Constraints on coastal dune invasion for a notorious plant invader

Although most biological invasions are not successful, relatively few studies have examined otherwise notorious invaders in systems where they are not highly problematic. The annual grass Bromus tectorum is a dominant invader in western North America, but is usually confined to human-dominated and disturbed systems (e.g. roadsides and parking lots) in the East where it remains virtually unstudied. In a recent study published in AoB PLANTS, Griffith et al. examined fundamental ecological questions regarding the distribution and abundance of B. tectorum in a coastal dune system on Cape Cod (USA) and found annual population growth to be highly variable (e.g. capable of ‘booms’ and ‘busts’). However, their results suggest that limitations to disturbance and seed dispersal likely constrain invasion in this ecosystem. Thus management actions that restrict dune access (e.g. for nesting habitat) will likely have the co-benefit of limiting the invasive potential of B. tectorum.