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Landscape Disturbances Impact Affect the Distribution and Abundance of Exotic Grasses in Northern Fescue Prairies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Marlene Gifford  and
Rafael Otfinowski
Marlene Gifford
Affiliation:
Sequoia Energy Inc., 900-363 Broadway, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3C 3N9
Rafael Otfinowski*
Affiliation:
Parks Canada, Western and Northern Service Centre, 145 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3B 0R9
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: raf.otfinowski@gmail.com
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Abstract

The presence of landscape disturbances increases the establishment of exotic plants inside natural areas. Here, we examine the effect of human disturbances to prairie landscapes on the distribution and abundance of Kentucky bluegrass and smooth brome, exotic grasses that threaten the integrity of prairie ecosystems throughout the northern Great Plains. Using plant inventory data from Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, Canada, we investigated how roads, trails, and the intensity of historic livestock grazing affect the distribution and abundance of exotic grasses. On the basis of our results, both Kentucky bluegrass and smooth brome were more abundant in areas closer to roads. Kentucky bluegrass was also more abundant in areas farther from trails and those historically grazed by cattle. Our research demonstrates that the effect of landscape disturbances on exotic grasses varies between species and suggests that patterns of invasion may reflect different introduction histories. Given our findings, conserving the integrity of northern fescue prairies should account for human disturbances of landscapes and their effects on the proliferation of exotic plants into areas of native prairie.

Keywords

Smooth brome, Bromus inermis Leyss. BROINKentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis L. POAPRBiological invasionsexotic grassesKentucky bluegrasslivestock grazingroadssmooth brometrails
Type
Research
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , December 2013 , pp. 577 - 584
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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Footnotes

Current address: Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE, Canada C1A 4P3

References

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