Yellow Bush Lupine Invasion in Northern California Coastal Dunes: Ecological Impacts and Manual Restoration Techniques

Authors:
Pickart, A.J., L.M. Miller and T.E. Duebendorfer

Publication Date:
1998

Abstract/Summary:
We studied the ecological effects of the invasion of coastal dunes by Lupinus arboreus (yellow bush lupine), an introduced species, and used the results to develop manual restoration techniques on the North Spit of Humboldt Bay. Vegetation and soil data were collected in five vegetation types representing points along a continuum of bush lupine’s invasive influence. We collected data on the number and size of shrubs, vegetation cover, and soil nutrients. One set of plots was subjected to two restoration treatments: removal of lupine shrubs only, or removal of all nonnative vegetation and removal of litter and duff. Treatments were repeated annually for four years, and emerging lupine seedlings were monitored for three years. Prior to treatment, ammonium and nitrate were found to increase along the lupine continuum, but organic matter decreased at the extreme lupine end. Yellow bush lupine was not the most significant variable affecting variation in soil nutrients.

Resource Type:
Peer-reviewed Article

Source:
Restoration Ecology

Link:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1526-100x.1998.00618.x/abstract