Cheatgrass Invasion - The Below-Ground Connection

Evidence that Invasion by Cheatgrass Alters Soil Nitrogen Availability

We hypothesized that cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), an exotic invasive annual, may alter soil nitrogen availability. In the Honey Lake Valley of northeastern, California, we have monitored soil and vegetation along a chronosequence of cheatgrass invasion. In 2007, we measured total C, total N, and N in tissue of cheatgrass, winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata), freckled milkvetch (Astragalus len...

Modeling Carbon Allocation below Ground

Belowground carbon expenditure has been difficult to measure, and even more so to predict. Root growth is influenced by both direct effects on plant metabolism and indirect effects of soil drying and interactions with soil organisms. In Concord grape, crop load may compete with root growth when soil moisture is not limiting. Root lifespan also is difficult to predict but some success can be ach...

Rangeland Conservation Analysis # 2 Controlling Cheatgrass and Woody Species Invasion in the Great Basin

The Issue Invasive species, widely distributed across the western United States, pose critical conservation challenges on both non-Federal and Federal rangelands. Two of the biggest threats to ecosystem stability and integrity in the Great Basin (most of Nevada, a large part of Utah, and smaller sections of Oregon, Idaho, and California) are invasive annual grasses, particularly cheatgrass and ...

Below-ground interactions in dryland agroforestry

This paper discusses the effects of intercropping and tree pruning on root distribution and soil water depletion in an alley cropping system with Acacia saligna and Sorghum bicolor in northern Kenya. Root distribution was determined by destructive sampling, and the soil water suction was measured with tensiometers and gypsum blocks, both up to 150 cm depth. The root systems of the intercropped ...

Mechanosensitivity Below Ground: Touch-Sensitive Smell-