As we welcome the coming of springtime in our area a number of invasive plant species are as well. While any new green growth is a welcome sight after a long winter, many of the species that we see emerging at this time of year can quickly become problematic as the season progresses. In the world of vegetation management, timing is everything. What may be small insignificant patch found this time of year that can be treated with little to no expense can become an expensive liability later in the season. One of our best local examples is Bromus tectorum (aka cheatgrass or downy brome). This invasive plant species is native to Eurasia and has quickly overtaken many of our native ecosystems. In addition to the displacement of native\desirable plant and animal species, this species also serves as an excellent fuel source for wildfires due to its dense growth habits and rapid reproduction capabilities.
Bromus tectorum is a Colorado State C List noxious plant species. This winter annual was given the common name “cheatgrass” due to the plant’s ability to outcompete or cheat-out other vegetation. While many of our native\desirable grass species are dormant in the fall and winter, this winter annual is capable of withstanding even the most extreme winter weather conditions. Cheatgrass will be reaching full maturity and completing seed set while other native plant species are just beginning to emerge for the season. Given this mismatched timing between species emergence, cheatgrass limits the biodiversity in a given area through plant competition. Soil moisture and nutrients are consumed at a much higher rate and the prolific, dense growth of cheatgrass shades the soil surface which can prevent other plants from germinating.
As the cheatgrass colony matures in the late spring\early summer and completes seed set, the plants quickly lose their moisture content. As the plants dry out the seed heads easily detach and are transported offsite by wind, water, people and animals. Anyone that has lived in Huerfano County for a period of time has encountered these sharp annoying seeds stuck in shoelaces, socks, animal hair and carpet.
What were the first signs of vibrant green growth in the winter and early spring quickly become a dead and dried out mass of thatch that poses extreme fire danger in the early summer. In cheatgrass infested sites the fire return interval can be as short as 2 to 5 years. This is very problematic because many of our native ecosystems have exceptionally long fire return intervals upwards of 500 years. With the introduction of fire within these infested sites (which aids cheat grass establishment) our native plant species simply cannot keep up due to their slower rate of growth and cheatgrass quickly becomes the predominate species within the site. As native and other desirable plant species are excluded from the site, we experience the loss of habitat for our native wildlife. As the carrying capacity of the infested sites are reduced we not only see an impact to our wildlife, but we also see the productivity of agricultural areas decline significantly. Game damage among neighboring lands with desirable vegetation also increases as wildlife seek out a favorable food source.
Cheatgrass can be found throughout Huerfano County among a variety of sites. Our most vulnerable areas are disturbed sites and areas within the 2018 Spring Fire burn scar. There are a number of integrated vegetation management options that can be utilized to help control this problematic species. We have not included them in this article due to space constraints. Please contact the Huerfano County Noxious Weed Office for more information or help with species I.D. at: [email protected]