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Japanese Stiltgrass) The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN THE GROWTH AND SUPPRESSION OF MICROSTEGIUM VIMINEUM (JAPANESE STILTGRASS) A Dissertation in Ecology by Andrea Nafziger Nord 2011 Andrea N. Nord Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2011 The dissertation of Andrea Nord was reviewed and approved* by the following: David A. Mortensen Chair of Committee Professor of Weed Ecology Margot Kaye Assistant Professor of Forest Ecology Larry H. McCormick Professor Emeritus of Forest Resources Denice Wardrop Senior Research Associate Associate Professor of Geography David M. Eissenstat Professor of Woody Plant Physiology Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii Abstract Many invasive plants, including Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stiltgrass), are habitat generalists which tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. This work focused on how environmental conditions affect population growth, abundance, and seed bank persistence of M. vimineum, as well as its response to suppression measures. Patches of M. vimineum were planted into five environments and monitored for four years. Population growth tended to be highest in the roadside environment and lowest in intact forest, although due to the variability of the data, these differences were not significant. Small-scale environmental variables, particularly soil moisture and pH, explained much of the variation in final patch size. To further investigate pH effects, field surveys compared M. vimineum along limestone and shale gravel roads. Soil pH along limestone roads was significantly higher than along shale roads as far as 25 m from the road edge. M. vimineum occupied significantly more of the roadside area along limestone than along shale roads. To evaluate the influence of the environment on management outcomes, herbicide and mechanical treatments were applied to M. vimineum populations along forest roads, disturbed forest, and wetlands, and plant communities were monitored for three years. Selective herbicide in upland environments did little damage to non- target plant communities while adequately suppressing M. vimineum, but mowing was preferable in the wetland environment where the best permissible herbicide also suppresses the non-target plant community. A buried seed study in the same three environments was used to parameterize population matrix models. Population parameters varied slightly between environments but did not result in different responses to the simulated herbicide scenarios. Biocontrol via a recently discovered pathogen was not sufficient to suppress population growth; however, it allowed a longer interval between herbicide applications in logged and roadside environment. iii In conclusion, M. vimineum populations do respond to various environmental factors, at least in some instances responding as a beneficiary of ecological changes rather than a primary driver of change. The outcomes of M. vimineum suppression efforts are driven less by context-sensitive population dynamics than by the influence of environmental context on choice and efficacy of suppression tactics. iv Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................... ix Preface........................................................................................................................... x Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... xi Prologue ........................................................................................................................ 1 Literature Cited ......................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1: Environmental factors influence early population growth of Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stiltgrass) .................................................................................... 10 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 10 Methods and Materials ............................................................................................ 12 Study Site ............................................................................................................ 12 Experimental Design and Data Collection .......................................................... 13 Statistical Analysis .............................................................................................. 15 Results and Discussion ........................................................................................... 16 Habitat Effects .................................................................................................... 16 Disturbance Treatment ........................................................................................ 19 Population Trajectories ....................................................................................... 20 Analysis of Environmental Variables ................................................................. 21 Management Implications ................................................................................... 24 Literature Cited ....................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 2: Limestone gravel on unpaved roads increases abundance of invasive Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stiltgrass) ............................................................. 28 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 28 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 28 Methods................................................................................................................... 31 Study sites ........................................................................................................... 31 Soil Sampling ...................................................................................................... 32 Field Survey: M. vimineum abundance ............................................................... 32 Field Survey: Quadrats ....................................................................................... 33 Mycorrhizal Sampling ........................................................................................ 34 Foliar Tissue Analysis......................................................................................... 34 Greenhouse Experiment ...................................................................................... 34 Statistical Analysis .............................................................................................. 35 Results ..................................................................................................................... 36 Soil sampling ...................................................................................................... 36 Greenhouse experiment ...................................................................................... 36 Correlation of M. vimineum cover with upslope and downslope positions ........ 38 Microstegium abundance .................................................................................... 38 Microstegium extent ........................................................................................... 40 Canopy openness ................................................................................................ 41 Other vegetation .................................................................................................. 41 Foliar Analysis .................................................................................................... 42 Mycorrhizal sampling ......................................................................................... 42 v Discussion ............................................................................................................... 43 Literature Cited ....................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 3: Effects of Environment and Suppression Method on Microstegium vimineum (Japanese Stiltgrass) Populations and Plant Communities ......................... 49 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 49 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 50 Methods and Materials ............................................................................................ 52 Study Site ............................................................................................................ 52 Experimental Design and M. vimineum Data Collection .................................... 52 Plant Community Composition and Floristic Quality Assessment..................... 54 Results ..................................................................................................................... 56 M. vimineum population density ........................................................................
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