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Influence Of Resource Pulses And Perennial Neighbors On The Establishment Of An Invasive Annual Grass In The Mojave Desert, Rebecca E. Drenovsky, J. J. James, M. A. Caird, R. L. Sheley

Biology

Invasion by exotic annual grasses is one of the most significant threats to arid ecosystems in the western USA. Current theories of invasibility predict plant communities become more susceptible to invasion whenever there is an increase in the amount of unused resources. The objective of this field study was to examine how resource pulses and temporal variation in resource demand by the native shrub vegetation influences establishment of the invasive annual grass Schismus arabicus. Water and nitrogen were applied as pulses in early spring, mid-spring, or continuously throughout the growing season to plots containing either Atriplex confertifolia or Atriplex …