Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ecosystem Impacts of Exotic Annual Invaders in the Genus Bromus

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Exotic Brome-Grasses in Arid and Semiarid Ecosystems of the Western US

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Environmental Management ((SSEM))

Abstract

An understanding of the impacts of exotic plant species on ecosystems is necessary to justify and guide efforts to limit their spread, restore natives, and plan for conservation. Invasive annual grasses such as Bromus tectorum, B. rubens, B. hordeaceus, and B. diandrus (hereafter collectively referred to as Bromus) transform the structure and function of ecosystems they dominate. Experiments that prove cause-and-effect impacts of Bromus are rare, yet inferences can be gleaned from the combination of Bromus-ecosystem associations, ecosystem condition before/after invasion, and an understanding of underlying mechanisms. Bromus typically establishes in bare soil patches and can eventually replace perennials such as woody species or bunchgrasses, creating a homogeneous annual cover. Plant productivity and cover are less stable across seasons and years when Bromus dominates, due to a greater response to annual climate variability. Bromus’ “flash” of growth followed by senescence early in the growing season, combined with shallow rooting and annual habit, may lead to incomplete use of deep soil water, reduced C sequestration, and accelerated nutrient cycling. Litter produced by Bromus alters nearly all aspects of ecosystems and notably increases wildfire occurrence. Where Bromus has become dominant, it can decrease soil stability by rendering soils bare for months following fire or episodic, pathogen-induced stand failure. Bromus-invaded communities have lower species diversity, and associated species tend to be generalists adapted to unstable and variable habitats. Changes in litter, fire, and soil properties appear to feedback to reinforce Bromus’ dominance in a pattern that portends desertification.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abella SR, Craig DJ, Chiquoine LP et al (2011) Relationships of native desert plants with red brome (Bromus rubens): toward identifying invasion-reducing species. Invasive Plant Sci Manag 4:115–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adair EC, Burke IC (2010) Plant phenology and life span influence soil pool dynamics: Bromus tectorum invasion of perennial C3–C4 grass communities. Plant Soil 335:255–269

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Allen E (1988) Some trajectories of succession in Wyoming sagebrush grassland: implications for restoration. In: Allen E (ed) The reconstruction of disturbed arid lands. West Press, Boulder, CO, pp 89–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen EB, Steers RJ, Dickens SJ (2011) Impacts of fire and invasive species on desert soil ecology. Rangeland Ecol Manag 64:450–462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amatangelo KL, Dukes JS, Field CB (2008) Responses of a California annual grassland to litter manipulation. J Veg Sci 19:605–612

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson JE, Inouye RS (2001) Landscape-scale changes in plant species abundance and biodiversity of a sagebrush steppe over 45 years. Ecol Monogr 71:531–556

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arjo WM, Gese EM, Bennett TJ et al (2007) Changes in kit fox-coyote-prey relationships in the Great Basin Desert, Utah. West N Am Naturalist 67:389–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Austreng AC (2012) The carbon budget impact of sagebrush degradation. MS thesis, Boise State University, Boise, ID

    Google Scholar 

  • Bachen D (2014) Cheatgrass invasion of sagebrush steppe: impacts of vegetation structure on small mammals. MS thesis, Montana State University, Bozeman, MO

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagchi S, Briske DD, Bestelmeyer BT et al (2013) Assessing resilience and state-transition models with historical records of cheatgrass Bromus tectorum invasion in North American sagebrush-steppe. J Appl Ecol 50:1131–1141

    Google Scholar 

  • Balch JK, Bradley BA, D’Antonio CM et al (2013) Introduced annual grass increases regional fire activity across the arid western USA (1980–2009). Glob Change Biol 19:173–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bangert R, Huntly N (2010) The distribution of native and exotic plants in a naturally fragmented sagebrush-steppe landscape. Biol Invasions 12:1627–1640

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal S, Sheley RL, Blank B et al (2014) Plant litter effects on soil nutrient availability and vegetation dynamics: changes that occur when annual grasses invade shrub-steppe communities. Plant Ecol 215:367–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J (2003) Factors influencing nitrogen fixation and nitrogen release in biological soil crusts. In: Belnap J, Lange OL (eds) Biological Soil Crusts: Structure, Function, and Management. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany, pp 241–261

    Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J (2011) Biological phosphorus cycling in dryland regions. In: Bünemann EK, Oberson A, Frossard E (eds) Phosphorus in action: biological processes in soil phosphorus cycling, vol 26. Springer Science and Business Media, New York, NY, pp 371–406

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J, Phillips SL (2001) Soil biota in an ungrazed grassland: response to annual grass (Bromus tectorum) invasion. Ecol Appl 11:1261–1275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J, Phillips SL, Sherrod SK et al (2005) Soil biota can change after exotic plant invasion: does this affect ecosystem processes? Ecology 86:3007–3017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belnap J, Stark JM, Rau BJ (2015) Soil moisture and biogeochemical factors influence the distribution of annual Bromus species. In: Germino MJ, Chambers JC, Brown CS (eds) Exotic brome-grasses in arid and semiarid ecosystems of the Western USA: causes, consequences, and management implications. Springer, New York, NY (Chapter 8)

    Google Scholar 

  • Billings W (1990) Bromus tectorum, a biotic cause of ecosystem impoverishment in the Great Basin. In: Woodwell G (ed) The earth in transition: patterns and processes of biotic impoverishment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 301–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Blank RR (2008) Biogeochemistry of plant Invasion: a case study with downy brome (Bromus tectorum). Invasive Plant Sci Manag 1:226–239

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blank RR, Morgan T, Clements CD et al (2013) Bromus tectorum L. invasion: changes in soil properties and rates of bioturbation. Soil Sci 178:281–290

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bolton H, Smith JL, Wildung RE (1990) Nitrogen mineralization potentials of shrub-steppe soils with different disturbance histories. Soil Sci Soc Am J 54:887–891

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Booth MS, Stark JM, Caldwell MM (2003) Inorganic N turnover and availability in annual- and perennial-dominated soils in a northern Utah shrub-steppe ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 66:311–330

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Booth MS, Stark JM, Rastetter E (2005) Controls on nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems: a synthetic analysis of literature data. Ecol Monogr 75:139–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boxell J, Drohan PJ (2009) Surface soil physical and hydrological characteristics in Bromus tectorum L. (cheatgrass) versus Artemisia tridentata Nutt. (big sagebrush) habitat. Geoderma 149:305–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley BA, Houghtonw RA, Mustard JF et al (2006) Invasive grass reduces aboveground carbon stocks in shrublands of the Western US. Glob Change Biol 12:1815–1822

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks ML (1999) Habitat invasibility and dominance by alien annual plants in the western Mojave Desert. Biol Invasions 1:325–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks ML (2000) Competition between alien annual grasses and native annual plants in the Mojave Desert. Am Midl Nat 144(1):92–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks ML, Esque TC (2002) Alien plants and fire in desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) habitat of the Mojave and Colorado deserts. Chelonian Conserv Biol 4:330–340

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks ML, Matchett JR (2003) Plant community patterns in unburned and burned blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima Torr.) shrublands in the Mojave Desert. West N Am Nat 63:283–298

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks ML, Matchett JR (2006) Spatial and temporal patterns of wildfires in the Mojave Desert, 1980–2004. J Arid Environ 67:148–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks ML, Zouhar K (2008) Plant invasions and fire regimes. In: Zouhar K, Kapler Smith J et al. (eds) Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on flora. Gen Tech Rep RMRS-GTR-42. USDA, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO, pp 33–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks ML, D'Antonio CM, Richardson DM et al (2004) Effects of invasive alien plants on fire regimes. Bioscience 54:677–688

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks ML, Belnap J, Brown CS et al (2015) Exotic annual Bromus invasions – comparisons among species and ecoregions in the Western United States. In: Germino MJ, Chambers JC, Brown CS (eds) Exotic brome-grasses in arid and semiarid ecosystems of the Western USA: causes, consequences and management implications. Springer, New York, NY (Chapter 2)

    Google Scholar 

  • Busby RR, Passchke MW, Stromberger ME et al (2012) Seasonal variation in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi root colonization of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), an invasive winter annual. J Ecosyst Ecogr S8-001

