Invasive plants can outcompete native plants, replacing diverse plant communities with monocultures, which can negatively impact the whole ecosystem. One invasive plant, Phragmites australis, has invaded wetlands across North America. In Utah’s Great Salt Lake, it has greatly reduced the area of native plants that are important habitat for migratory birds. Here we describe experiments that assess multiple treatments for Phragmites removal and evaluate the return of native plants after Phragmites management. The treatments were applied to Phragmites patches at two scales (small 1/4-acre plots and large 3-acre plots) and across multiple sites to evaluate how patch size and environmental differences can influence the plants that return after Phragmites removal. The treatments (applied over 3 years and monitored two more) compared two different herbicides (glyphosate and imazapyr) and different herbicide and mowing timings. The treatments evaluated in the large patch study were 1.) untreated control 2.) fall glyphosate, winter mow, 3.) summer imazapyr, winter mow, 4.) summer glyphosate, winter mow. The treatments evaluated in the small patch study included treatments 1-4 above plus 5.) summer mow, fall glyphosate, 6.) summer mow, then black plastic solarization. In the small patches, we also monitored the seeds in the soil to assess how Phragmites management treatments can change the densities of Phragmites and native seeds. Fall glyphosate treatments were superior for Phragmites cover reduction. After the initial treatment, summer herbicide and mow treatments reduced Phragmites seed production, while fall glyphosate did not. Phragmites seeds were plentiful in the soil but were reduced following three years of all herbicide treatments. Native plant recovery following Phragmites management was extremely variable across sites. Sites with high soil moisture had better Phragmites removal and more native plants. But when flooding was deep, native plants were rare. Native seed density in the soil did not change due to Phragmites management, but soil seed densities were different across sites, which influenced native plant recruitment. Phragmites was removed more effectively and native plants returned in greater numbers in small patches compared with large. This was because small patches were typically near established native plant communities, which likely provided more native plant seeds and had hydrology that was less disturbed by human activity. In sites where native plants do not return after Phragmites management, practitioners may need to try revegetation with native plant seeds to restore important native plant communities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-8339 |
| Date | 01 August 2018 |
| Creators | Rohal, Christine B. |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@USU |
| Source Sets | Utah State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | All Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact digitalcommons@usu.edu. |
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