Invasive Species
Invasive Species
Research, monitoring, and technology development for containing or eradicating non-indigenous species with potential to cause significant ecologic or economic damage or impact human health
Filter Total Items: 15
Fish and Wildlife seasonal and temporary wetland assessment
The Prairie Pothole Region supports some of the most productive wetlands in the world for waterfowl. Up to 90% of seasonal and temporary wetlands have been lost in areas of the PPR due to the conversion of grasslands to croplands and the drainage of wetlands. Department of the Interior Waterfowl Production Areas (WPA) and National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) in North Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern...
Sourcing plants for conservation and restoration: developing a risk assessment framework
Tallgrass prairie species are planted in a variety of settings for a variety of reasons. Much of the seed used for these plantings is produced commercially in agricultural-like conditions and can be contaminated by “weed seeds.” In this study, we are creating an analytical tool to assess the risk of inadvertently introducing weed seeds into a prairie planting. We purpose that increasing the...
Grazing resources for integrated conservation of bison and native prairie at Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Badlands National Park (BADL) contains one of the largest protected expanses of mixed-grass prairie in the United States, much of which supports a herd of nearly wild bison. The park nevertheless is too small to accommodate bison’s natural nomadic behavior, which in the past resulted in their ephemeral but intense influence on Great Plains grasslands. This research is assessing the spatial...
An adaptive management framework to control invasive annual brome grasses in Northern Great Plains parks (ABAM)
Invasion by annual brome grasses (cheatgrass and Japanese brome) and other exotic annual grasses into National Park Service units (parks) in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) impacts park ecological and historical landscape integrity. The Annual Brome Adaptive Management (ABAM) decision support tool (DST) was built to support vegetation management decision making, particularly regarding these...
What role does prescribed fire play in managing annual bromes in Northern Great Plains grasslands?
Prescribed fire is used in grasslands throughout the Northern Great Plains National Park Service units (parks) to manage fuel loads, control nonnative species, and maintain a vital ecosystem process. Questions about its effects in areas with invasive annual brome grasses require answers to ensure its application produces desired results. Using an experimental approach at two parks in South Dakota...
Decision support for restoration and management of Service-owned native prairies: Implications for grassland bird communities
More than 100,000 ha of native tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in the northern Great Plains. Although prairies in this region evolved with grazing, fire, and climatic variability, management of FWS grasslands often has been passive and involved extended periods of rest. In 2008, the USGS and the FWS initiated a collaborative effort, the...
Improving wildlife habitat through management and restoration of native prairies on lands under Fish and Wildlife Service ownership
The extent of native prairie throughout the north-central United States has sharply declined since European settlement, and much that remains has been invaded by introduced cool-season grasses, reducing floristic diversity and quality. On lands under its ownership, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to restore native prairie integrity by reducing occurrence of introduced species under...
Developing evaluation and monitoring frameworks for tallgrass prairie reconstruction
Thousands of hectares of retired farmland are planted with tallgrass prairie species each year. If the methods used and resulting characteristics of these prairies are recorded, compiled, and analyzed, they can provide a valuable resource for evaluating seed mixes, planting methods, and post-planting management. Toward this end, collaborators in the Prairie Reconstruction Initiative, funded by the...
Evaluation of tallgrass prairie restoration methods to improve resistance to invasive species and maintenance of plant species diversity over time
When reconstructing native tallgrass prairie from abandoned farmland, patience can pay off. In this research effort, we observed that as reconstructions matured, Canada thistle cover declined even though herbicides were not applied. There is no single best planting method for all situations. Ten years after planting, cover of planted, native non-planted, and exotic species varied little among...
Effects of invasive plant species on reproduction of the rare endemic plant Dakota buckwheat (Eriogonum visheri) at Badlands National Park
Endemism in plants is extremely uncommon in the Great Plains. Dakota buckwheat is a rare, endemic plant found in only a few locations at Badlands National Park and sites with similar soils outside the park. In an earlier study, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center inferred that of two common, co-flowering invasive plants, Russian thistle was more likely than yellow sweetclover to interfere...
Evaluation of conservation grazing versus prescribed fire to manage tallgrass prairie remnants for plant and pollinator species diversity
With scarcely 2% of native tallgrass prairie remaining today, it is imperative that we wisely manage what little remains to conserve prairie-dependent plants, pollinators, other animals and ecosystem processes. Two commonly used methods of prairie management are prescribed fire and conservation grazing. Either method may present trade-offs with respect to conservation of vulnerable plant, bee or...
Interactions of consolidation drainage and climate on water-level dynamics, wetland productivity, and waterbirds
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC) recently completed a project aimed at understanding the impacts of wetland drainage on wetlands that receive drainage water. The biological communities of prairie pothole wetlands evolved in a hydrologically dynamic system due to periodic wet and dry conditions. NPWRC research indicates that relative to wetlands in undrained landscapes, wetlands...