Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T15:14:59.807Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Solarization to control downy brome (Bromus tectorum) for small-scale ecological restoration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2019

Matthew R. Orr Open the ORCID record for Matthew R. Orr [Opens in a new window] ,
Ron J. Reuter  and
Shanti J. Murphy
Matthew R. Orr*
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University–Cascades, Bend, OR, USA
Ron J. Reuter
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University–Cascades, Bend, OR, USA
Shanti J. Murphy
Affiliation:
Undergraduate Student, Oregon State University–Cascades, Bend, OR, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Matthew R. Orr, OSU–Cascades, 1500 SW Chandler Avenue, Bend, OR 97702. (Email: orrma@oregonstate.edu)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.) is a common impediment to ecological restoration, because its seedbank remains viable after repeated treatment with herbicides. Soil solarization has been used in ecological restoration to control seedbanks of invasive plants. Here we test the efficacy of soil solarization to reduce B. tectorum cover and establish native plants at a site in B. tectorum’s core invasive range with a long history of disturbance and infestation. Solarization raised soil temperatures by as much as 13 C and reduced B. tectorum densities by approximately 20-fold. In 30 plots solarized for 0 to 101 d, B. tectorum emerged in inverse abundance to treatment duration. Broadleaf weeds were less abundant than B. tectorum before treatment, and diminished under solarization, but their response to solarization was weaker than B. tectorum’s, and they emerged in greater numbers than B. tectorum 2 to 3 yr after treatment. When seeded after solarization, a native perennial bunchgrass, squirreltail [Elymus elymoides (Raf.) Swezey], did not differ in abundance between solarized and control plots. Solarization may facilitate B. tectorum control on a small scale without jeopardizing the establishment of native plants, but only if treatment durations are long and subsequent management of broadleaf weeds and remnant B. tectorum is planned.

Keywords

Assisted successioncheatgrasssagebrush shrub-steppeseedbank
Type
Research Article
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , June 2019 , pp. 112 - 119
Copyright
© Weed Science Society of America, 2019 

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.)

