Team IDs invasive tree dispersal patterns on Great Plains prairies

 Craig Chandler | University Communication and Marketing Cattle graze in the Sandhills near Whitman, Nebraska.
Craig Chandler | University Communication and Marketing Cattle graze in the Sandhills near Whitman, Nebraska.

Welcome to Pocket Science: a glimpse at recent research from Husker scientists and engineers. For those who want to quickly learn the “What,” “So what” and “Now what” of Husker research.

What?

As woody vegetation marches across grasslands — encroaching on prairies that wildlife and ranchers alike have come to depend on — ecologists are studying exactly how that invasive vegetation is populating and transforming formerly intact landscapes.

Mitigating the spread of invasive vegetation, including the eastern redcedar tree now threatening Nebraska’s prairies, means understanding the dispersal of seeds that eventually mature into new trees and bear seeds of their own. To date, though, no studies have analyzed how that dispersal may be shaping the patterns of encroachment seen on the Great Plains.

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More details at: https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/team-ids-invasive-tree-dispersal-patterns-on-great-plains-prairies/