Controlling invasive annual grasses in grazed pastures: population dynamics and critical gap sizes

Abstract

1. Vulpia (Vulpia bromoides and V. myuros) and barley grass Hordeum murinum are prevalent annual grass weeds of native grasslands and grazed pastures in temperate climates, for which more effective control strategies are needed. Annual grass weeds can negatively impact natural grassland ecosystem function, in addition to causing productivity loss in agricultural systems. 2. We investigated the effects of gap size, time of sowing, grazing method (continuous or rotational grazing) and species sown in the gap (vulpia and/or barley grass) on vulpia and barley grass panicle production and intrinsic rate of population growth (λ) in southern Australian pastures. From these data, we estimated the cr..