Rangeland Ecology & Management

Get reliable science

PATTERNS OF PLANT INVASIONS IN THE WALLOWA MOUNTAIN RANGE, OREGON
Author
Beckman, Ben
Schacht, Walter
Volesky, Jerry
Drijber, Rhae
Redden, Miles D.
Mata-Gonzalez, Ricardo
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2014
Body

Understanding dominant factors related to non-native plant invasions into mountain environments are imperative for the development of effective conservation strategies in mountain ecosystems.  Mountain environments are currently among the least invaded ecosystems, however, these biodiversity hotspots are increasingly under threat of exotic plant invasion.  The objectives of this study were to identify important factors associated with non-native species distributions along elevation gradients, and to quantify the extent to which dominant non-native species composition was structured by geographic distance as opposed to environmental variation.  We conducted a complete understory vascular plant survey in summer 2012 along three roads located in the Wallowa Mountain Range of northeastern Oregon.  Non-native species were primarily concentrated at the low elevation sites with moderate to high disturbance levels, and species richness declined linearly with increasing elevation.  Multivariate analyses indicated that elevation, disturbance, precipitation, and canopy openness were important correlates of non-native plant community structure.  Distance from road (0-100m) had little influence on non-native plant distributions, indicating that potential road associated influences on non-native plant distributions extend at least 100 meters from roadsides.  Environmental variation was more important than geographical distance for structuring non-native species composition.  Collectively, these data suggest that future shifts in climate, and disturbance regimes are likely to influence the potential for established low elevation species to penetrate into higher elevation sites.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Orlando, FL