Effects of Nitrogen Availability and Cheatgrass Competition on the Establishment of Vavilov Siberian Wheatgrass |
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| Institution: | 1. Graduate Research Assistant, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Department, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA;2. Postdoctoral Associate, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Department, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA;3. Research Ecologist, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Reno, NV 89512, USA;4. Soil Scientist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Exotic and Invasive Weeds Unit, Reno, NV 89512, USA;5. Professor, Department of Rangeland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA;6. Professor, Department of Forest Resources, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA;7. Professor, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Department, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, NV 89557, USA;1. Senior Scientist, Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc., contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation Science (EROS) Center, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA;2. Research Physical Scientist USGS EROS Center, Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA;3. At the time of research, D.J. Major has re-assumed his role as a Fire and Landscape Ecologist, Bureau of Land Management, Boise, ID, 83709, USA;1. Research Associate, Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 USA.;2. Associate Professor, Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 USA.;3. Research Botanist, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, Boise, ID 83706, USA.;1. Research Geneticists, USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory, Logan, UT 84322, USA.;2. Agronomist, USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory, Logan, UT 84322, USA.;3. Supervisory Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS Grain, Forage, and Bioenergy Research Unit, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.;4. Research Agronomist, USDA-ARS Grain, Forage, and Bioenergy Research Unit, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA.;5. Research Agronomist, USACE Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.;6. Physical Science Technician, USACE Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.;1. Ecologist, Institute for Applied Ecology, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA.;2. Professor, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA;1. US Department of Agriculture (USDA)−Agricultural Research Services (ARS), Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit, Reno, NV 89512, USA;2. Rangeland Management Specialist, USDA-ARS, Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit, Reno, NV 89512, USA;3. Planner & Environmental Specialist, Medford/Ashland BLM, Medford, OR 97504, USA;4. Rangeland Scientist Technician, USDA-ARS, Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit, Reno, NV 89512, USA;5. Agricultural Science Research Technician, USDA-ARS, Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit, Reno 89512, NV, USA. |
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| Abstract: | Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) is the most widespread invasive weed in sagebrush ecosystems of North America. Restoration of perennial vegetation is difficult and land managers have often used introduced bunchgrasses to restore degraded sagebrush communities. Our objective was to evaluate the potential of ‘Vavilov’ Siberian wheatgrass (Agropyron fragile Roth] P. Candargy) to establish on cheatgrass-dominated sites. We examined Vavilov establishment in response to different levels of soil nitrogen availability by adding sucrose to the soil to promote nitrogen (N) immobilization and examined cheatgrass competition by seeding different levels of cheatgrass. We used a blocked split-split plot design with two sucrose levels (0 and 360 g · m−2), two levels of Vavilov (0 and 300 seeds · m−2), and five levels of cheatgrass (0, 150, 300, 600, and 1 200 seeds · m−2). Seeding was conducted in fall 2003 and 2004, and measurements were taken in June 2004, 2005, and 2006. Sucrose addition decreased availability of soil nitrate but not orthophosphate. In the first year after seeding, sucrose reduced cheatgrass density by 35% and decreased both cheatgrass biomass per square meter and seed production per square meter by 67%. These effects were temporary, and by the second year after seeding, there was a sevenfold increase in cheatgrass density. As a result, the effects of sucrose addition were no longer significant. Sucrose affected Vavilov growth, but not density, during the first year after seeding. Vavilov density decreased as cheatgrass seeding density increased. Short-term reductions in N or cheatgrass seed supply did not have long-term effects on cheatgrass and did not increase Vavilov establishment. Longer-term reductions in soil N, higher seeding densities, or more competitive plant materials are necessary to revegetate areas dominated by cheatgrass. |
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