Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T14:17:16.339Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Woody Shrubs as a Barrier to Invasion by Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Lisa Y. Yager*
Affiliation:
Camp Shelby Field Office, The Nature Conservancy, Camp Shelby, MS 39407
Deborah L. Miller
Affiliation:
University of Florida, West Florida Research and Education Center, Hwy. 5988, Bldg. 4900, Milton, FL 32483
Jeanne Jones
Affiliation:
Mississippi State University, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Mississippi State, MS 39762
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: lyager63@yahoo.com

Abstract

Cogongrass invades forests through rhizomatous growth and wind-dispersed seeds. Increased density and abundance of woody vegetation along forest edges may strengthen biotic resistance to invasion by creating a vegetative barrier to dispersal, growth, or establishment of cogongrass. We evaluated differences in dispersal of cogongrass spikelets experimentally released from road edges into tallgrass-dominated and shrub-encroached longleaf pine forests (Pinus palustris). Average maximum dispersal distances were greater in the pine–tallgrass forest (17.3 m) compared to the pine–shrub forest association (9.4 m). Spikelets were more likely to be intercepted by vegetation in pine–shrub forests compared to pine–tallgrass forests. Results suggest that dense woody vegetation along forest edges will slow spread from wind-dispersed cogongrass seeds.

Type
Research
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

Brewer, J. S. 2008. Declines in plant species richness and endemic plant species in longleaf pine savannas invaded by Imperata cylindrica . Biol. Invasions 10:12571264.Google Scholar
Brothers, T. S. and Spingarn, A. 1992. Forest fragmentation and alien plant invasion of central Indiana old-growth forests. Conserv. Biol 6:91100.Google Scholar
Cadenasso, M. L. and Pickett, S. T. A. 2001. Effect of edge structure on the flux of species into forest interiors. Conserv. Biol 15:9197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D'Antonio, C. M. and Meyerson, L. 2002. Exotic species and restoration: synthesis and research needs. Restor. Ecol 10:703713.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frost, C. C. 2006. History and future of the longleaf pine ecosystem. Pages 942. In Jose, S., Jokela, E. J., and Miller, D. L. eds. The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem: Ecology, Silviculture, and Restoration. New York Springer Science + Business Science Media.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaffney, J. F. 1996. Ecophysiological and Technological Factors Influencing the Management of Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica). Ph.D Dissertation. Gainesville, FL University of Florida. 111 p.Google Scholar
Holm, L. G., Plucknett, D. L., Pancho, J. V., and Herberger, J. P. 1977. Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. Pages. 6271. in. The World's Worst Weeds: Distribution and Biology. Honolulu, HI University Press of Hawaii.Google Scholar
Lippincott, C. L. 2000. Effects of Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. (cogongrass) invasion on fire regime in Florida sandhill (USA). Nat. Areas J 20:140149.Google Scholar
MacDonald, G. E. 2004. Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica)—biology, ecology, and management. Crit. Rev. Plant Sci 23:367380.Google Scholar
National Climatic Data Center 2008. 2008 Local Climatological Data, Annual Summary with Comparative Data, Meridian, Mississippi. Rocket Center, WV National Climatic Data Center. 8 p.Google Scholar
Ott, L. 1988. An Introduction to Statistical Methods and Data Analysis. 3rd ed. Boston PWS-KENT.Google Scholar
Quinn, G. P. and Keough, M. J. 2002. Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Radosevich, S. R., Stubbs, M. M., and Ghersa, C. M. 2003. Plant invasions—process and patterns. Weed Sci 51:254259.Google Scholar
Rejmanek, M., Richardson, D. M., and Pysek, P. 2005. Plant invasions and invasibility of plant communities. Pages 332355. In Van der Maarel, E. ed. Vegetation Ecology. Oxford Blackwell Science.Google Scholar
SAS Institute, Inc 2004. SAS 9.1.3 Help and Documentation: Your Complete Guide to Syntax, How to, Examples, Procedures, Concepts, What's New and Tutorials. Cary, NC SAS Institute, Inc.Google Scholar
Yager, L. Y. 2007. Watching the grass grow: effects of habitat type, patch size, and land use on cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.) spread on Camp Shelby Training Site, Mississippi. Ph.D Dissertation. Mississippi State, MS Mississippi State University. 178 p.Google Scholar
Yager, L. Y., Miller, D. L., and Jones, J. 2010. Susceptibility of longleaf pine forest associations in south Mississippi to invasion by cogongrass [Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.]. Nat. Areas J 30:226232.Google Scholar