    Google Scholar 

  • Chambers JC, Roundy BA, Blank RR et al (2007) What makes Great Basin sagebrush ecosystems invasible by Bromus tectorum? Ecol Monogr 77:117–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers JC, Bradley BA, Brown CS et al (2014) Resilience to stress and disturbance, and resistance to Bromus tectorum L. invasion in cold desert shrublands of western North America. Ecosystems 17:360–375

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers JC, Germino MJ, Belnap J et al (2015) Plant community resistance to invasion by Bromus species – the roles of community attributes, Bromus interactions with plant communities, and Bromus traits. In: Germino MJ, Chambers JC, Brown CS (eds) Exotic brome-grasses in arid and semiarid ecosystems of the Western USA: causes, consequences, and management implications. Springer, New York, NY (Chapter 10)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cline J, Uresk D, Rickard W (1977) Comparison of soil water used by a sagebrush-bunchgrass and a cheatgrass community. J Range Manag 30:199–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connelly J, Rinkes E, Braun C (2011) Characteristics of greater sage-grouse habitats: a landscape species at micro and macro scales. Stud Avian Biol 38:69–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Corbin J, Dyer A, Seabloom E (2007) California grasslands: ecology and management. In: Stromberg MR, Corbin JD, D’Antonio CM (eds) California grasslands: ecology and management. UC Press, Berkeley, pp 156–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox RD, Preston KL, Johnson RF et al (2014) Influence of landscape-scale variables on vegetation conversion to exotic annual grassland in southern California, USA. Glob Ecol Conserv 2:190–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craddock GW, Pearse CK (1938) Surface run-off and erosion on granitic mountain soils of Idaho as influenced by range cover, soil disturbance, slope, and precipitation intensity. USDA 482:1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Antonio CM, Vitousek PM (1992) Biological invasions by exotic grasses, the grass fire cycle, and global change. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 23:63–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies KW, Nafus AM (2013) Exotic annual grass invasion alters fuel amounts, continuity and moisture content. Int J Wildland Fire 22:353–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies KW, Bates JD, James JJ (2009) Microsite and herbaceous vegetation heterogeneity after burning Artemisia tridentata steppe. Oecologia 159:597–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies KW, Boyd CS, Beck JL et al (2011) Saving the sagebrush sea: an ecosystem conservation plan for big sagebrush plant communities. Biol Conserv 144:2573–2584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeFalco LA, Detling JK, Tracy CR et al (2001) Physiological variation among native and exotic winter annual plants associated with microbiotic crusts in the Mojave Desert. Plant Soil 234:1–14

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DeFalco LA, Fernandez GCJ, Nowak RS (2007) Variation in the establishment of a non-native annual grass influences competitive interactions with Mojave Desert perennials. Biol Invasions 9:293–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickens SJM, Allen EB (2014a) Soil nitrogen cycling is resilient to invasive, exotic annuals following restoration of coastal sage scrub. J Arid Environ 110:12–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickens SJM, Allen EB (2014b) Exotic plant invasion alters chaparral ecosystem resistance and resilience pre- and post-wildfire. Biol Invasions 16:1119–1130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickens SJM, Allen EB, Santiago LS et al (2013) Exotic annuals alter the variation in coastal sage scrub soil chemical and biological characteristics. Soil Biol Biochem 58:70–81

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dighton J (1983) Phosphatase production by mycorrhizal fungi. Plant Soil 71:455–462

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Earnst SL, Holmes AL (2012) Bird-habitat relationships in interior Columbia Basin shrubsteppe. Condor 114:15–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Egerton-Warburton LM, Allen EB (2000) Shifts in arbuscular mycorrhizal communities along an anthropogenic nitrogen deposition gradient. Ecol Appl 10:484–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esque TC (1994) Diet and diet selection of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in the northeast Mojave Desert. MS thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

    Google Scholar 

  • Esque TC, Búrquez AM, Schwalbe CR et al (2002) Fire ecology of the Sonoran Desert tortoise. In: Van Devender TR (ed) The Sonoran Desert tortoise: natural history, biology, and conservation. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ, pp 312–333

