Summary
Causes for the widespread abundance of the alien grass Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) after fire in semiarid areas of western North America may include: (1) utilization of resources freed by the removal of fireintolerant plants; and (2) successful competition between B. tectorum and individual plants that survive fire. On a site in northwestern Nevada (USA), measurements of soil water content, plant water potential, aboveground biomass production, water use efficiency, and B. tectorum tiller density were used to determine if B. tectorum competes with either of two native species (Stipa comata and Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus) or simply uses unclaimed resources. Soil water content around native species occurring with B. tectorum was significantly lower (P<0.05) than around individuals without B. tectorum nearby. Native species had significantly more negative plant water potential when they occurred with B. tectorum. Aboveground biomass was significantly higher for native species without B. tectorum. However, the carbon isotope ratio of leaves for native species with B. tectorum was not significantly different from individuals without B. tectorum. Thus, B. tectorum competes with native species for soil water and negatively affects their wate status and productivity, but the competition for water does not affect water use efficiency of the native species. These adverse effects of B. tectorum competition on the productivity and water status of native species are also evident at 12 years after a fire. This competitive ability of B. tectorum greatly enhances its capability to exploit soil resources after fire and to enhance its status in the community.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Antos JA, McCune B, Bara C (1983) The effect of fire on an ungrazed western Montana grassland. Am Midl Nat 110:354–364
Bookman PA (1982) Microsite utilization by Bromus tectorum L. and Poa pratensis L. in a meadow steppe community. Oecologia 56:413–418
Bradford JM, Grossman RB (1982) In-situ measurement of nearsurface soil strength by the fall-cone device. Soil Sci Soc Am J 46:685–688
Cable DR (1967) Fire effects on semidesert grasses and shrubs. J Range Manage 20:170–176
Caldwell MM, Richards JH (1986) Competing root systems: morphology and models of absorption. In: TJ Givnish (ed) On the economy of plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 251–273
Conrad CE, Poulton CE (1966) Effect of a wildfire on Idaho fescue and bluebunch wheatgrass. J Range Manage 19:138–141
Daubenmire R (1968) Ecology of fire in grasslands. Adv Ecol Res 5:209–266
Eckert RE Jr, Evans RA (1963) Responses of downy brome and crested wheatgrass to nitrogen and phosphorous in nutrient solution. Weeds 11:170–174
Evans RA, Holbo HR, Eckert RE Jr, Young JA (1970) Functional environment of downy brome communities in relation to weed control and revegetation. Weed Sci 18:154–162
Evans RA, Young JA (1977) Weed control-revegetation systems for big sagebrush-downy brome rangelands. J Range Manage 30:331–336
Farquhar GD, O'Leary MH, Berry JA (1982) On the relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and the intercellular carbon dioxide concentration in leaves. Aust J Plant Physiol 9:121–137
Harniss RO, Murray RB (1973) 30 years of vegetal change following burning of sagebrush-grass range. J Range Manage 26:322–325
Harris GA (1967) Some competitive relationships between Agropyron spicatum and Bromus tectorum. Ecol Monog 37:89–111
Harris GA, Wilson AM (1970) Competition for moisture among seedlings of annual and perennial grasses as influenced by root elongation at low temperature. Ecology 51:530–534
Hauser VL (1984) Neutron meter calibration and error control. Trans ASAE 27:722–728
Hobbs NT, Schimel DS (1984) Fire effects on nitrogen mineralization and fixation in mountain shrub and grassland communities. J Range Manage 37:402–405
Hull AC Jr (1963) Competition and water requirements of cheatgrass and wheatgrasses in the greenhouse. J Range Manage 16:199–204
