Soil moisture is a key limiting resource in arid and semi-arid environments for woody shrub species. We assessed if three arid communities differed in their level of dry season soil moisture content and if the dominant species in these communities differed in their ability to use soil moisture. Water potential of all of the dominant woody plant species occurring in chaparral, coastal sage, and ...

The worldwide phenomenon of shrub encroachment in grass-dominated dryland ecosystems is commonly associated with desertification. Studies of the purported desertification effects associated with shrub encroachment are often restricted to relatively few study areas, and document a narrow range of possible impacts upon biota and ecosystem processes. We conducted a study in degraded Mediterranean ...

Invasive plants directly and indirectly disrupt the ecosystem functioning, of which indirect effects, for example, through trophic cascades, are particularly difficult to predict. It is frequently assumed that impact an invading species on proportional (linearly related) its density or abundance in a habitat, but this assumption has rarely been tested. We hypothesised richness potentially polli...

Land use and land cover (LULC) patterns play an important role in the establishment and spread of invasive plants. Understanding LULC changes is useful for early detection and management of land-use change to reduce the spread of invasive species. The primary objective of this study is to analyze and predict LULC changes in Connecticut. LULC maps for 1996, 2001 and 2006 were selected to analyze...

The exotic shrub Lonicera tatarica (Tartarian honeysuckle) has aggressively invaded woodlands and forests in central and eastern North America; however, its impacts on native plant species are not well understood. We used a greenhouse seedling experiment to examine the effects of L. tatarica on Quercus alba (white oak), the presettlement dominant tree of many of these forests. Growthrelated par...

In the western United States, overgrazing, weed invasion and wildfire have resulted in the conversion of shrub-steppe to annual grasslands, with substantial effects on ecosystem function. In these landscapes, badgers disturb large areas of soil while foraging for fossorial animals. Mounds created by badgers contained the lowest concentrations of total carbon, nitrogen and sulphur, mineral nitro...

We used data from regional forest inventories and research programs, coupled with mapped climatic and topographic information, to explore relationships and develop multiple linear regression (MLR) and regression tree models for total and deciduous shrub cover in the Oregon coastal province. Results from both types of models indicate that forest structure variables were most important for explai...

Long-term datasets reveal declines in many populations of landbird migrants, with declines especially evident in shrub-nesting species. Moreover, transitional shrub-dominated habitats are becoming scarce, reducing breeding habitat for these species. Because migrants often occupy habitats en route similar to those used in the breeding season, the persistence of shrub-dominated habitats may be es...