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What Research Has Found about Cogongrass Spread and Control in the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem?

What Research Has Found about Cogongrass Spread and Control in the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem?. Shibu Jose School of Forest Resources and Conservation University of Florida. Can species rich longleaf pine ecosystem resist invasion by cogongrass?. Hypotheses.

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What Research Has Found about Cogongrass Spread and Control in the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem?

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  1. What Research Has Found about Cogongrass Spread and Control in the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem? Shibu Jose School of Forest Resources and Conservation University of Florida

  2. Can species rich longleaf pine ecosystem resist invasion by cogongrass?

  3. Hypotheses • Diverse communities use resources more completely and are therefore more resistant to invasion • Diverse communities are more probable to have a species that can outcompete cogongrass or that can limit congongrass growth and spread

  4. Study 1: Black water river state forest

  5. Selected four patches per site Set up 20 2m x 1m plots Used flags to mark edge Remarked edge at each observation interval Study 1: Black water river state forest

  6. Study 1: Black water river state forest • Once plots were established, conducted plant surveys • Group plant species into one of 5 functional groups: annual forbs, perennial forbs, grasses, shrubs and trees

  7. Study 1: Species Richness or Functional Richness Didn’t Matter!!! Collins et al. 2007, Biological Invasions

  8. What does it mean for the longleaf pine ecosystem? Reduction in species richness and diversity

  9. Loss of Key Species?

  10. Changes in soil Properties

  11. Shifts in ecosystem N pools (E.g. 1 year-old-stand with and without cogongrass understory) Pine Pine Below Above Below Above

  12. Changes in Fire Regime and Species Composition: Mortality of Longleaf pine Seedlings and Saplings Lippincot, 1997

  13. Cogongrass burns hotter !!! Lippincot, 1997

  14. Study 2. Are there any species out there that could outcompete cogongrass?

  15. Study 2. Treatments Daneshgar 2007

  16. Gallberry (Ilex glabra) Broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus) Narrowleaf Silkgrass (Pityopsisgraminifolia) Wiregrass (Aristida stricta) Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata)

  17. Study 2. Cogongrass Introduction and Measurements Mesocosm communities were established and allowed to grow for one year Cogongrass was introduced as a single seedling in the center of the mesocosm in April Allowed to grow until mid-August; % cover estimated biweekly; above and belowground biomass harvested and weighed

  18. Study 2. Again, species richness or functional richness didn’t matter!! % cover of cogongrass % cover of native species Daneshgar and Jose 2007, in review

  19. Study 2. Sampling effect was more pronounced than diversity effect!! Control Gallberry wiregrass Partridge pea Broomsedge Daneshgar and Jose 2007, in review

  20. Study 2. How does A. virginicus resist the invasion by cogongrass? Percent root mass at different soil depth by species Daneshgar and Jose 2007, in review

  21. How can we restore infested longleaf pine stands? • Depends on the degree of infestation • Young or sparse infestations - chemical control • Well-established dense infestations – • First line of attack - mechanical, including fire depending on stand conditions • Then chemical control • Ultimately revegetation with species or species mixes that can outcompete cogongrass

  22. Successful Restoration: Which ladder do you take when it comes to cogongrass control?

  23. THANK YOU

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