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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Effects Of Short-Term Soil Conditioning By Cheatgrass And Western Wheatgrass, James J. O'Connor, Janet S. Prevey
Effects Of Short-Term Soil Conditioning By Cheatgrass And Western Wheatgrass, James J. O'Connor, Janet S. Prevey
The Prairie Naturalist
The exotic grass Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) is a ubiquitous invader in the western USA. Cheatgrass is a proficient competitor, frequently displacing native plants, forming monotypic stands and reducing biodiversity in ecosystems it invades. Our experiment tested whether short-term soil modification by cheatgrass and a predominant native grass, Pascopyrum smithii (western wheatgrass), affected subsequent growth of both species. We compared productivity of cheatgrass and western wheatgrass by harvesting aboveground biomass of plants grown in either cheatgrass- or western wheatgrass-conditioned soils over two simulated growing seasons. Results indicated that cheatgrass soils do not inhibit the productivity of the native grass, but do …
Use Of Seeded Exotic Grasslands By Wintering Birds, Andrew D. George, Timothy J. O'Connell, Karen R. Hickman, David M. Lesliee Jr.
Use Of Seeded Exotic Grasslands By Wintering Birds, Andrew D. George, Timothy J. O'Connell, Karen R. Hickman, David M. Lesliee Jr.
The Prairie Naturalist
Despite widespread population declines of North American grassland birds, effects of anthropogenic disturbance on wintering habitat of this guild remain poorly understood. We compared avian abundance and habitat structure in fields planted to the exotic grass Old World bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum; OWB) to that in native mixed-grass prairie. During winters of 2007–2008 and 2008–2009, we conducted bird and vegetation surveys in six native grass and six OWB fields in Garfield, Grant, and Alfalfa counties, Oklahoma. We recorded 24 species of wintering birds in native fields and 14 species in OWB monocultures. While vegetation structure was similar between field …