| Rough fescue prairie is currently threatened by invasion of Bromus inermis Leyss., an introduced cool season perennial forage species. The objectives of this study were to assess Bromus inermis persistence and invasion in response to specific environmental factors and to link those factors to potential mechanisms of invasion using two disturbances, at landscape, macro and meso scales. Within Alberta Aspen Parkland, Bromus inermis persistence and invasion at the landscape scale was assessed on two 25 year old pipeline rights-of-way (RoW) and invasion pattern and impact on the native plant community was assessed at a local site undergoing invasion. The results indicate that Bromus inermis persists and does invade where it is introduced, regardless of environmental variation. The impacts of invasion include reductions in native plant community diversity and loss of the dominant native species. |
