Ecosystem impacts of invasive species
- Ecosystem impacts of invasive species -
A lecture by Dr. Rebecca Drenovsky, John Carroll University Sunday June 29 - 1:30-3:00 pm lecture & discussion, 3:00-4:30 pm mini-field trip (optional. If you wish to go on the mini-field trip, bring a water bottle and wear sun hat and sturdy shoes)
California is known for its spectacular native plant diversity. However, pressure from non-native plant species is changing California's landscapes. Areas previously rich in native California flora now are dominated by non-native plants. Even sites with extreme characteristics, such as the unique serpentine soils of the McLaughlin Reserve, have been invaded by non-native plants. Although their most obvious impact is their effect on plant community composition, invasive species have the potential to alter multiple factors in an ecosystem. At the McLaughlin Reserve, serpentine grasslands have been invaded by goatgrass. Following invasion, not only have aboveground plant communities changed, but the belowground soil microbial communities have changed, as well. Soil microbial communities play multiple ecosystem roles, and a change in their composition potentially could alter ecosystem function. Do changes in aboveground and belowground communities alter ecosystem function? Understanding how invasive species change ecosystems is necessary if we are to assess the ecological, economic, and societal impacts of these non-native species.
Rebecca Drenovsky is Assistant Professor of Biology at John Carroll University. Her interest in altered ecosystem functions with goat grass invasions was piqued while she was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis; helping a colleague with an experiment in an invaded meadow at McLaughlin started her wondering about related questions, and a new research direction was born. Please join us as Rebecca talks about some of her research at the McLaughlin Reserve, followed by a field excursion to witness the ferocity of goatgrass firsthand.
For more details, please call the Reserve. RSVP requested.
A lecture by Dr. Rebecca Drenovsky, John Carroll University Sunday June 29 - 1:30-3:00 pm lecture & discussion, 3:00-4:30 pm mini-field trip (optional. If you wish to go on the mini-field trip, bring a water bottle and wear sun hat and sturdy shoes)
California is known for its spectacular native plant diversity. However, pressure from non-native plant species is changing California's landscapes. Areas previously rich in native California flora now are dominated by non-native plants. Even sites with extreme characteristics, such as the unique serpentine soils of the McLaughlin Reserve, have been invaded by non-native plants. Although their most obvious impact is their effect on plant community composition, invasive species have the potential to alter multiple factors in an ecosystem. At the McLaughlin Reserve, serpentine grasslands have been invaded by goatgrass. Following invasion, not only have aboveground plant communities changed, but the belowground soil microbial communities have changed, as well. Soil microbial communities play multiple ecosystem roles, and a change in their composition potentially could alter ecosystem function. Do changes in aboveground and belowground communities alter ecosystem function? Understanding how invasive species change ecosystems is necessary if we are to assess the ecological, economic, and societal impacts of these non-native species.
Rebecca Drenovsky is Assistant Professor of Biology at John Carroll University. Her interest in altered ecosystem functions with goat grass invasions was piqued while she was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis; helping a colleague with an experiment in an invaded meadow at McLaughlin started her wondering about related questions, and a new research direction was born. Please join us as Rebecca talks about some of her research at the McLaughlin Reserve, followed by a field excursion to witness the ferocity of goatgrass firsthand.
For more details, please call the Reserve. RSVP requested.