We conducted Weld experiments to test the hypothesis that regulation of herbivorous pests in urban landscapes can be enhanced with forbs that provide Xoral resources for adult natural enemies. The herbivore was bagworm, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis (Haworth) (Lepidoptera: Psychidae), which is attacked by a guild of hymenopterous parasitoids. We established host shrubs in common garden planting...

Native flowering forbs plantings have been found to support diverse arthropod communities by providing year-round forage and refuge from prey chemical pollutants. Typically, pollinator habitats are planted seeds; however, poor establishment weed pressure often result in limited success of the planting. In this study, we evaluated two bed preparation techniques, a glyphosate treatment with no ti...

Climate change projections anticipate increased frequency and intensity of drought stress, but grassland responses to severe droughts and their potential to recover are poorly understood. In many grasslands, high land-use intensity has enhanced productivity and promoted resource-acquisitive species at the expense of resource-conservative ones. Such changes in plant functional composition could ...

Timber is frequently salvage-logged following high-severity stand-replacing wildfire, but the practice is controversial. One concern is that compound disturbances could result in more deleterious impacts than either disturbance individually, with mechanical operations having the potential to set back recovering native species and increase invasion by non-native species. Following the 2002 Cone ...

Tall fescue and other non-native perennial cool-season grasses (such as orchardgrass, timothy, bromegrasses, and bluegrass) provide poor wildlife habitat. Native warm-season grasses (nwsg), especially big and little bluestem, indiangrass, and switchgrass, have been promoted to replace non-native cool-season grasses and enhance quality early succession habitat. Initially, problems associated wit...

The impacts of wild herbivores on cattle diet selection were investigated in an East African rangeland during August 2001 and February 2002. The study compared cattle diets in plots exclusively accessible to cattle (C) and those accessible to megaherbivores (elephants and giraffes), non-megaherbivore wild herbivores . 15 kg (zebras, hartebeests, Grant’s gazelles, oryx, elands, and buffaloes) an...

The invasion and spread of exotic plants following land disturbance threatens semiarid ecosystems. In sagebrush steppe, soil water is scarce and is partitioned between deep-rooted perennial shrubs and shallower-rooted native forbs and grasses. Disturbances commonly remove shrubs, leaving grass-dominated communities, and may allow for the exploitation of water resources by the many species of in...

The ability of invasive plants to achieve higher relative growth rates (RGR) than their native counterparts has been widely documented. However, the mechanisms allowing invasives to achieve higher RGR are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to determine the basis for RGR differences between native and invasive forbs that have widely invaded nutrient-poor soils of the Intermountai...

Jepson Prairie in Solano County, an outstanding example of remnant California Central Valley vernal pool and grassland habitats, is threatened by invasive exotic species. This paper describes the results of a 200-acre late-spring prescribed fire conducted at Jepson Prairie in June of 1995 and aimed at reducing the cover of an extensive infestation of Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae). Bur...