WIKINDX Resources
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Miller, M. E., Belnap, J., Beatty, S. W., & Reynolds, R. L. (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.
Added by: Eric Peterson 2007-10-12 22:43:38 Last edited by: Eric Peterson 2007-10-12 22:44:51
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Categories: General
Keywords: Invasive species, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, Spatial patterns
Creators: Beatty, Belnap, Miller, Reynolds
Collection: Plant Soil
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Number of views: 112
Popularity index: 72.73%
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Abstract
In drylands of southeastern Utah, USA,
the invasive exotic grass Bromus tectorum L. occurs
in distinct spatial patterns suggesting soil control of
ecosystem susceptibility to invasion. To improve our
understanding of these patterns, we examined performance
of B. tectorum in relation to additions of
water, KCl, MgO, and CaO at seventeen 1600 m2
sites distributed across a calcareous soil gradient in
Canyonlands National Park. Water additions resulted
in a 57% increase in B. tectorum establishment. Fall
establishment was significantly correlated with silt
and clay content in wet plots but not in dry plots,
suggesting that texture effects on B. tectorum establishment
patterns may be greater in wet years than in
dry years. Applications of MgO resulted in a 49%
decrease in B. tectorum establishment, although MgO
had no effect on whole-plot biomass at the end of the
growing season. B. tectorum–soil relations were
strongest during winter (December–March) when
relative growth rates were negatively related to soil
acid-neutralizing potential, sand and CaCO3 content,
and a measure of bioavailable Mg; and positively
related to silt and clay content, total N, measures of
bioavailable Mn, P, and K, and a measure of magnetite
indicating distributional patterns of eolian dust.
As soils were persistently moist during this period,
we attribute strong B. tectorum–soil patterns in winter
to effects of low temperature on diffusion, microbial
activity, and/or production of root exudates important
for nutrient mobilization and uptake. In spring, there
was a reversal in B. tectorum–soil relations such that
loamy soils with higher B. tectorum densities were
unfavorable for growth relative to sandy soils with
higher warm-season water potentials. We conclude
that resource limitations for B. tectorum in this study
area shift seasonally, from water limitation of fall
establishment, to nutrient limitation of winter growth,
and back to water limitation of spring growth.
Because study sites generally were arrayed along a
hillslope gradient with downslope trends in soil
vtexture and nutrient content, close B. tectorum–soil
relations documented in this study indicate that a
geomorphic framework is useful for understanding
and predicting B. tectorum invasion patterns in
dryland ecosystems of this region.
Added by: Eric Peterson Last edited by: Eric Peterson
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