Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-23T13:35:33.788Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Environmental Factors Influence Early Population Growth of Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Andrea N. Nord ,
David A. Mortensen  and
Emily S. J. Rauschert
Andrea N. Nord*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences and Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, 116 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, University Park, PA 16823
David A. Mortensen
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences and Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, 116 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, University Park, PA 16823
Emily S. J. Rauschert
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences and Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, 116 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building, University Park, PA 16823
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: ann102@psu.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Habitat suitability and disturbance can shape the early stages of biological invasions in important ways. Much that we know about habitat suitability and invasion originates from point-in-time studies, which characterize invasive plant abundance and associated site characteristics. In our study, we tested the influence of habitat suitability by creating small-scale invasions in a range of environments. Seeds of the invasive annual grass Japanese stiltgrass [Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus] were planted into six environments in a deciduous forest in central Pennsylvania, and patch growth was monitored for 4 yr. Each of the 30 sites included a subplot subjected to litter disturbance at time of planting. This litter disturbance led to increased seedling recruitment only in the first 2 yr. Although patches were generally larger in wetland and roadside habitats, site influence was highly variable. Environmental variables (soil moisture, ammonium–N, pH, and plant species richness) measured in each plot were better predictors of population success than broad habitat categories. We conclude that risk assessment for species such as M. vimineum should focus not on habitat types but on areas likely to experience the physical changes that release M. vimineum populations.

Keywords

Japanese stiltgrass, Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus (Poaceae)Invasibilityinvasion successhabitat suitabilitydisturbancesoil pH
Type
Research
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , May 2010 , pp. 17 - 25
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Barden, L. S. 1987. Invasion of Microstegium vimineum (Poaceae), an exotic, annual, shade-tolerant, C4 grass, into a North Carolina floodplain. Am. Midl. Nat 118:40–45.Google Scholar
Braker, W. L. 1981. Soil Survey of Centre County, Pennsylvania. Washington, DC U.S. Department of Agriculture–Soil Conservation Service. 162.Google Scholar
Byers, D. L. and Quinn, J. A. 1998. Demographic variation in Alliaria petiolata (Brassicaceae) in four contrasting habitats. J. Torrey Bot. Soc 125:138–149.Google Scholar
Byers, J. E. and Noonburg, E. G. 2003. Scale dependent effects of biotic resistance to biological invasion. Ecology 84:1428–1433.Google Scholar
Christen, D. C. and Matlack, G. R. 2009. The habitat and conduit functions of roads in the spread of three invasive plant species. Biol. Invasions 11:453–465.Google Scholar
Cole, P. G. and Weltzin, J. F. 2004. Environmental correlates of the distribution and abundance of Microstegium vimineum, in east Tennessee. Southeast. Nat 3:545–562.Google Scholar
Cole, P. G. and Weltzin, J. F. 2005. Light limitation creates patchy distribution of an invasive grass in eastern deciduous forests. Biol. Invasions 7:477–488.Google Scholar
Crooks, J. A. and Soule, M. E. 1999. Lag times in population explosions of invasive species: Causes and implications. Pages 103–125. in Sandlund, O. T., Schei, P. J., and Viken, A. Invasive Species and Biodiversity Management. New York Springer.Google Scholar
Ehrenfeld, J. G., Kourtev, P., and Huang, W. 2001. Changes in soil functions following invasions of exotic understory plants in deciduous forests. Ecol. Appl 11:1287–1300.Google Scholar
Hunt, D. M. and Zaremba, R. E. 1992. The northeastward spread of Microstegium vimineum (Poaceae) into New York and adjacent states. Rhodora 94:167–170.Google Scholar
Jongegans, E., Skarpaas, O., Tipping, P. W., and Shea, K. 2007. Establishment and spread of founding populations of an invasive thistle: the role of competition and seed limitation. Biol. Invasions 9:317–325.Google Scholar
Kollmann, J., Frederiksen, L., Vestergaard, P., and Bruun, H. H. 2007. Limiting factors for seedling emergence and establishment of the invasive non-native Rosa rugosa in a coastal dune system. Biol. Invasions 9:31–42.Google Scholar
