Effects of a Nonnative, Invasive Lovegrass on Agave palmeri Distribution, Abundance, and Insect Pollinator Communities

This technical note is a product of the Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program work unit titled Effects of invasives on the distribution of keystone desert plants on military lands. The objective of the work unit is to provide a better understanding of the impacts of invasive species on key components of ecosystems and pollinator communities. The study documented herein emphasized the integration of invasive nonnative plant invasion with other ecological processes through assessments of the spatial effects and fire dynamics of Lehmann lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana) on the distribution and abundance of Palmer's agave (Agave palmeri), investigations of changes in A. palmeri pollinator community composition and diversity in the presence of high E. lehmanniana abundance, and implementation of a focused network analysis of A. palmeri and the plants with which it directly interacts with through shared pollinators. The purpose of this technical note is to provide information (such as key insights into important ecological relationships that foster species persistence, biodiversity, and community stability) that can be leveraged against ongoing work on pollinator systems by Fort Huachuca, the state of Arizona, and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, to address management concerns for desert plant communities and their associated threatened and endangered species. Prepared in collaboration with Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ.