme complexes, as well as the newest ways to use small-scale and high-throughput methods for enzyme activity assays. Written for the researcher, but welcoming to those new to soil enzymology, the introduction includes conceptual information to orient those who are not familiar with these methods but want to use them. In the tradition of SSSA methods books, Methods of Soil Enzymology features a comprehensive approach with a focus on ease of use.
Author: Brian K. Hall Publisher: Gulf Professional Publishing ISBN: 9780127309354 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 466
Book Description
A classic problem in evolutionary biology is the origin of larvae - how and why did they occur? Indeed, it has often been suggested that many entirely unique body plans first originated as retained larvae of ancestral organisms. But what of the larvae themselves? What developmental and evolutionary forces shape and constrain them? These questions and others are dealt with by this international team of leading zoologists and developmental biologists. Intended to contribute to a continuing dialectic, this book presents diverse opinions as well as manifold conclusions. Certain to challenge and intrique, The Origin and Evolution of Larval Forms should be a part of the library of every evolutionary and developmental biologist interested in larvae and their significance.
Author: Molly M. Reichenborn
Author: Molly M. Reichenborn
Author: Eric Ntiamoah
Author: Garth Arnold Gatson
Author: Eric Lissner Ntiamoah
Author: Sarah B. Ogden
Author: Matthew Steven Hodges
Author: 
Author: Daniel D. Sperduto
Author: Richard P. Dick
Author: Brian K. Hall