Invasive Species We Study: Buffelgrass
Buffelgrass is a perennial grass from Africa that is invasive to the Sonoran Desert of the Southwest United States, where it threatens desert ecosystems by out-competing native plants and altering fire regimes. It has the potential to transform the Sonoran Desert ecosystem from a diverse assemblage of plants to a grassland monoculture. Buffelgrass was brought to Arizona in the 1930s for erosion control and began expanding rapidly in the 1980s. Left unchecked, buffelgrass will dominate the desert landscape and could cause regular, fast-moving wildfires. USGS research shows that early treatment of areas invaded by buffelgrass can dramatically reduce them.
Buffelgrass Research
Explore our science using the data below.
Explore our science using the publications below.
Buffelgrass-Integrated modeling of an invasive plant
Structural changes in vegetation coincident with annual grass invasion negatively impacts sprint velocity of small vertebrates
Fire and nonnative invasive plants in the central bioregion
Buffelgrass fuel loads in Saguaro National Park, Arizona, increase fire danger and threaten native species
Buffelgrass is a perennial grass from Africa that is invasive to the Sonoran Desert of the Southwest United States, where it threatens desert ecosystems by out-competing native plants and altering fire regimes. It has the potential to transform the Sonoran Desert ecosystem from a diverse assemblage of plants to a grassland monoculture. Buffelgrass was brought to Arizona in the 1930s for erosion control and began expanding rapidly in the 1980s. Left unchecked, buffelgrass will dominate the desert landscape and could cause regular, fast-moving wildfires. USGS research shows that early treatment of areas invaded by buffelgrass can dramatically reduce them.
Buffelgrass Research
Explore our science using the data below.
Explore our science using the publications below.