    Google Scholar 

  • Esque TC, Drake KK, Nussear KE (2014) Water and food acquisition and their consequences on life history and metabolism of North American tortoises. In: Rostal D, Mushinsky H, McCoy ED (eds) Ecology of North American tortoises. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, MD, pp 85–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans RD, Belnap J (1999) Long-term consequences of disturbance on nitrogen dynamics in an arid ecosystem. Ecology 80:150–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans RA, Young JA (1970) Plant litter and establishment of alien annual weed species in rangeland communities. Weed Sci 18:697–703

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans RA, Young JA (1972) Microsite requirements for establishment of annual rangeland weeds. Weed Sci 20:350–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans RD, Rimer R, Sperry L et al (2001) Exotic plant invasion alters nitrogen dynamics in an arid grassland. Ecol Appl 11:1301–1310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman ED, Sharp TR, Larsen RT et al (2014) Negative effects of an exotic grass invasion on small-mammal communities. Plos One 9:e108843

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frossard E, Brossard M, Hedley MJ et al (1991) Reactions controlling the cycling of P in soils. In: Tiessen H (ed) Phosphorus in the global environment: transfers, cycles, and management. Wiley, England, p 325

    Google Scholar 

  • Gano K, Rickard W (1982) Small mammals of a bitterbrush-cheatgrass community. Northwest Sci 56:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Gasch CK, Enloe SF, Stahl PD et al (2013) An aboveground-belowground assessment of ecosystem properties associated with exotic annual brome invasion. Biol Fertil Soils 49:919–928

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Germnio MJ, Chambers JC, Brown CS (2015) Introduction: exotic annual Bromus in the Western US. In: Germino MJ, Chambers JC, Brown CS (eds) Exotic brome-grasses in arid and semiarid ecosystems of the Western USA: causes, consequences, and management implications. Springer, New York, NY (Chapter 1)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill RA, Burke IC (1999) Ecosystem consequences of plant life form changes at three sites in the semiarid United States. Oecologia 121:551–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gopalani S (2004) Changes in soil phosphorus caused by Bromus tectorum in four contrasting Mojave Desert soils and in comparison with Hilaria jamesii in a Canyonlands soil. Unpub MS thesis, University of Denver, Denver, CO

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffith AB (2010) Positive effects of native shrubs on Bromus tectorum demography. Ecology 91:141–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gundale MJ, Sutherland S, DeLuca TH (2008) Fire, native species, and soil resource interactions influence the spatio-temporal invasion pattern of Bromus tectorum. Ecography 31:201–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall LK (2012) Effect of cheatgrass on abundance of the North American deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Southwest Nat 57:166–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen KK (1999) Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) invasion in relation to phosphorus sources and availability in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. PhD dissertation, University of Denver, Denver, CO

    Google Scholar 

  • Hasselquist NJ, Germino MJ, Sankey JB et al (2011) Aeolian nutrient fluxes following wildfire in sagebrush steppe: implications for soil carbon storage. Biogeosciences 8:3649–3659

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes CV, Wren IF, Herman DJ et al (2005) Plant invasion alters nitrogen cycling by modifying the soil nitrifying community. Ecol Lett 8:976–985

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes CV, Belnap J, D’Antonio C et al (2006) Arbuscular mycorrhizal assemblages in native plant roots change in the presence of invasive exotic grasses. Plant Soil 281:369–380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hironaka M (1961) The relative rate of root development of cheatgrass and medusahead. J Range Manag 14:263–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooker TD, Stark JM (2008) Soil C and N cycling in three semiarid vegetation types: response to an in situ pulse of plant detritus. Soil Biol Biochem 40:2678–2685

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hooker TD, Stark JM, Norton U et al (2008) Distribution of ecosystem C and N within contrasting vegetation types in a semiarid rangeland in the Great Basin, USA. Biogeochemistry 90:291–308

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoover AN, Germino MJ (2012) A common-garden study of resource-island effects on a native and an exotic, annual grass after fire. Rangel Ecol Manag 65:160–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulbert LC (1955) Ecological studies of Bromus tectorum and other annual bromegrasses. Ecol Monogr 25:181–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulme PE, Pysek P, Jarosik V et al (2013) Bias and error in understanding plant invasion impacts. Trends Ecol Evol 28:212–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey LD, Schupp EW (2004) Competition as a barrier to establishment of a native perennial grass (Elymus elymoides) in alien annual grass (Bromus tectorum) communities. J Arid Environ 58:405–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings WB (2002) Diet selection by the desert tortoise in relation to the flowering phenology of ephemeral plants. Chelonian Conserv Biol 4:353–358

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson GD, Boyce MS (1990) Feeding trials with insects in the diet of sage grouse chicks. J Wildlife Manag 54:89–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones R, Chambers JC, Johnson DW et al (2015a) Effect of repeated burning on plant and soil carbon and nitrogen in cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) dominated ecosystems. Plant Soil 386:47–64

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones R, Chambers JC, Board DI et al (2015b) Understanding the role of resource limitation in restoration of sagebrush ecosystems dominated by cheatgrass – a mechanistic approach. Ecosphere 6:Art107

    Google Scholar 

  • Jurinak JJ, Dudley LM, Allen MF et al (1986) The role of calcium-oxalate in the availability of phosphorus in soils of semiarid regions – a thermodynamic study. Soil Sci 142:255–261

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kelrick MI, MacMahon JA (1985) Nutritional and physical attributes of seeds of some common sagebrush-steppe plants – some implications for ecological theory and management. J Range Manag 38:65–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleiner EF, Harper K (1977) Occurrence of four major perennial grasses in relation to edaphic factors in a pristine community. J Range Manag 30:286–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klemmedson JO, Smith JG (1964) Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.). Bot Rev 30:226–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knapp PA (1996) Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L) dominance in the Great Basin Desert – History, persistence, and influences to human activities. Glob Environ Change 6:37–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight WG (1991) Chemistry of arid region soils. In: Skujins J (ed) Semiarid lands and deserts soil resource and reclamation. Marcel Dekker, New York, NY, pp 111–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight W, Dudley L, Jurinak J (1992) Oxalate effects on solution phosphorus in a calcareous soil. Arid Land Res Manag 6:11–20

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lajtha K, Schlesinger WH (1988) The biogeochemistry of phosphorus cycling and phosphorus availability along a desert soil chronosequence. Ecology 69:24–39

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Larrison EJ, Johnson DR (1973) Density changes and habitat affinities of rodents of shadscale and sagebrush associations. Great Basin Nat 33:255–264

    Google Scholar 

  • Liao C, Peng R, Luo Y et al (2008) Altered ecosystem carbon and nitrogen cycles by plant invasion: a meta-analysis. New Phytol 177:706–714

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Link SO, Gee GW, Downs JL (1990) The effect of water stress on phenological and ecophysiological characteristics of cheatgrass and Sandberg's bluegrass. J Range Manag 43:506–513

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Link SO, Keeler CW, Hill RW et al (2006) Bromus tectorum cover mapping and fire risk. Int J Wildland Fire 15:113–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mack RN (1981) Invasion of Bromus tectorum L. into Western North America: an ecological chronicle. Agro-Ecosystems 7:145–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McArthur ED, Sanderson SC, Webb BL (1994) Nutritive quality and mineral content of potential desert tortoise food plants. Research Paper INT-473. USDA, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Ogden, UT, p 26

    Google Scholar 

  • McCrary MD, Bloom PH (1984) Lethal effects of introduced grasses on red-shouldered hawks. J Wildlife Manag 48:1005–1008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Medica PA, Eckert SE (2007) Gopherus agassizii, desert tortoise. Food/mechanical Injury. Natural history notes. Herpetol Rev 38:446–448

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller ME, Belnap J, Beatty SW et al (2006) Performance of Bromus tectorum L. in relation to soil properties, water additions, and chemical amendments in calcareous soils of southeastern Utah, USA. Plant Soil 288:1–18

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller ME, Bowker MA, Reynolds RL et al (2012) Post-fire land treatments and wind erosion – Lessons from the Milford Flat Fire, UT, USA. Aeolian Res 7:29–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monaco TA, Hardegree SP, Pellant M et al (2015) Assessing restoration and management needs for ecosystems invaded by exotic annual Bromus species. In: Germino MJ, Chambers JC, Brown CS (eds) Exotic brome-grasses in arid and semiarid ecosystems of the Western USA: causes, consequences, and management implications. Springer, New York, NY (Chapter 12)

