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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Future Of The Big Sagebrush Ecosystem: Plant Community Response To Grazing, Wildfire, And Invasive Annual Grass In A Changing Climate, Margaret Eleanor England Jan 2022

The Future Of The Big Sagebrush Ecosystem: Plant Community Response To Grazing, Wildfire, And Invasive Annual Grass In A Changing Climate, Margaret Eleanor England

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Climate change is increasingly affecting the plant communities across the world. In the Western United States, these changes are affecting plant communities and their risk of invasive species, as well as the frequency and severity of wildfire. Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) ecosystems of the Western United States are facing threats of increasingly frequent wildfire and invasion of the annual grass cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.), which may be exacerbated by global climate change. Past studies have found cheatgrass to exhibit a positive feedback loop with wildfire, and climate change is expected to facilitate expansion of the cheatgrass …


Documenting The Rapidly Expanding Distribution Of Invasive Ravenna Grass (Tripidium Ravennae) Eastern In Kansas, Rachel A. Styers Jan 2022

Documenting The Rapidly Expanding Distribution Of Invasive Ravenna Grass (Tripidium Ravennae) Eastern In Kansas, Rachel A. Styers

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Invasive species cause significant ecological losses in the United States where they cost approximately $21 billion dollars a year to manage (Fantle-Lepczyk et al., 2022). Early detection of new invasive species, coupled with a rapid response of management efforts, can help to slow the ecological and economic impacts caused by these habitat invaders. Tripidium ravennae (L.) H. Scholz (or Ravenna grass) is a tall, robust, cespitose grass known to occur in Kansas, although its distribution remained poorly documented prior to this study. Given its known invasive tendencies, it has been declared noxious in at least six US states. Coupled with …