ARS | Publication request: Process-based management approaches for salt desert shrublands dominated by downy brome

Submitted to: Wildland Shrub Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: June 22, 2011
Publication Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: Hirsch, M.C., Monaco, T.A. 2011. Process-based management approaches for salt desert shrublands dominated by downy brome. Wildland Shrub Symposium Proceedings. XVII.

Technical Abstract: Downy brome grass (Bromus tectorum L.) invasion has severely altered key ecological processes such as disturbance regimes, soil nutrient cycling, community assembly, and successional pathways in semi-arid Great Basin salt desert shrublands. Restoring the structure and function of these severly altered ecosystems is extremely challenging; however, new strategies are emerging that target and attempt to repair ecological processes associated with vegetation change. In this paper, we review the essential processes required to reduce downy brome abundance and assist with creating suitable conditions for revegetation of Great Basin salt desert shrublands.