Invasive Species We Study: Buffelgrass Active
Buffelgrass is a perennial grass from Africa that is invasive to the Sonoran Desert of the Southwest United States, where it threatens desert ecosystems by out-competing native plants and altering fire regimes. It has the potential to transform the Sonoran Desert ecosystem from a diverse assemblage of plants to a grassland monoculture. Buffelgrass was brought to Arizona in the 1930s for erosion control and began expanding rapidly in the 1980s. Left unchecked, buffelgrass will dominate the desert landscape and could cause regular, fast-moving wildfires. USGS research shows that early treatment of areas invaded by buffelgrass can dramatically reduce them.
Buffelgrass Research
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Explore our science using the publications below.
Buffelgrass-Integrated modeling of an invasive plant
Structural changes in vegetation coincident with annual grass invasion negatively impacts sprint velocity of small vertebrates
Fire and nonnative invasive plants in the central bioregion
Buffelgrass fuel loads in Saguaro National Park, Arizona, increase fire danger and threaten native species
- Overview
Buffelgrass is a perennial grass from Africa that is invasive to the Sonoran Desert of the Southwest United States, where it threatens desert ecosystems by out-competing native plants and altering fire regimes. It has the potential to transform the Sonoran Desert ecosystem from a diverse assemblage of plants to a grassland monoculture. Buffelgrass was brought to Arizona in the 1930s for erosion control and began expanding rapidly in the 1980s. Left unchecked, buffelgrass will dominate the desert landscape and could cause regular, fast-moving wildfires. USGS research shows that early treatment of areas invaded by buffelgrass can dramatically reduce them.
Buffelgrass Research - Data
Explore our science using the data below.
- Publications
Explore our science using the publications below.
Filter Total Items: 16Buffelgrass-Integrated modeling of an invasive plant
Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) poses a problem in the deserts of the United States, growing in dense stands and introducing a wildfire risk in an ecosystem not adapted to fire. The Invasive Species Science Branch of the Fort Collins Science Center has worked with many partners to develop a decision support model and a data management system to address the problem. The decision support model evalAuthorsTracy R. HolcombeStructural changes in vegetation coincident with annual grass invasion negatively impacts sprint velocity of small vertebrates
Sagebrush ecosystems in the intermountain west of the United States are being threatened by conversion to the non-native grass, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). The dramatic shift in the physical structure of vegetation coincident with cheatgrass invasion likely has negative impacts on animal communities, yet these structural impacts have not been well-studied. In a previous study, dense cheatgrass sAuthorsJ. P. Rieder, T. A. S. Newbold, Steven M. OstojaFire and nonnative invasive plants in the central bioregion
The Central bioregion is a vast area, stretching from Canada to Mexico and from the eastern forests to the Rocky Mountains, dominated by grasslands and shrublands, but inclusive of riparian and other forests. This bioregion has been impacted by many human induced changes, particularly relating to agricultural practices, over the past 150 years. Also changed are fire regimes, first by native peopleAuthorsJames B. Grace, Kristin ZouharBuffelgrass fuel loads in Saguaro National Park, Arizona, increase fire danger and threaten native species
Scientists examine this exotic grass invasion that threatens to alter the fire regime in the Sonoran Desert and the composition, structure, and function of protected ecosystems.AuthorsT. C. Esque, C. R. Schwalbe, J.A. Lissow, D.F. Haines, D. Foster, M.C. Garnet - News