Footnotes

Associate Editor: Edith Allen, University of California, Riverside

References

Altland, J (2018) Weed Management in Nursery Crops. https://oregonstate.edu/dept/nursery-weeds. Accessed: November 4, 2018Google Scholar
Bainbridge, DA (1990) Soil solarization for restorationists. Ecol Restor 8:96–98CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balch, JK, Bradley, BA, D’Antonio, CM, Gomez-Dans, J (2013) Introduced annual grass increases regional fire activity across the arid western USA (1980-2009). Global Change Biol 19:173–183CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonanomi, G, Chiurazzi, M, Caporaso, S, Del Sorbo, G, Moschetti, G, Felice, S (2008) Soil solarization with biodegradable materials and its impact on soil microbial communities. Soil Biol Biochem 40:1989–1998CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Y, Gamliel, A, Stapleton, JJ, Aviad, T (1991) Chemical, physical, and microbial changes related to plant growth in disinfested soils. Pages 103–129 in Katan, J, DeVay, JE, eds. Soil Solarization. Boca Raton, FL: CRC PressGoogle Scholar
Clements, DR, Atwood, LB (2012) Protecting ecosystems from underground invasions—seed bank dynamics in a semi-arid shrub-steppe. Pages 393–416 in Ali, M, ed. Diversity of Ecosystems. Rijeka, Croatia: InTechGoogle Scholar
Concilio, AL (2013) Effectiveness and cost of downy brome (Bromus tectorum) control at high elevation. Invasive Plant Sci Manag 6:502–511CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahlquist, RM, Prather, TS, Stapleton, JJ (2007) Time and temperature requirements for weed seed thermal death. Weed Sci 55:619–625CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davison, JC, Smith, EG (2007) Imazapic provides 2-year control of weedy annuals in a seeded Great Basin fuelbreak. Native Plants J 8:91–96CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elmore, CL (1991) Use of solarization for weed control. Pages 61–72 in Katan, J, DeVay, JE, eds. Soil Solarization. Boca Raton: CRC PressGoogle Scholar
Horowitz, M, Regev, Y, Herzlinger, G (1983) Solarization for weed control. Weed Sci 31:170–179CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, HF, Martinez-Garza, C (2014) Restoration as experiment. Bot Sci 92:459–468CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hulbert, LC (1955) Ecological studies of Bromus tectorum and other annual bromegrasses. Ecol Monogr 25:181–213CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IBM (2016) IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows v. 24.0. Armonk NY: IBM CorporationGoogle Scholar
Invasive Species Compendium (2015) Descurainia sophia (flixweed). https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/110230. Accessed: February 23, 2019Google Scholar
James, JJ, Svejcar, TJ, Rinella, MJ (2011) Demographic processes limiting seedling recruitment in arid grassland restoration. J Appl Ecol 48:961–969CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katan, J, DeVay, JE (1991) Soil solarization: historical perspectives, principles, and uses. Pages 23–37 in Katan, J, DeVay, JE, eds. Soil Solarization. Boca Raton, FL: CRC PressGoogle Scholar
Khan, MA, Marwat, KB, Amin, A, Nawaz, A, Khan, R, Khan, H, Shah, HU (2012) Soil solarization: an organic weed-management approach in cauliflower. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 43:1847–1860CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kyser, GB, DiTomaso, JM, Doran, MP, Orloff, SB, Wilson, RG, Lancaster, DL, Lile, DF, Porath, ML (2007) Control of medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) and other annual grasses with imazapic. Weed Technol 21:66–75Google Scholar
Laerd Statistics (2015) Statistical tutorials and software guides. https://statistics.laerd.com. Accessed: November 10, 2018Google Scholar
Lambrecht, SC, D’Amore, A (2010) Solarization for non-native plant control in cool, coastal California. Ecol Restor 28:424–426CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mack, R, Pyke, D (1983) The demography of Bromus tectorum: variation in time and space. J Ecol 71:69–93CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marushia, RG, Allen, EB (2011) Control of exotic annual grasses to restore native forbs in abandoned agricultural land. Restor Ecol 19:45–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGlone, CM, Sieg, CH, Kolb, TE (2011) Invasion resistance and persistence: established plants win, even with disturbance and high propagule pressure. Biol Invasions 13:291–304CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McMaster, GS, Wilhelm, WW (1997) Growing degree-days: one equation, two interpretations. Agric For Meteorol 87:291–300CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morris, C, Monaco, TA, Rigby, CW (2009) Variable impacts of imazapic rate on downy brome (Bromus tectorum) and seeded species in two rangeland communities. Invasive Plant Sci Manag 2:110–119Google Scholar
Morris, C, Morris, LR, Surface, C (2016) Spring glyphosate application for selective control of downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.) on Great Basin rangelands. Weed Technol 30:297–302CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moyes, AB, Witter, MS, Gamon, JA (2005) Restoration of native perennials in a California annual grassland after prescribed spring burning and solarization. Restor Ecol 13:659–666CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newton, CH, Nelson, LR, Dewalt, SJ, Mikhailova, EA, Post, CJ, Schlautman, MA, Cox, SK, Bridges, WC, Hall, KC (2008) Solarization for the control of Pueraria montana (kudzu). Weed Res 48:394–397CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patel, PP, Patel, MM, Patel, DM, Patel, MM, Patel, GN, Bhatt, RK (2009) Soil solarization—an eco-friendly alternative for weed control in groundnut-potato sequence. Res Crops 10:566–572Google Scholar
Pfeifer-Meister, L, Roy, BA, Johnson, BR, Krueger, J, Bridgham, SD (2012) Dominance of native grasses leads to community convergence in wetland restoration. Plant Ecol 213:637–647CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pyke, DA, Shaff, SE, Lindgren, AI, Schupp, EW, Doescher, PS, Chambers, JC, Burnham, JS, Huso, MM (2014) Region-wide ecological responses of arid Wyoming big sagebrush communities to fuel treatments. Rangel Ecol Manag 67:455–467CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schultz, CB (2001) Restoring resources for an endangered butterfly. J Appl Ecol 38:1007–1019CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sebastian, DJ, Nissen, SJ, Sebastian, JR, Beck, KG (2017) Seed bank depletion: the key to long-term downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.) management. Rangel Ecol Manag 70:477–483CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheley, R, Mangold, J, Goodwin, K, Marks, J (2008) Revegetation Guidelines for the Great Basin: Considering Invasive Weeds. ARS-168. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 60 pGoogle Scholar
Standifer, LC, Wilson, PW, Porche-Sorbet, R (1984) Effects of solarization on soil weed seed populations. Weed Sci 32:569–573Google Scholar
United States Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) (2002) Soil Survey of Upper Deschutes River Area, Oregon, including Parts of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Klamath Counties. Washington, D.C.: Natural Resources Conservation ServiceGoogle Scholar
University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources (2016) How to manage pests: weed gallery—broadleaf gallery. http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/WEEDS/broad_preview.html. Accessed: November 4, 2018Google Scholar
Whitson, TD, Koch, DW (1998) Control of downy brome (Bromus tectorum) with herbicides and perennial grass competition. Weed Technol 12:391–396CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winch, M (2006) Biography of a Place: Passages Through a Central Oregon Meadow. Bend, OR: Deschutes County Historical SocietyGoogle Scholar
Young, J (2000) Bromus tectorum L. Pages 76–80 in Bossard, CC, Randall, JM, Hoshovsky, MC, eds. Invasive Plants of California’s Wildlands. Berkeley: University of California PressGoogle Scholar
Zouhar, K (2003) Bromus tectorum. In Fire Effects Information System [Online]. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/graminoid/brotec/all.html. Accessed: May 1, 2013Google Scholar