Temperature, topography, soil characteristics, and NDVI drive habitat preferences of a shade-tolerant invasive grass.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

Despite the large literature documenting the negative effects of invasive grasses, we lack an understanding of the drivers of their habitat suitability, especially for shade-tolerant species that do not respond positively to canopy disturbance. We aimed to understand the environmental niche and potential spatial distribution of a relatively new invasive species, wavyleaf basketgrass (Oplismenus undulatifolius (Ard.) Roem. & Schult, WLBG) by leveraging data available at two different spatial scales.

Location

Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Methods

Maximum entropy modeling (Maxent) was used to predict the habitat suitability of WLBG at the regional scale and the landscape scale. Following variable evaluation, model calibration, and model evaluation,

SUBMITTER: Bowen AKM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7548190 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature