Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T17:43:46.248Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Establishment of Salsola tragus on aeolian sands: A Southern Colorado Plateau case study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2019

Kathryn A. Thomas Open the ORCID record for Kathryn A. Thomas [Opens in a new window]  and
Margaret Hiza Redsteer Open the ORCID record for Margaret Hiza Redsteer [Opens in a new window]
Kathryn A. Thomas*
Affiliation:
Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Tucson, AZ, USA
Margaret Hiza Redsteer
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington, Bothell, WA, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Kathryn A. Thomas, U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center, 520 North Park Street, Suite 221, Tucson, AZ 85719 (Email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Russian-thistle (Salsola tragus L.), is a nonnative, C4 photosynthesizing, annual plant that infests disturbed and natural areas in the arid U.S. Southwest. Land managers of natural areas may need to decide whether a S. tragus infestation is potentially harmful and whether it should be actively managed. One factor informing that decision is an understanding of the conditions under which this weed emerges and establishes and how those processes affect where and when infestations occur. We studied S. tragus establishment on aeolian (windblown) sandy soils at Petrified Forest National Park, AZ. Our sites were a previously disturbed sand sheet and a semistabilized sand dune. Measurements in plots on these sites over two growing seasons revealed a similar number of S. tragus seedlings emerging on both sites early in the 2015 growing season. As the season progressed, S. tragus cover (seedling survival and growth) was lower on the sand dune, except for a plot placed entirely on a coppice mound. In 2016, S. tragus seedling emergence and development of cover, measured on plots at both sites, was exceptionally low, as was summer rainfall. A growth chamber assay of seedling emergence from soil and litter samples collected at each site showed emergence was greatest from samples collected where S. tragus litter remained on the soil surface, and otherwise was infrequent. Our study suggests that S. tragus emergence and early establishment are sensitive to low precipitation and that soil-surface microtopography and grass and shrub cover may be determinants of the spatial pattern of infestation on sandy soils. As aeolian sands occur throughout drylands of the U.S. Southwest, deeper understanding of the conditions under which S. tragus seedlings emerge and establish can inform management of this invasive annual in those habitats.

Keywords

Drylandsdune destabilizationdunesestablishmentinvasive plantsnonnative annual plantsPetrified Forest National Parksand sheetsseedling emergence
Type
Case Study
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , June 2019 , pp. 124 - 132
Copyright
© Weed Science Society of America, 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Associate Editor: Edith Allen, University of California, Riverside

