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Influence Of Pocket Gopher Mounds On Nonnative Plant Establishment In A Shrubsteppe Ecosystem, G. P. Kyle, Andrew Kulmatiski, Karen H. Beard

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Soil disturbances across a wide range of spatial scales have been found to promote the establishment of invasive plant species. This study addresses whether mounds built by northern pocket gophers (Thomomys talpoides) in the shrubsteppe environment of north central Washington are facilitating plant invasions into native-dominated fields. Research was conducted in native-dominated plant communities adjacent to ex-arable, nonnative-dominated fields. To determine the effect of mounds on plant growth, we recorded new establishment and persistence of all plant species over 2 growing seasons on 10–19 mound and intermound areas in 10 fields. Nonnative plant establishment was not affected by mounds, but …