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris KA, Stark JM, Bugbee B et al (accepted) Root exudates and senescence of cheatgrass and crested wheatgrass contribute to nitrogen cycling in the rhizosphere. Oecologia

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray RB (1971) Grazing capacity, sheep gains: cheatgrass, bunchgrass ranges in southern Idaho. J Range Manag 24:407–410

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray R, Klemmedson J (1968) Cheatgrass range in southern Idaho: seasonal cattle gains and grazing capacities. J Range Manag 21:308–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagy KA, Henen BT, Vyas DB (1998) Nutritional quality of native and introduced food plants of wild desert tortoises. J Herpetol 32:260–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newbold TAS, Carpenter GC (2005) Desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) locomotor performance: the influence of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Southwest Nat 50:17–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton JB, Monaco TA, Norton JM et al (2004) Soil morphology and organic matter dynamics under cheatgrass and sagebrush-steppe plant communities. J Arid Environ 57:445–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton U, Mosier A, Morgan J et al (2008) Moisture pulses, trace gas emissions and soil C and N in cheatgrass and native grass-dominated sagebrush-steppe in Wyoming, USA. Soil Biol Biochem 40:1421–1431

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norton U, Saetre P, Hooker TD et al (2012) Vegetation and moisture controls on soil carbon mineralization in semiarid environments. Soil Sci Soc Am J 76:1038–1047

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ogle SM, Ojima D, Reiners WA (2004) Modeling the impact of exotic annual brome grasses on soil organic carbon storage in a northern mixed-grass prairie. Biol Invasions 6:365–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostoja SM, Schupp EW (2009) Conversion of sagebrush shrublands to exotic annual grasslands negatively impacts small mammal communities. Divers Distrib 15:863–870

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostoja SM, Schupp EW, Sivy K (2009) Ant assemblages in intact big sagebrush and converted cheatgrass-dominated habitats in Tooele County, Utah. West North Ame Nat 69:223–234

    Google Scholar 

  • Paez RA (2011) Opinion on Adams et al. vs. United States of America and DuPont, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 10-35611, D.C. No. v. 4:03-cv-00049-BLW OPINION, Filed 8 September

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker SS, Schimel JP (2010) Invasive grasses increase nitrogen availability in California grassland soils. Invasive Plant Sci Manag 3:40–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson R (1952) The sage grouse in Wyoming. Sage Books, Denver, CO

    Google Scholar 

  • Peek MS, Leffler AJ, Ivans CY et al (2005) Fine root distribution and persistence under field conditions of three co-occurring Great Basin species of different life form. New Phytol 165:171–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piemeisel RL (1951) Causes affecting change and rate of change in a vegetation of annuals in Idaho. Ecology 32:53–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prater MR, DeLucia EH (2006) Non-native grasses alter evapotranspiration and energy balance in Great Basin sagebrush communities. Agr Forest Meteorol 139:154–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prater MR, Obrist D, Arnone JA et al (2006) Net carbon exchange and evapotranspiration in postfire and intact sagebrush communities in the Great Basin. Oecologia 146:595–607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prevey JS, Germino MJ, Huntly NJ et al (2010) Exotic plants increase and native plants decrease with loss of foundation species in sagebrush steppe. Plant Ecol 207:39–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyke DA, Beck JL, Brooks ML et al (2015) Land uses, fire, and invasion – exotic annual Bromus and human dimensions. In: Germino MJ, Chambers JC, Brown CS (eds) Exotic brome-grasses in arid and semiarid ecosystems of the Western USA: causes, consequences, and management implications. Springer, New York, NY (Chapter 11)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao LE, Matchett JR, Brooks ML et al (2015) Relationships between annual plant productivity, nitrogen deposition and fire size in low-elevation California desert scrub. Int J Wildland Fire 24:48–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rau BM, Johnson DW, Blank RR et al (2011) Transition from Sagebrush steppe to annual Grass (Bromus tectorum): influence on belowground carbon and nitrogen. Rangel Ecol Manag 64:139–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reever Morghan KJ, Corbin JD, Gerlach J (2007) Water relations. In: Stromberg MR, Corbin JD, D’Antonio CM (eds) California grasslands: ecology and management. UC Press, Berkeley, CA (Chapter 7)

