Integrated Restoration Strategies Towards Weed Control On Western Rangelands

Although cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) has been widely distributed across western rangelands for >70 years, the full ecologic and economic impacts of this non-native invasive plant have not yet occurred. Unfortunately, several independent lines of evidence indicate that the rate at which acreage becomes infested with cheatgrass is increasing rapidly. Furthermore, the invasion and spread of a number of emerging secondary weeds is coincident with cheatgrass infestation. Thus to control the spread of these secondary weeds, we must first control cheatgrass. Competitiveness and prolific seed production allow cheatgrass to invade both disturbed and intact native communities and to dominate after wildfire. Thus, efforts to control cheatgrass need to focus on these biological characteristics while simultaneously restoring native plants on Great Basin rangelands. Our overall goal is to identify concepts and management strategies to control the spreading dominance of cheatgrass and other weeds on Great Basin rangelands and to restore native species and increase biodiversity. Our primary focus will be cheatgrass because it is the most widespread and damaging invasive weed, but we will also examine the extent that secondary weeds complicate cheatgrass control and native species restoration efforts. Supporting objectives are: 1. Conduct a series of common experiments across the Great Basin that test management techniques for controlling cheatgrass and other weeds, establishing native plant communities, and restoring ecosystem structure and function while reducing the cost of restoration. 2. Provide an ecological understanding of why restoration techniques succeed or fail. 3. Develop conceptual and economic bases for choosing appropriate management techniques. 4. Use partnerships among governmental agencies, universities, cooperative extension, and land managers to convey knowledge to ranchers and other professionals. 5. Use partnerships with educators to increase student and public awareness of invasive species issues and to develop educational tools that convey solutions to invasive species and native plant restoration problems. By combining expertise and sharing resources, our multi-state, interdisciplinary consortium of research, education, extension, and agency personnel is poised to identify ecological principles and fundamental knowledge needed to manage invasive weeds and facilitate native plant restoration on Great Basin rangelands. We also plan an active program to disseminate that knowledge to managers and users of Great Basin rangelands.