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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Effects Of Short-Term Soil Conditioning By Cheatgrass And Western Wheatgrass, James J. O'Connor, Janet S. Prevey Dec 2015

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 …


Alliaria Petiolata (M.Bieb.) Cavara & Grande [Brassicaceae], An Invasive Herb In The Southern Ozark Plateaus: A Comparison Of Species Composition And Richness, Soil Properties, And Earthworm Composition And Biomass In Invaded Versus Non-Invaded Sites, Jennifer D. Ogle Jul 2015

Alliaria Petiolata (M.Bieb.) Cavara & Grande [Brassicaceae], An Invasive Herb In The Southern Ozark Plateaus: A Comparison Of Species Composition And Richness, Soil Properties, And Earthworm Composition And Biomass In Invaded Versus Non-Invaded Sites, Jennifer D. Ogle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species are widely recognized as organisms that severely alter ecosystem processes in the habitats to which they are introduced. Alliaria petiolata is one of the most important invasive plants in forests of the northern United States. This study examined the geographic distribution of the plant in the southern Ozarks, as well as the effect that it may be having on natural processes within forests of the region by comparing plant species richness, plant cover, and soil properties in invaded and non-invaded plots. It was found that A. petiolata is not significantly altering species richness, cover, or soil properties in …


Tolerance Of The Invasive New Zealand Mud Snail To Various Decontamination Procedures, Christopher N. Acy Jun 2015

Tolerance Of The Invasive New Zealand Mud Snail To Various Decontamination Procedures, Christopher N. Acy

Lawrence University Honors Projects

In an attempt to stop the spread of invasive species, state governments have established decontamination procedures for use on contaminated equipment. However, different species can tolerate various procedures depending on their morphology and physiology. The New Zealand mud snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) is invasive to the United States and may alter the food web of streams due to the snail’s high reproductive ability, causing potential problems for native trout populations and local economies. We collected mud snails from the recently invaded Black Earth Creek, WI and tested their tolerance to decontamination protocols being considered by the Wisconsin Department of …