Selective Native Plants of Oklahoma and Nearby States That Can Be a Nuisance to Occasionally Invasive

Four ornamental species, lyreleaf salvia (Salvia lyrata), roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii), northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium), and cholla (Cylindropuntia imbricata), are all native to Oklahoma and nearby states. They all possess ornamental attributes and range from widespread to niche crops in the nursery industry and are also cultivated for their utilitarian, herbal, and miscellaneous merits. Their allure to customers and their ability to thrive in a myriad of environments is a major impetus for commercial growers and retailers to carry these species. However, their extraordinary ability to adapt to a plethora of environmental conditions, in the built environment or in their native range, also enables them to often outcompete neighboring flora. Their predisposition to be opportunistic, and ability to grow in challenging locations, sometimes results in their becoming a nuisance or even invasive (i.e., capable of displacing other native flora or fauna). Plants featured are described for their marketable attributes but also reviewed for control measures (e.g., herbicides, prescribed burning, improved grazing practices) when they grow in an aggressive manner.

Influence of shrub encroachment on aboveground net primary productivity and carbon and nitrogen pools in a mesic grassland

The clonal shrub Cornus drummondii C.A. Mey. is rapidly increasing in cover and displacing mesic grassland species in the central USA as a consequence of fire suppression. We assessed the impact of C. drummondii on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools and C fluxes in a tallgrass prairie in eastern Kansas, USA, through a comparison of both burned and unburned C. drummondii islands with open grassland areas. Allometric equations relating C. drum mondii foliage and wood biomass to basal stem diameter were developed to estimate aboveground biomass and net primary productivity (ANPP) of C. drummondii. Within C. drummondii islands, ANPP was 496 ± 45 g C·m–2·year–1, nearly three times that within open grassland (167 ± 13 g C·m–2·year–1). As a result of greater aboveground biomass, aboveground C and N storage within shrub islands (3270 ± 466 g C·m–2, 37.9 ± 5.3 g N·m–2) was substantially greater than that within open grassland (241 ± 33 g C·m–2, 6.1 ± 0.8 g N·m–2). No change in soil organic C or total N to 10-cm depth was evident; however, soil CO2 flux was significantly reduced in C. drummondii islands relative to the open grassland. The storage of C in aboveground biomass of C. drummondii represents a significant short-term increase in C storage relative to open grassland. However, potential alterations in belowground processes must be quantified before the long-term net effect of shrub encroachment on C and N pools within this mesic grassland can be determined.Key words: aboveground biomass, Cornus drummondii, net primary productivity, shrub encroachment, tallgrass prairie.