275Chapter 10
Plant Community Resistance to Invasion
by Bromus Species: The Roles of Community
Attributes, Bromus Interactions with Plant
Communities, and Bromus Traits
Jeanne C. Chambers , Matthew J. Germino , Jayne Belnap , Cynthia S. Brown ,
Eugene W. Schupp , and Samuel B. St. Clair
Abstract The factors that determine plant community resistance to exotic annual
Bromus species ( Bromus hereafter) are diverse and context specifi c. They are infl u-
enced by the environmental characteristics and attributes of the community, the
traits of Bromus species, and the direct and indirect interactions of Bromus with the
plant community. Environmental factors, in particular ambient and soil tempera-
tures, have signifi cant effects on the ability of Bromus to establish and spread.
Seasonality of precipitation relative to temperature infl uences plant community
J. C. Chambers (*)
USDA Forest Service , Rocky Mountain Research Station ,
Reno , NV 89512 , USA
e-mail: [email protected]
M. J. Germino
US Geological Survey , Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center ,
Boise , ID 83706 , USA
e-mail: [email protected]
J. Belnap
US Geological Survey , Southwest Biological Science Center , Moab , UT 84532 , USA
e-mail: [email protected]
C. S. Brown
Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management , Colorado State University ,
Fort Collins , CO 80523-1177 , USA
e-mail: [email protected]
E. W. Schupp
Department of Wildland Resources , Utah State University , Logan , UT 84322-5230 , USA
e-mail: [email protected]
S. B. St. Clair
Plant and Wildlife Sciences , Brigham Young University , Provo , UT 84602 , USA
e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
M.J. Germino et al. (eds.), Exotic Brome-Grasses in Arid and Semiarid
Ecosystems of the Western US, Springer Series on Environmental Management,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-24930-8_10