Professor Benjamin Schlau had the following published:
Schlau, Benjamin M. 2022聽Wildfire disturbance affects species interactions聽of a harmful invasive annual in second year of post-fire聽vegetative recovery. Biological Invasions聽24:373鈥�383
Abstract:
The increasing frequency of wildfires in聽Southern California鈥檚 Mediterranean-type habitats has been facilitating the displacement of native plants by聽invasive annuals. Black mustard (Brassica nigra) is an聽abundant, allelopathically harmful, invasive forb,聽which readily colonizes soil niches following most聽disturbances. Wildfires, however, are unlike other聽forms of disturbance because they can fundamentally聽alter plant鈥搒oil interactions through both physical and聽chemical changes in the soil. Here, a comparative field聽study of burned and unburned sites suggests that the聽Woolsey Fire鈥攖he largest wildfire ever recorded in聽California鈥檚 Santa Monica Mountains鈥攊nhibited dispersal聽of B. nigra and changed how it interacts with聽other plant species in the second year of post-fire聽recovery. More surprisingly, native plants were more聽likely to replace B. nigra than non-native plants in聽burned sites. These results indicate the possibility of聽post-fire seeding with specific 鈥樷�榝ire follower鈥欌�� native聽plant species may allow native flora to occupy soil聽niche space until longer-lived, competitive native聽shrubs establish.