Restoration of a native shrubland impacted by exotic grasses, frequent fire, and nitrogen deposition in southern California

Published source details Cione N.K., Padgett P.E. & Allen E.B. (2002) Restoration of a native shrubland impacted by exotic grasses, frequent fire, and nitrogen deposition in southern California. Restoration Ecology, 10, 376-384.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Add mulch and fertilizer to soil Action Link
	Add mulch and fertilizer to soil (alongside planting/seeding) Action Link
	Add mulch to control grass Action Link
	Add mulch to control grass and sow seed Action Link
	Apply herbicide and sow seeds of shrubland plants to control grass Action Link
	Use herbicide to control grass Action Link
	Cut/mow to control grass Action Link
	Cut/mow to control grass and sow seed of shrubland plants Action Link
	Sow seeds Action Link

Add mulch and fertilizer to soil

A randomized, controlled study in 1997–1999 in a sagebrush scrub shrubland that had been invaded by grass and burnt by wildfires in California, USA (Cione et al. 2002) found adding mulch, followed by addition of nitrogen fertilizer did not increase the seedling abundance of seven shrub species or reduce grass cover after one year. The areas where mulch and fertilizer were added did not differ in the number of shrub seedlings for seven of seven species (0 seedlings/m²) from areas where mulch and fertilizer were not added (0 seedlings/m²). There was also no significant difference in grass cover between areas where mulch and fertilizer had been added (83%) and areas where mulch and fertilizer were not added (84%). In 1997 mulch and fertilizer were added to five randomly located 5 m x 5 m plots, while in five other plots no mulch or fertilizer were added. In spring 1997 plots were surveyed for grasses using two 0.25 m x 0.5 m quadrats/plot and two 0.5 m x 1 m quadrats/plot for shrubs.

(Summarised by: Phil Martin)
Add mulch and fertilizer to soil (alongside planting/seeding)

A randomized, controlled study in 1997–1999 in a sagebrush scrub shrubland that had been invaded by grass and burnt by wildfires in California, USA (Cione et al. 2002) found that adding mulch, followed by addition of nitrogen fertilizer, and seeding with shrub seeds increased the seedling abundance of two of seven shrub species but did not reduce grass cover after one year. Areas where mulch, fertilizer and shrub seeds were added had more shrub seedlings for two of seven species (1–2 seedlings/m²) than areas where mulch, fertilizer and seed were not added (0 seedlings/m²). There was no difference in grass cover between areas where mulch, fertilizer and seed had been added (84%) and areas where mulch, fertilizer and seed were not added (84%). In 1997 mulch and fertilizer were added to five randomly located 5 m x 5 m plots which were subsequently sown with seeds from native shrubs, while in five other plots no mulch or fertilizer were added. In spring 1997 plots were surveyed for grasses using two 0.25 m x 0.5 m quadrats/plot and two 0.5 m x 1 m quadrats/plot for shrubs.

(Summarised by: Phil Martin)
Add mulch to control grass

A randomized, controlled study in 1997–1999 in sagebrush scrub habitat that had been invaded by grass and burnt by wildfires in California, USA (Cione et al. 2002) found that adding mulch did not increase the seedling abundance of shrub species or reduce grass cover. After one year, the number of seedlings for seven of seven shrub species did not differ between areas where mulch had been added (0 seedlings/m²) and areas without mulch (0 seedlings/m²). There was also no significant difference in grass cover between areas where mulch had been added (85%) and areas where mulch was not added (84%). In 1997 seeds were sown in five randomly located 5 m x 5 m plots, while in five other plots no seeds were sown. In spring 1997 plots were surveyed for grasses using two 0.25 m x 0.5 m quadrats/plot and two 0.5 m x 1 m quadrats/plot for shrubs.

(Summarised by: Phil Martin)
Add mulch to control grass and sow seed

A randomized, controlled study in 1997–1999 in sagebrush scrub habitat that had been invaded by grass and burnt by wildfires in California, USA (Cione et al. 2002) found that adding mulch, followed by seeding with shrub seeds, increased the seedling abundance of one of seven shrub species but did not reduce grass cover. After one year, areas where mulch and shrub seeds were added did not have a significantly higher number of shrub seedlings for two of seven species (1 seedlings/m²) than areas where mulch and seed were not added (0 seedlings/m²). There was also no significant difference in grass cover between areas where mulch and seeds had been added (76%) and areas where neither mulch, nor seeds were added (84%). In 1997 mulch was added to five randomly located 5 m x 5 m plots which were subsequently sown with seeds from native shrubs, while in five other plots no mulch or seeds were added. In spring 1997 plots were surveyed for grasses using two 0.25 m x 0.5 m quadrats/plot and two 0.5 m x 1 m quadrats/plot for shrubs.

(Summarised by: Phil Martin)
Apply herbicide and sow seeds of shrubland plants to control grass

A randomized, controlled study in 1997–1999 in sagebrush scrub habitat that had been invaded by grass and burnt by wildfires in California, USA (Cione et al. 2002) found that spraying invasive grasses with herbicide followed by sowing of shrub seeds increased the seedling abundance of shrub species and reduced grass cover. After one year, areas where grasses were sprayed with herbicide and sown with seeds had more shrub seedlings (1–29 seedlings/m²) than unsprayed areas (0 seedlings/m²). Additionally, grass cover in areas where invasive grasses were sprayed with herbicide was lower (3%) than in unsprayed areas (84%). In 1997–1998 grass was sprayed with herbicide, and shrub seeds were subsequently sown in five randomly located 5 x 5 m plots, while in five other plots herbicide was not used and no seeds were sown. In spring 1997 plots were surveyed for grasses using two 0.25 m x 0.5 m quadrats/plot and two 0.5 m x 1 m quadrats/plot for shrubs.

(Summarised by: Phil Martin)
Use herbicide to control grass

A randomized, controlled study in 1997–1999 in sagebrush scrub habitat that had been invaded by grass and burnt by wildfires in California, USA (Cione et al. 2002) found that spraying invasive grasses with herbicide did not increase the seedling abundance of seven of seven shrub species but did reduce invasive grass cover. After one year, the number of seedlings of seven shrub species did not differ between areas sprayed with herbicide and unsprayed areas (sprayed: 0 seedlings/m²; unsprayed: 0 seedlings/m²). Grass cover in areas where invasive grasses were sprayed with herbicide was lower (4%) than areas where invasive grasses were not sprayed (84%). In 1997–1998 grass was sprayed with the grass-specific herbicide Fusilade in five randomly located 5 x 5 m plots, while in five other plots no herbicide was used. In spring 1997 plots were surveyed for grasses using two 0.25 x 0.5 m quadrats/plot and two 0.5 x 1 m quadrats/plot for shrubs.

(Summarised by: Phil Martin)
Cut/mow to control grass

A randomized, controlled study in 1997-1999 in sagebrush scrub habitat that had been invaded by grass and burnt by wildfires in California, USA (Cione et al. 2002) found that cutting invasive grasses did not increase the seedling abundance of seven of seven shrub species but did reduce grass cover. After one year, the number of shrub seedlings in areas where grasses were cut did not differ from that of areas where cutting was not carried out (0 seedlings/m²). Grass cover in areas where invasive grasses were cut was lower (15%) than areas where invasive grasses were not cut (84%). In 1997-1998 all grass was removed by hand from five randomly located 5 x 5 m plots, while in five other plots no grass was removed. In spring 1997 plots were surveyed for grasses using two 0.25 x 0.5 m quadrats/plot and two 0.5 x 1 m quadrats/plot for shrubs.

(Summarised by: Phil Martin)
Cut/mow to control grass and sow seed of shrubland plants

A randomized, controlled study in 1997–1999 in a sagebrush scrub habitat that had been invaded by grass and burnt by wildfires in California, USA (Cione et al. 2002) found that cutting invasive grasses followed by sowing of shrub seeds increased shrub seedling abundance and reduced grass cover. After one year, areas where grasses were cut and seeds were sown had more shrub seedlings (1-23 seedlings/m²) than areas that were not cut or sown with seeds (0 seedlings/m²). In areas where invasive grasses were cut and seeds were sown, grass cover was lower (13%) than in areas where invasive grasses were not cut or seeds sown (84%). In 1997–1998 grass was cut by hand in five randomly located 5 m x 5 m plots, after which seeds of native shrubs were sown, while in five other plots no grass was cut and seeds were not sown. In spring 1997 plots were surveyed for grasses using two 0.25 m x 0.5 m quadrats/plot and two 0.5 m x 1 m quadrats/plot for shrubs.

(Summarised by: Phil Martin)
Sow seeds

A randomized, controlled study in 1997–1999 in a sagebrush scrub shrubland that had been invaded by grass and burnt by wildfires in California, USA (Cione et al. 2002) found that sowing shrub seeds increased the seedling abundance of two of seven shrub species, but did not reduce grass cover. After one year, the areas where seeds had been sown had a significantly higher number of shrub seedlings for two of seven species (3–4 seedlings/m²) than areas that were not seeded (0 seedlings/m²). There was also no significant difference in grass cover between areas where seeds had been sown (82%) and areas that were not seeded (84%). In 1997 seeds were sown in five randomly located 5 m x 5 m plots, while in five other plots no seeds were sown. In spring 1997 plots were surveyed for grasses using two 0.25 m x 0.5 m quadrats/plot and two 0.5 m x 1 m quadrats/plot for shrubs.

(Summarised by: Phil Martin)