OOS 22 - Woody plant encroachment: Plants, People, and Policies

Organizer(s)

• RL

  Randall Long

  Lewis and Clark College
  Portland, Oregon, United States

Co-Organizer(s)

• SH

  Samia Hamati

  Kent State
  Kent, OH, United States

Moderator(s)

• RL

  Randall Long

  Lewis and Clark College
  Portland, Oregon, United States

Woody plant encroachment (WPE) into grass- and dry-lands is resulting in type conversions of ecoregions that are of unique ecologic, cultural, and economic importance. In North America rates of WPE varies by ecoregion but ranges from 0.1% to 2.3% changes in cover per year. WPE provides a system to investigate the degree in which the establishment of new plant species in an environment is driven by the traits of the organisms or if they are passengers of change. The causes of WPE vary between ecoregions but are generally driven by alterations in disturbance regimes (e.g. fire and grazing) or due to anthropogenic driven climate change. Hybridization with native congeners in the area or local adaptation may also play an important role in range expansion of some woody plants. WPE can change the species interactions and the ecosystem functions of the encroached areas and can result in the loss of these important ecosystems. This session gathers researchers studying the different aspects of encroachment, scaling from organismal- to landscape-level questions. Current insights of individual plant physiology, community interactions, and management will be discussed in the light of climate change to ask whether plants are drivers or passengers of WPE.

Presentations:

• 3:30 PM – 3:45 PM EDT

  Clonal shrubs: Which traits drive encroachment in mesic grasslands?
  

  Presenting Author: Emily Wedel – Kansas State University

  Co-author: Jesse Nippert, PhD – Kansas State University Division of Biology
• 3:45 PM – 4:00 PM EDT

  Hydraulic traits provide insights regarding woody encroachment in tallgrass prairie
  

  Presenting Author: Kim O'Keefe – St. Edward's College

  Co-author: Katherine A. McCulloh – University of Wisconsin-Madison

  Co-author: Jesse Nippert, PhD – Kansas State University Division of Biology
• 4:00 PM – 4:15 PM EDT

  What does it take to restore mesic grasslands from woody encroachment?
  

  Presenting Author: Rory O'Connor, PhD – USDA-ARS

  Co-author: Emily Wedel – Kansas State University

  Co-author: Jesse Nippert, PhD – Kansas State University Division of Biology

  Co-author: Kevin Wilcox, PhD – Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming

  Co-author: Kimberly Komatsu – Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

  Co-author: Meghan L. Avolio – Johns Hopkins University
• 4:15 PM – 4:30 PM EDT

  Recent insights into invasion and control of Tamarix spp. in the American West
  

  Presenting Author: Alexander R. B. Goetz – Denver University

  Co-author: Alexander R. B. Goetz – Denver University

  Co-author: Eduardo González, PhD – Colorado State University, United States Geological Survey

  Co-author: Annie L. Henry, PhD – University of Denver

  Co-author: Anna A. Sher, PhD – University of Denver
• 4:30 PM – 4:45 PM EDT

  Cone maturation phenology, seed dispersal, and eastern red cedar range expansion: It's all about timing!
  

  Presenting Author: Kaitlin Shvach – Kent State University

  Co-author: Mark Kershner – Kent State University

  Co-author: Oscar J. Rocha – Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University
• 4:45 PM – 5:00 PM EDT

  Eastern redcedar creates plant-soil feedbacks that facilitate range expansion
  

  Presenting Author: Leland Bennion – Kent State University

  Co-author: David M. Ward, PhD – Kent State University