Influences of Grazing, Soil, and Climate on California Grassland Composition

Influences of Grazing, Soil and Climate on California Grassland Composition
Free lecture with Carla D’Antonio
Thursday, October 23, 7:00 p.m.
Solvang Library, 1745 Mission Drive

Grasslands occur across a wide range of soil and climate conditions in California. Today, most are dominated by a small suite of non-native European annual grasses and forbs. Controversy exists over whether these “invaders” directly reduce the abundance of native annual species and whether livestock grazing can influence both the occurrence of native species and the dominance of non-native species. Dr. Carla D’Antonio will explore this issue and present results from a quantitative statewide survey of livestock grazing studies and from a long-term grazer exclusion study at Sedgwick Reserve.Carla D’Antonio is a plant ecologist who has worked extensively on invasive plants and their dynamics and impacts in California as well as in Hawaii. She joined the UCSB faculty in 2005 after 14 years on faculty at UC Berkeley. She is currently Chair of the Environmental Studies Program at UCSB and Faculty Advisor at the UC Sedgwick Reserve.