Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications School of Public Policy and Leadership

Winter 2010

Native species interactions with red brome: Suggestions for burn- area revegetation

Scott R. Abella University of Nevada, Las Vegas, [email protected]

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Repository Citation Abella, S. R. (2010). Native species interactions with red brome: Suggestions for burn-area revegetation. Mojave Applied Ecology Notes, 3(4), https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/sea_fac_articles/366

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M ojave Applied Ecology Notes Mojave Applied Ecology Notes Winter 2010 Volume 3, Issue 4

Native Species Interactions with Red Brome: Suggestions for Burn-Area Revegetation

Article in press: native that might reduce the invasibility of vegetation not strongly ecosystems. We used a greenhouse facilitating red brome experiment to develop a

establishment — competitive hierarchy of 27 native species with red brome (Bromus I NSIDE T HIS I SSUE: By Scott Abella rubens), an invasive annual grass in southwestern USA arid lands, and a A New Name ...... 2 In deserts, native perennial field study to assess in situ Lab Manager’s Corner ...... 2 often actually facilitate the responses of brome to native perennial species in the Mojave Greenhouse ...... 2 establishment of exotic annual grasses. One of our focal areas of Desert. Native species most PARA Experiment ...... 3 research is to identify native competitive with brome in the species for use in revegetation competition experiment included Undergrad & Grad Programs ...... 4 projects that reduce the the annuals pincushion (Chaenactis A New Class at UNLV ...... 7 establishment of exotic annual stevioides)and bristly fiddleneck grasses, or at least do not strongly (Amsinckia tessellata) and the Review of Publications ...... 7 facilitate exotic species perennials eastern Mojave establishment. An initial research buckwheat (Eriogonum effort involving a competition fasciculatum), sweetbush (Bebbia experiment of red brome with juncea), and brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) that reduced brome . native species and a correlational field study of brome distribution biomass to 49 to 70% of its grown- among native perennial plants is in alone amount. There was no clear “One of our focal areas of press with the journal Invasive difference in competitive abilities research is to identify native Science and Management. with brome between annual and species for use in revegetation perennial natives, and projects that reduce the Interactions competiveness was not strongly establishment of exotic annual correlated (r = 0.15) with the grasses, or at least do not The interactions between native biomass of native species. In the strongly facilitate exotic and exotic species occur on a field, sweetbush and brittlebush species establishment.” continuum from facilitative to supported among the least cover of . competitive. A growing thrust in brome, suggesting congruence of invasive species science is the strong early competitive differentiating where particular abilities of these species with in native species occur along this situ patterns of brome distribution. continuum, with practical At the other extreme, brome implications for identifying species attained its highest average cover

See Red Brome on page 5

Mojave Applied Ecology Notes Page 5 Winter 2010 Volume 3, Issue 4

there is potential for identifying stevioides and Amsinckia Red brome native species that can reduce tessellata and the perennials continued from page 1 invasion of desert ecosystems. Eriogonum fasciculatum, Bebbia juncea, and Encelia farinosa (19%) below littleleaf ratany Interpretive Summary (Krameria erecta), significantly mostly strongly competed with greater than all but three of the Identifying native species, for Bromus. In a companion field assessment of Bromus below 16 species evaluated. Cover of use in revegetation and plant brome was only weakly related community augmentation different native perennial plants (r = 0.19) to area of the projects, capable of reducing in the eastern Mojave Desert, perennial canopy, suggesting the fitness of invasive species is Bromus cover varied more than that factors other than the sizes a major thrust in invasive 9-fold among 16 species. Species such as of perennial plants were linked species science and to differences in brome cover management. We sought to montana, B. juncea, E. among species. identify native species farinosa, and E. fasciculatum competitive with Bromus showed promise in their ability to support low levels of Bromus Results suggest that (i) rubens, an exotic annual grass cover, whereas Krameria erecta interactions with brome differ increasing fuel loads and seems to facilitate Bromus. substantially among native facilitating fires devastating to There is potential to develop species, (ii) these interactions resources in southwestern USA lists of species for practitioners are not as closely linked to arid lands. In a greenhouse to recommend or avoid using in biomass production as in more experiment screening the desert revegetation projects temperate regions, and (iii) competitive abilities of 27 native species, we found that based on species’ interactions with Bromus. the native annuals Chaenactis

Species This study: competition This study: field Brooks (2009): field Ambrosia dumosa Medium Medium Good Bebbia juncea Good Good Good ramosissima –– Medium Medium Eriogonum fasciculatum Good Medium Medium Hymenoclea salsola Medium Poor Medium Krameria erecta –– Poor Medium Medium Poor Medium Psorothamnus fremontii –– Medium Poor Salazaria mexicana Good Good Poor Thamnosma montana –– Good Poor

Summary of the performance of native perennial species with Bromus rubens in this study compared with Brooks (2009), Mojave Desert, southwestern USA. Species were ranked as poor, medium, or good in their ability for reducing Bromus biomass (greenhouse competition experiment) and for supporting low amounts of Bromus in the field (i.e. a ‘good’ rating indicates that Bromus is sparse below a species’ canopy).

Abella, S.R., D.J. Craig, L.P. Chiquoine, K.A. Prengaman, S.M. Schmid, and T.M. Embrey. 2011. Relationships of native desert plants with red brome (Bromus rubens): toward identifying invasion-reducing species. Invasive Plant Science and Management (in press).