    Google Scholar 

  • Reisner MD, Grace JB, Pyke DA et al (2013) Conditions favouring Bromus tectorum dominance of endangered sagebrush steppe ecosystems. J Appl Ecol 50:1039–1049

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson KA, West SD, Gitzen RA (2013) Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) dominates cheek pouch contents of the great basin pocket mouse (Perognathus parvus). West N Am Nat 73:158–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rieder JP, Newbold TAS, Ostoja SM (2010) Structural changes in vegetation coincident with annual grass invasion negatively impacts sprint velocity of small vertebrates. Biol Invasions 12:2429–2439

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rimer RL, Evans RD (2006) Invasion of downy brome (Bromus tectorum L.) causes rapid changes in the nitrogen cycle. Am Midl Nat 156:252–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson IC, Klemash D (2003) Insect mediated pollination in slickspot peppergrass, Lepidium papilliferum L. (Brassicaceae), and its implications for population viability. West N Am Nat 63:333–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowe HI, Brown CS (2008) Native plant growth and seedling establishment in soils influenced by Bromus tectorum. Rangel Ecol Manag 61:630–639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowland RH, Turner FB (1964) Correlation of the local distributions of Dipodomys microps and D. merriami and of the annual grass Bromus rubens. Southwest Nat 9:56–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryel RJ, Ivans CY, Peek MS et al (2008) Functional differences in soil water pools: a new perspective on plant water use in water-limited ecosystems. In: Progress in botany, vol 69. Springer, pp 397–422

    Google Scholar 

  • Saetre P, Stark JM (2005) Microbial dynamics and carbon and nitrogen cycling following re-wetting of soils beneath two semi-arid plant species. Oecologia 142:247–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salo LF, McPherson GR, Williams DG (2005) Sonoran Desert winter annuals affected by density of red brome and soil nitrogen. Am Midl Nat 153:95–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sankey JB, Glenn NF, Germino MJ et al (2010) Relationships of aeolian erosion and deposition with LiDAR-derived landscape surface roughness following wildfire. Geomorphology 119:135–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaeffer SM, Ziegler SE, Belnap J et al (2012) Effects of Bromus tectorum invasion on microbial carbon and nitrogen cycling in two adjacent undisturbed arid grassland communities. Biogeochemistry 111:427–441

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder MA, Young JR, Braun CE (1999) Sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). In: Poole A, Gill F (eds) The Birds of North America, vol 425. Birds of North America, Philadelphia, PA, p 28

    Google Scholar 

  • Sigueenza C, Corkidi L, Allen EB (2006) Feedbacks of soil inoculum of mycorrhizal fungi altered by N deposition on the growth of a native shrub and an invasive annual grass. Plant Soil 286:153–165

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singer MJ, Shainberg I (2004) Mineral soil surface crusts and wind and water erosion. Earth Surf Process 29:1065–1075

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smart DR, Stark JM, Diego V (1999) Resource limitations to nitric oxide emissions from a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 47:63–86

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sperry LJ, Belnap J, Evans RD (2006) Bromus tectorum invasion alters nitrogen dynamics in an undisturbed arid grassland ecosystem. Ecology 87:603–615

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stark JM, Hart SC (1997) High rates of nitrification and nitrate turnover in undisturbed coniferous forests. Nature 385:61–64

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stark JM, Norton JM (2015) The invasive annual cheatgrass increases nitrogen availability in 24-year-old replicated field plots. Oecologia 177:799–809

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stark JM, Hooker T, Saetre P et al (2006) Changes in soil nitrogen and carbon cycling in big sagebrush ecosystems following exotic grass introduction and invasion. Ecol Soc Am Abstracts Merida, Mexico