Koop, A. L. 2004. Differential seed mortality among habitats limits the distribution of the invasive non-native shrub Ardisia elliptica . Plant Ecol 172:237–249.Google Scholar
Levine, J. M. and D'Antonio, C. M. 1999. Elton revisited: a review of evidence linking diversity and invasibility. Oikos 87:15–26.Google Scholar
Li, Y., Yu, I. T. S., Xu, P., Lee, J. H. W., Wong, T. W., Ooi, P. L., and Sleigh, A. C. 2004. Predicting super spreading events during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemics in Hong Kong and Singapore. Am. J. Epidemiol 160:719–728.Google Scholar
Marchetti, M. P., Moyle, P. B., and Levine, R. 2004. Alien fishes in California watersheds: characteristics of successful and failed invaders. Ecol. Appl 14:587–596.Google Scholar
Marshall, J. M. and Buckley, D. S. 2008a. Influence of litter removal and mineral soil disturbance on the spread of an invasive grass in a central hardwood forest. Biol. Invasions 10:531–538.Google Scholar
Marshall, J. M. and Buckley, D. S. 2008b. Effects of microsites created by selective harvesting on growth of Microstegium vimineum in a central hardwood forest. For. Sci 54:534–542.Google Scholar
Meekins, J. F. and McCarthy, B. C. 2001. Effect of environmental variation on the invasive success of a nonindigenous forest herb. Ecol. Appl 11:1336–1348.Google Scholar
Mehrhoff, L. J. 2000. Perennial Microstegium vimineum (Poaceae): an apparent misidentification? J. Torrey Bot. Soc 127:251–254.Google Scholar
Mortensen, D. A., Rauschert, E. S. J., and Nord, A. N. 2009. Forest roads facilitate the spread of invasive plants. Invasive Plant Sci. Manag 2:191–199.Google Scholar
Neter, J., Kutner, M. H., Nachtsheim, C. J., and Wasserman, W. 1996. Applied Linear Statistical Models. 4th ed. Chicago, IL Irwin. 1408.Google Scholar
Oswalt, C. M., Clatterbuck, W. K., Oswalt, S. N., Houston, A. E., and Schlarbaum, S. E. 2004. First-year effects of Microstegium vimineum and early growing season herbivory on planted high-quality oak (Quercus spp.) seedlings in Tennessee. Pages 1–9. in. Proceedings of the 14th Central Hardwoods Forest Conference. Newtown Square, PA U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station.Google Scholar
Oswalt, C. M. and Oswalt, S. N. 2007. Winter litter disturbance facilitates the spread of the nonnative invasive grass Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus. For. Ecol. Manag 249:199–203.Google Scholar
Oswalt, C. M., Oswalt, S. N., and Clatterbuck, W. K. 2007. Effects of Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus on native woody species density and diversity in a productive mixed-hardwood forest in Tennessee. For. Ecol. Manag 242:727–732.Google Scholar
Peskin, N. 2005. Habitat Suitability of Japanese Stiltgrass Microstegium vimineum in an Appalachian Forest. M.S. thesis. University Park, PA The Pennsylvania State University. 136.Google Scholar
Quinn, G. P. and Keough, M. J. 2002. Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists. Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press. 537.Google Scholar
Radosevich, S. R., Holt, J. S., and Ghersa, C. M. 2007. Ecology of Weeds and Invasive Plants: Relationship to Agriculture and Natural Resource Management. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ J. Wiley. 454.Google Scholar
Rauschert, E. S. J., Mortensen, D. A., Bjornstad, O. N., Nord, A. N., and Peskin, N. 2010. Slow spread of the aggressive invader, Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stiltgrass). Biol. Invasions 12:563–579.Google Scholar
Redman, D. E. 1995. Distribution and habitat types for Nepal microstegium [Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) Camus] in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Castanea 60:270–275.Google Scholar
Tanentzap, A. J. and Bazely, D. R. 2009. Propagule pressure and resource availability determine plant community invasibility in a temperate forest understorey. Oikos 118:300–308.Google Scholar
Tilman, D. 2006. The ecological consequences of changes in biodiversity: a search for general principles. Ecology 80:1455–1474.Google Scholar
Tu, M. 2000. Element Stewardship Abstract for Microstegium vimineum. Arlington, VA The Nature Conservancy. 8.Google Scholar
Turnbull, L. A., Crawley, M. J., and Rees, M. 2000. Are plant populations seed-limited? a review of seed sowing experiments. Oikos 88:225–238.Google Scholar
Winters, K., Schmitt, M. R., and Edwards, G. E. 1982. Microstegium vimineum, a shade adapted C4 [carbon pathway] grass [Comparison of growth with Digitaria sanguinalis and Sporobolus airoides]. Plant Sci. Lett 24:311–318.Google Scholar
Wiser, S. K., Allen, R. B., Clinton, P. W., and Platt, K. H. 1998. Community structure and forest invasion by an exotic herb over 23 years. Ecology 79:2071–2081.Google Scholar