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| Distribution, Abundance and Ecology of Introduced Plants in the Sierra Nevada National Parks: Baseline Data for Management | ||
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Invasion and subsequent restructuring of ecosystems by nonnative organisms is taking on increasingly urgent significance as an example of human-caused environmental change with potentially dramatic consequences. Introduced plants can affect the structure and function of ecosystems by bringing about changes in species composition, dominant life form, nutrient cycling, hydrology, and decomposition. Natural reserve managers must be armed with baseline and monitoring information if they are to plan and implement adaptive management strategies to control invasive species. Invasive nonnative plants currently infest an estimated 2.8 m ha of National Park System lands, costing millions of dollars annually in control efforts. | |
| This research addresses three questions regarding the status of introduced vascular plants in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks. What are the current distributions, abundances, and management priorities among introduced vascular plant species in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks? What are the environmental and biotic factors correlated with the distribution of introduced vascular plants in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks? Are there landscape-scale patterns in the distributions of invasive plant species that lend themselves to monitoring? Results from this work will serve as a primary resource for the management, control, and prevention of invasive plant incursions in the Sierra Nevada. |
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Jon E. Keeley Research Ecologist USGS Western Ecological Research Center Sequoia and Kings Canyon Field Station 47050 Generals Highway Three Rivers, CA 93271-9651 Phone: 559.565.3170 Fax: 559.565.3177 email: jon_keeley@usgs.gov
Peggy Moore |
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