MSGID: 1:317/3 646d92e8   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Prescribed burns encourage foul-smelling invaders    
      
     Date:   
         May 23, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of California - Riverside   
     Summary:   
         Though prescribed burns reduce wildfire threats and even improve   
         habitat for some animals, new research shows these fires also spread   
         stinknet, an aptly named weed currently invading superblooms across   
         the Southwestern U.S.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Though prescribed burns reduce wildfire threats and even improve habitat   
   for some animals, new research shows these fires also spread stinknet,   
   an aptly named weed currently invading superblooms across the Southwestern   
   U.S.   
      
   Stinknet, also called globe chamomile, is native to South Africa, but   
   is commonly seen in photos of California's colorful superblooms. "Not   
   all flowering plants are indicative of a healthy ecosystem," said Loralee   
   Larios, UC Riverside assistant botany professor and study co-author. "This   
   one isn't."  In addition to its unpleasant odor, each of its tiny yellow   
   ball-shaped flowers can hold hundreds of seeds. While expanding across   
   entire parks, it crowds out native plants on which endangered local   
   animals rely.   
      
   The invader also reduces the overall health of the soil. In some cases,   
   if an invasive plant changes the composition of the landscape enough,   
   the soil can release stored carbon into the atmosphere, accelerating   
   the negative effects of climate change.   
      
   For these reasons, the researchers looked more closely at how stinknet   
   spreads.   
      
   They found that after a prescribed burn, many unburned patches of   
   stinknet remain in what is otherwise bare ground, free of competition   
   from other plants.   
      
   "In fact, patches of stinknet left over after a burn create focal points   
   for more invasions," Larios said.   
      
   This finding is detailed in the journal Restoration Ecology. To obtain   
   it, the researchers observed plant behavior on a burned plot of land in   
   Southern California's Lake Perris State Park. Over two years, starting in   
   2020, they saw that the unburned stinknet patches had double the number   
   of viable seeds, as compared to the areas that were completely burned   
   and had no leftover stinknet.   
      
   It appears that singed patches create favorable microclimates for   
   stinknet, creating soil temperature, light, and moisture conditions that   
   help it spread.   
      
   Additionally, they found that adding native plant seeds back into   
   the burned area did not significantly increase the presence of native   
   species. "Stinknet likely releases chemicals through its roots that   
   kill soil fungi essential for native plant growth," said Stuart Schwab,   
   a doctoral candidate in plant sciences at UCR and lead study author.   
      
   Because prescribed burns offer so many benefits for the landscape,   
   including removing highly flammable invasive grasses, the researchers   
   are not suggesting that land managers end the practice. Rather, they   
   are calling for more targeted, secondary stinknet treatments after burns.   
      
   "Options could include pulling patches of remaining stinknet out of the   
   ground by hand, or doing something called solarizing, where you put a   
   dark tarp on an area to heat and kill any remaining seeds underneath,"   
   Schwab said. "As a last resort they could use herbicides."  Going forward,   
   the research team would like to conduct similar studies to understand   
   how fire impacts the spread of other invasive species.   
      
   In the meantime, hikers and nature lovers can do a lot to help stop   
   stinknet spread. "Clean your boots if you go on hikes. That's a major   
   vector," Schwab said. "The seeds are less than a millimeter wide. They're   
   tiny specks and easy to miss. Just brushing your shoes periodically can   
   really minimize how far they travel."  Finally, the researchers want   
   non-scientists to feel empowered in the fight to minimize the impact of   
   plants like stinknet on local ecosystems.   
      
   "The majority of invasive plants were originally discovered by   
   non-scientists.   
      
   UC Riverside undergraduates were the first to find stinknet," Larios said.   
      
   "Sharing with others through sites like iNaturalist is so important!   
   Researchers can't cover that much space by themselves."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Endangered_Plants # Seeds # Nature # Ecology_Research   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Exotic_Species # Ecology # Rainforests # Wildfires   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Weed o Wildfire o Agronomy o Bushfire o Controlled_burn o   
             Jaguar o Fire_fighting o Veterinary_medicine   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   University_of_California_-_Riverside. Original written by Jules   
   Bernstein. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Stuart T. Schwab, G. Darrel Jenerette, Loralee Larios. Prescribed   
      burning   
         may produce refugia for invasive forb, Oncosiphon   
         pilulifer. Restoration Ecology, 2023; DOI: 10.1111/rec.13922   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230523123834.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 12 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 218/700 226/30 227/114   
   SEEN-BY: 229/110 112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 291/111 292/854   
   SEEN-BY: 298/25 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426