Photo by Jason Matthias Mills
Since the time of western colonization humans have shaped and altered spaces to meet their needs. The wild areas of California are no exception and have been largely impacted by development over the past several hundred years. Since the first settlers arrived with seeds to sow and livestock to feed, California's grasslands with their fertile soils and robust grasses served as an ideal environment for both farming and ranching. Unfortunately, this came at the expense of the native grassland species which composed them and led to ecological consequences. Introduced exotic plants such as 'yellow star thistle' Centaurea solstitialis, have become highly invasive (Jackson and Bartolome 2007) occupying 9 million hectares in the California (Dukes et al. 2007). Native grasslands have become one of the state’s most threatened ecosystems (Noss et al. 1995). Close to 90% of the plants listed on California's Inventory of Rare and Endangered Species (Skinner and Pavlik 1994) occur within grasslands and all but 4 of the 29 species driven to extinction have occurred within California's grasslands (D'Antonio et al. 2007). Leading native species to account for less than 1% of composition of most California's grasslands today (Barry et al. 2006). It would be difficult to find an ecosystem which has been more disturbed and is more threatened than the grasslands of California.
The question now for natural resource management is to assess what can be done to preserve, protect, or enhance what native grasslands remain. In order to address these issues we must gain a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms of competition and invasibility which have enabled these non-native plants to thrive. Additionally the natural cycles of grassland ecosystems such as prescribed burns should be utilized as tool to reduce invasive populations and give native species a chance to recover. I will demonstrate the effectiveness of fire by looking at its effect on C. solstitialis seed viability, as well as on the grassland community structure following a prescribed burn. Then I will assess the potential to reestablish native flora through the process of habitat restoration in order to shift the competitive advantage back in favor of native species and mitigate future infestations. This information generated from this research will contribute towards finding sustainable strategies to aide in future grassland management efforts.
*Funding support for this research was made possible from the Northern California Botanists Graduate Research Scholarship, the California Native Plant Society Joe Kohn Award and the Big Chico Creek Ecolological Reserve (BCCER) Student Research Grant.
Barry, Sheila, Stephanie Larson, and Melvin George.. California native grasslands: A historical perspective: A guide for developing realistic restoration objectives. Grasslands 16 (2006): 7-11.
D’Antonio, C. M., C. Malmstrom, S. A. Reynolds, and J. Gerlach. 2007. Ecology of Invasive Non-native Species in California Grassland. Pages 67-83 in M. R. Stromberg, J. D. Corbin, and C. M. D'Antonio, editors. California Grasslands: Ecology and Management. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Jackson, Randall D and James W. Bartelome, “Grazing Ecology of California Grasslands.” In California Grasslands: Ecology and Management. Stromberg, Mark R., Jeffrey D. Corbin, and Carla D'Antonio. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2007. 218-229.
Noss, R.F., Laroe, E.T., Scott, J.M. 1995. Endangered ecosystems of the United States: a preliminary assessment of loss and degradation. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Service Biological Report 28, Washington DC, USA.
Skinner, M.W. and B.M. Pavlik. 1994. Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular plants of California. Fifth edition. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, California, USA.
The question now for natural resource management is to assess what can be done to preserve, protect, or enhance what native grasslands remain. In order to address these issues we must gain a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms of competition and invasibility which have enabled these non-native plants to thrive. Additionally the natural cycles of grassland ecosystems such as prescribed burns should be utilized as tool to reduce invasive populations and give native species a chance to recover. I will demonstrate the effectiveness of fire by looking at its effect on C. solstitialis seed viability, as well as on the grassland community structure following a prescribed burn. Then I will assess the potential to reestablish native flora through the process of habitat restoration in order to shift the competitive advantage back in favor of native species and mitigate future infestations. This information generated from this research will contribute towards finding sustainable strategies to aide in future grassland management efforts.
*Funding support for this research was made possible from the Northern California Botanists Graduate Research Scholarship, the California Native Plant Society Joe Kohn Award and the Big Chico Creek Ecolological Reserve (BCCER) Student Research Grant.
Barry, Sheila, Stephanie Larson, and Melvin George.. California native grasslands: A historical perspective: A guide for developing realistic restoration objectives. Grasslands 16 (2006): 7-11.
D’Antonio, C. M., C. Malmstrom, S. A. Reynolds, and J. Gerlach. 2007. Ecology of Invasive Non-native Species in California Grassland. Pages 67-83 in M. R. Stromberg, J. D. Corbin, and C. M. D'Antonio, editors. California Grasslands: Ecology and Management. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Jackson, Randall D and James W. Bartelome, “Grazing Ecology of California Grasslands.” In California Grasslands: Ecology and Management. Stromberg, Mark R., Jeffrey D. Corbin, and Carla D'Antonio. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2007. 218-229.
Noss, R.F., Laroe, E.T., Scott, J.M. 1995. Endangered ecosystems of the United States: a preliminary assessment of loss and degradation. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Service Biological Report 28, Washington DC, USA.
Skinner, M.W. and B.M. Pavlik. 1994. Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular plants of California. Fifth edition. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, California, USA.