Kay BL, Evans RA (1965) Effects of fertilization on a mixed stand of cheatgrass and intermediate wheatgrass. J Range Manage 18:7–11
Klemmedson JO, Smith JG (1964) Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.). Bot Rcv 30:226–262
Knapp AK (1984) Post-burn differences in solar radiation, leaf temperature and water stress influencing production in a lowland tallgrass prairie. Am J Bot 71:220–227
Koviac DA, Swift DM, Ellis JE, Hakonson TE (1986) Immediate effects of prescribed burning on mineral soil nitrogen in ponderosa pine of New Mexico. Soil Sci 141:71–76
Mack RN (1981) Invasion of bromus tectorum L. into western North America: An ecological chronicle. Agro-Ecosystems 7:145–165
Mack RN, Pyke DA (1983) The demography of Bromus tectorum: variation in time and space. J Ecol 71:69–93
Old SM (1969) Microclimate, fire, and plant production in an Illinois prairie. Ecol Monog 39:355–384
Pyke DA (1987) Demographic responses of Bromus tectorum and seedlings of Agropyron spicatum to grazing by small mammals: The influence of grazing frequency and plant age. J Ecol 75:825–835
Raison RJ (1979) Modification of the soil environment by vegetation fires with particular reference to nitrogen transformations: a review. Plant Soil 51:73–108
Redmann RE (1978) Plant and soil water potentials following a fire in a northern mixed grassland. J Range Manage 31:443–445
Reginato RJ, Nakayama FS (1988) Neutron probe calibration based on plastic transfer standards. Soil Sci 145:381–384
Rundel PW, Parsons DJ (1984) Post-fire uptake of nitrients by diverse ephemeral herbs in chamise chaparral. Oecologia 61:285–288
Smith SD, Nowak RS (1990) Physiological ecology of plants in the intermountain lowlands. In: Osmond CB, Pitelka LF, Hidy G (eds) Ecological Studies, Vol 79, Plant Biology of the Basin and Range (in press)
Stewart G, Hull AC (1949) Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) —An ecological intruder in southern Idaho. Ecology 30:58–74
Turner NC, Long JL (1980) Errors arising from rapid water loss in the measurement of leaf water potential by the pressure chamber technique. Aust J Plant Physiol 7:527–537
Uresk DW, Cline JF, Rickard WH (1976) Impact of wildfire on three perennial grasses in south-central Washington. J Range Manage 29:309–310
Van Bavel CHM, Nixon PR, Hauser VL (1963) Soil moisture measurement with the neutron method.USDA, ARS-41-70
Wilson AM, Harris GA, Gates DH (1966) Fertilization of mixed cheatgrass-bluebunch wheatgrass stands. J Range Manage 19:134–137
Wright HA (1971) Why squirreltail is more tolerant to burning than needle-and-thread. J Range Manage 24:277–284
Wright HA, Bailey AW (1982) Fire ecology. United States and Southern Canada. Wiley and Sons, New York 501 p
Wright HA, Klemmedson JO (1965) Effect of fire on bunchgrasses of the sagebrush-grass region in southern. Idaho. Ecology 46:680–688
Young JA, Evans RA (1973) Downy brome—Intruder in the plant succession of big sagebrush communities in the Great Basin J Range Manage 26:410–415
Young JA, Evans RA (1978) Population dynamics after wildfires in sagebrush grasslands. J Range Manage 31:283–289
Young JA, Evans RA, Eckert RE Jr (1969) Population dynamics of downy brome. Weed Sci 17:20–26
Young RP (1983) Fire as a vegetation management tool in rangelands of the intermountain region. In: SB Monsen and Shaw (compilers). Managing Intermountain Rangelands: Improvement of Range and Wildlife Habitats USDA Gen Tech Rep INT-157 pp 18–31
Young RP, Miller RF (1985) Response of Sitanion hystrix (Nutt) JG Smith to prescribed burning. Am Midl Nat 113:182–187
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Melgoza, G., Nowak, R.S. & Tausch, R.J. Soil water exploitation after fire: competition between Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) and two native species. Oecologia 83, 7–13 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00324626
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00324626