ISBN: 0438069412 9780438069411

Category: Unavailable

Page count: 69

In riparian systems of the US desert southwest, the invasive plant Giant Cane (Arundo donax, hereafter A. donax) has colonized large sections of river floodplain, altering hydrologic regimes, displacing native plants, and reducing wildlife habitat. In one of the largest A. donax removal efforts in the southwest, US and Mexican partners are using prescribed fire and herbicide applications to remove A. donax along a 118-mile, bi-national reach of the Rio Grande/Bravo. Along with project collaborators, I completed a 2-year study to examine the response of birds and butterflies to A. donax management efforts. I used a space-for-time sampling design whereby, in May-July, 2016-2017, I surveyed sites that were last managed (hereafter, burned) three or fewer years prior to sampling (n = 26), four to eight years prior to sampling (n = 21), and unburned A. donax sites (n = 11). I structured my sampling design to capture a succession gradient following management efforts. We found significantly less A. donax in burned sites relative to unburned, as well as twice the herbaceous plant cover in older relative to recently burned sites. We also noted a 25% increase in vegetation structure in older burned relative to unburned and recently burned sites. Further, bird abundance increased by 30% between recent and older burned sites, and bird richness was positively related to increased herbaceous plant and tree cover, as well as vegetation structure (adj. R2 = 0.19, p