References

Allen, EB (1982a) Germination and competition of Salsola kali with native C3 and C4 species under three temperature regimes. Bull Torrey Bot Club 109:39–46 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, EB (1982b) Water and nutrient competition between Salsola kali and two native grass species (Agropyron smithii and Bouteloua gracilis). Ecology 63:732–741 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, EB, Allen, MF (1988) Facilitation of succession by the nonmycotrophic colonizer Salsola kali (Chenopodiaceae) on a harsh site: effects of mycorrhizal fungi. Am J Bot 75:257–266 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, MF, Allen, EB, Friese, CF (1989) Responses of the non-mycotrophic plant Salsola kali to invasion by vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. New Phytol 111:45–49 Google Scholar
Barrows, CW (1997) Habitat relationships of the Coachella Valley fringe-toes lizard (Uma inornata). Southwest Nat 42:218–223 Google Scholar
Blackburn, TM, Pyšek, P, Bacher, S, Carlton, JT, Duncan, RP, Jarošík, V, Wilson, JRU, Richardson, DM (2011) A proposed unified framework for biological invasions. Trends Ecol Evol 26:333–339 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bogle, R, Redsteer, MH, Vogel, J (2015) Field measurements and analysis of climatic factors affecting dune mobility in the Grand Falls area of the Navajo Nation of the Colorado Plateau, southwestern United States. J Geomorph 228:41–51 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Catford, JA, Jansson, R, Nilsson, C (2009) Reducing redundancy in invasion ecology by integrating hypotheses into a single theoretical framework. Biodiversity Rev 15:22–40 Google Scholar
Draut, AE, Redsteer, MH, Amoroso, L (2012) Recent seasonal variations in arid landscape cover and aeolian sand mobility, Navajo Nation, Southwestern U.S. Pages 51–60 in Giosan, L, Fuller, DQ, Nicoll, K, Flad, RK, Clift, PD, eds. Climates, Landscapes, and Civilizations. Geophysical Union Monograph Series 198. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union Google Scholar
Dwyer, DD, Wold-Yohannis, K (1972) Germination, emergence, water use, and production of Russian thistle (Salsola kali L.). Agron J 64:52–55 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, RA, Young, JA (1972) Germination and establishment of Salsola in relation to seedbed environment. II Seed distribution, germination, and seedling growth of Salsola and microenvironmental monitoring of the seedbed. Agron J 64:219–224 Google Scholar
Gabbert, B (2014) Tumbleweeds and fire. Wildfire Today: Wildfire News and Opinion. http://wildfiretoday.com/2014/06/05/tumbleweeds-and-fire. Accessed: July 17, 2018Google Scholar
Gee, GW, Or, D (2002) Particle-size analysis. Pages 255–294 in Dane, JH, Topp, GC, eds. Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 4, Physical Methods. SSSA Book Series 5. Madison: Soil Science Society of America Google Scholar
González, E, Sher, AA, Anderson, RM, Bay, RF, Bean, DW, Bissonnete, GJ, Cooper, DJ, Dohrenwend, K, Eichhorst, KD, El Waer, H, Kennard, DK, Harms-Weissinger, R, Henry, AL, Madarick, LJ, Ostoja, SM, Reynolds, LV, Robinson, WW, Shafroth, PB, Tabacchi, E (2017) Secondary invasions of noxious weeds associated with control of invasive Tamarix are frequent, idiosyncratic and persistent. Biol Conserv 213:106–114 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurevitch, J, Fox, GA, Wardle, GM, Inderjit, TD (2011) Emergent insights from the synthesis of conceptual frameworks for biological invasions. Ecol Lett 14:407–418 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Held (2018) “Houses disappeared” when tumbleweeds rolled into this California city. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/18/603535155/houses-disappeared-when-tumbleweeds-rolled-into-this-california-city. Accessed: July 17, 2018Google Scholar
Hoover, DL, Duniway, MC, Belnap, J (2015) Pulse-drought atop press-drought: unexpected plant responses and implications for dryland ecosystems. Oecologia 179:1211–1221 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hrusa, GF, Gaskin, JF (2008) The Salsola tragus complex in California (Chenopodiaceae): characterization and status of Salsola australis and the autochthonous allopolypoloid Salsloa ryanii sp. Madroño 55:113–131 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karpiscak, MM, Grosz, OM (1979) Dissemination trails of Russian thistle (Salsola kali L.) in recently fallowed fields. J Arizona Nevada Acad Sci 14:50–52 Google Scholar
Lodhi, MAK (1979) Allelopathic potential of Salsola kali L. and its possible role in rapid disappearance of weedy stage during revegetation. J Chem Ecol 5:429–437 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mueller-Dombois, D, Ellenberg, H (2002) Aims and Methods of Vegetation Ecology. Repr 1st ed. Caldwell, NJ: Blackburn Press. P 62.Google Scholar
Nauman, TW, Duniway, MC, Webb, NP, Belnap, J (2018) Elevated aeolian sediment transport on the Colorado Plateau, USA: the role of grazing, vehicle disturbance, and increasing aridity. Earth Surf Process Landf 43:2897–2914 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Redsteer, MH (2019) Sand dunes, climate and sediment supply on the southern Colorado Plateau tribal lands, USA. In Lancaster, N, Hesp, P, eds. Dunes of North America. New York: SpringerGoogle Scholar
Redsteer, MH, Bogle, RC, Vogel, JM (2011) Monitoring and Analysis of Sand Dune Movement and Growth on the Navajo Nation, Southwestern United States. U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2011–3085. 2 pCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richardson, DM (2000) Naturalization and invasion of alien plants: concepts and definitions. Divers Distrib 6:93–107 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, SK, Reeves, FB (1989) Interference between Salsola kali L. seedlings: implications for plant succession. Plant Soil 116:107–110 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwarz, H (2014) Tumbleweeds have taken over Colorado, blocking roads and homes. BuzzFeedNews. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hunterschwarz/tumbleweeds-have-taken-over-colorado-blocking-roads-and-home. Accessed: July 17, 2018Google Scholar
Stallings, GP, Thill, DC, Mallory-Smith, CA, Lass, LW (1995) Plant movement and seed dispersal of Russian thistle (Salsola iberica). Weed Sci 43:63–69 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevens, OA (1943) Russian Thistle Life History and Growth. Fargo, ND: Agricultural Experiment Station, North Dakota Agricultural College Bulletin 326. 21 pGoogle Scholar
Thomas, K, Redsteer, MH (2016) Vegetation of semi-stable rangeland dunes of the Navajo Nation, southwestern USA. Arid Land Res Manag 30:400–411 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, KA, Hunt, R, Arundel, T, Guertin, P (2009a) Petrified Forest National Park Invasive Plant Survey and Mapping: 2002–2005. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2009-1179. 73 pGoogle Scholar
Thomas, KA, McTeague, ML, Cully, A, Schulz, K, Hutchinson, JMS (2009b) Vegetation Classification and Distribution Mapping Report: Petrified Forest National Park. National Resource Technical Report NPS/SCPN/NRTR-2009/273. Fort Collins, CO: National Park Service. 295 pGoogle Scholar
Thomas, KA, Redsteer, MH, Stuaffer, B, Matias, S (2019) Russian-thistle field and seed bank data at Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, 2015–2016. U.S. Geological Survey Data Release, 10.5066/P992YTCO.Google Scholar
[USDA] U.S. Department of Agriculture (2018) The Plants Database. http://plants.usda.gov. Accessed: July 17, 2018Google Scholar
Vanier, CH, Walker, LR (1999) Impact of a non-native plant on seed dispersal of a native. Madroño 46:46–48 Google Scholar
Young, FL (1986) Russian thistle (Salsola iberica) growth and development in wheat (Triticum aestivum). Weed Sci 34:901–905 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, JA (1991) Tumbleweed. Sci Am 264:82–87 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, JA, Evans, RA (1972) Germination and establishment of Salsola in relation to seedbed environment. I. Temperature, afterripening, and moisture relations of Salsola seeds. Agron J 64:214–218 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, JA, Evans, RA (1979) Barbwire Russian thistle seed germination. J Range Manage 32:390–394 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, A (1970) Water use in a glasshouse by Salsola kali grown at different soil temperatures and at limiting soil moisture. Soil Sci 110:146–149 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Western Regional Climate Center (2018) Cooperative data summaries: Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?az6468. Accessed: June 7, 2018 Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Thomas and Redsteer supplementary material

Tables S1-S2 and Figure S1

Download Thomas and Redsteer supplementary material(File)
File 116.8 KB