    Google Scholar 

  • Steenhof K, Yensen E, Kochert MN et al (2006) Populations and habitat relationships of Piute ground squirrels in southwestern Idaho. West N Am Nat 66:482–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart G, Hull A (1949) Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) – an ecologic intruder in southern Idaho. Ecology 30:58–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svejcar T, Sheley R (2001) Nitrogen dynamics in perennial- and annual-dominated arid rangeland. J Arid Environ 47:33–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turkowski FJ (1975) Dietary adaptability of the desert cottontail. J Wildlife Manag 39:748–756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Horne B, Schooley RL, Sharpe PB (1998) Influence of habitat, sex, age, and drought on the diet of Townsend’s ground squirrels. J Mammal 79:521–537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VanHorne B, Olson GS, Schooley RL et al (1997) Effects of drought and prolonged winter on Townsend’s ground squirrel demography in shrubsteppe habitats. Ecol Monogr 67:295–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verburg PSJ, Arnone JA, Obrist D et al (2004) Net ecosystem carbon exchange in two experimental grassland ecosystems. Glob Change Biol 10:498–508

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagenbrenner NS, Germino MJ, Lamb BK et al (2013) Wind erosion from a sagebrush steppe burned by wildfire: measurements of PM10 and total horizontal sediment flux. Aeolian Res 10:25–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallestad R, Eng RL (1975) Foods of adult sage grouse in central Montana. J Wildlife Manag 39:628–630

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber CF, King GM, Aho K (2015) Relative abundance of and composition within fungal orders differ between cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)-associated soils. Plos One 10:e0117026

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • West NE, Yorks TP (2006) Long-term interactions of climate, productivity, species richness, and growth form in relictual sagebrush steppe plant communities. West N Am Nat 66:502–526

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whisenant SG (1990) Changing fire frequencies on Idaho’s Snake River Plains: ecological and management implications. In: McArthur ED, Romney EM, Smith SD et al (eds) Symposium on cheatgrass invasion, shrub die-off, and other aspects of shrub biology and management, 5–7 April 1989. Gen Tech Rep INT-276. USDA, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Ogden, UT, pp 4–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox BP, Turnbull L, Young MH et al (2012) Invasion of shrublands by exotic grasses: ecohydrological consequences in cold versus warm deserts. Ecohydrology 5:160–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • US Fish and Wildlife Service (2003) Recovery plan for the quino checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha quino). www.fws.gov/Carlsbad/SpeciesStatusList/RP/20030811_RP_QCB.pdf

  • Wolkovich EM, Bolger DT, Cottingham KL (2009) Invasive grass litter facilitates native shrubs through abiotic effects. J Veg Sci 20:1121–1132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood YA, Meixner T, Shouse PJ et al (2006) Altered ecohydrologic response drives native shrub loss under conditions of elevated nitrogen deposition. J Environ Qual 35:76–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wylie B (2012) Mapping cheatgrass dieoff in the Northern Great Basin using ecosystem performance modeling. Final report to Northwest Climate Science Center. https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/50477198e4b067bd38f7f4fb

  • Yensen E, Quinney DL, Johnson K et al (1992) Fire, vegetation changes, and population fluctuations of Townsend’s ground squirrels. Am Midl Nat 128:299–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zouhar K (2003) Bromus tectorum. In: Fire Effects Information System [Online]. USDA, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/

Download references

Acknowledgments

Patti Haggerty assisted with map production for figures. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Boise, ID, 83706, USA

    Matthew J. Germino

  2. US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT, 84532, USA

    Jayne Belnap

  3. Department of Biology, and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322-5305, USA

    John M. Stark

  4. Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA

    Edith B. Allen

  5. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Aiken, SC, 29803, USA

    Benjamin M. Rau

Authors
  1. Matthew J. Germino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jayne Belnap
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John M. Stark
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Edith B. Allen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Benjamin M. Rau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew J. Germino .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. US Geological Survey, Boise, Idaho, USA

    Matthew J. Germino

  2. Rocky Mountain Experimental Station, US Forest Service, Reno, Nevada, USA

    Jeanne C. Chambers

  3. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

    Cynthia S. Brown

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Germino, M.J., Belnap, J., Stark, J.M., Allen, E.B., Rau, B.M. (2016). Ecosystem Impacts of Exotic Annual Invaders in the Genus Bromus . In: Germino, M., Chambers, J., Brown, C. (eds) Exotic Brome-Grasses in Arid and Semiarid Ecosystems of the Western US. Springer Series on Environmental Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24930-8_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation