Other Life Sciences Commons^™

Climate Change, Snow Mold And The Bromus Tectorum Invasion: Mixed Evidence For Release From Cold Weather Pathogens, Danielle M. Smull, Nicole Pendleton, Andrew R. Kleinhesselink, Peter B. Adler

Ecology Center Publications

Climate change is reducing the depth and duration of winter snowpack, leading to dramatic changes in the soil environment with potentially important ecological consequences. Previous experiments in the Intermountain West of North America indicated that loss of snowpack increases survival and population growth rates of the invasive annual grass Bromus tectorum; however, the underlying mechanism is unknown. We hypothesized that reduced snowpack might promote B. tectorum population growth by decreasing damage from snow molds, a group of subnivean fungal pathogens. To test this hypothesis, we conducted greenhouse and field experiments to investigate the interaction between early snowmelt and either …