Crested wheatgrass seedings in the western United States have persisted as virtual monocultures for over 50 years following their establishment. Such stability typically is attributed to superior competition by crested wheatgrass, but this explanation assumes that native propagules are available for recruitment. Data on seedling emergence from undisturbed topsoil samples show that there is a paucity of native propagules withing crested wheatgrass stands. For two stands that were near monocultures, the probability of a seedling being crested wheatgrass was over 85%. Recruitment probabilites favor the maintenance of a monoculture rather than its successional replacement.
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