The geographic spread and the number of invasive plant species has increased significantly over the past 200 years as a result of human activities. On rangelands, exotic grass invasion has been especially dramatic and has transformed many native plant community types throughout the United States. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and/or smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis) invasion in the mixed grass prairie has been rapid and ubiquitous and many questions remain about current and potential changes in ecosystem dynamics. The U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) in cooperation with Iowa State University's Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology has conducted national resource inventories (NRI) for over 65 years to assess the Nation's natural resources on non-Federal lands. The current rangeland on-site study (2004-2011) included over 265 random observations. Extent of these two cool season grass species and their effect on species diversity trends will be reported.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.