There is a continual need for invasive plant science to develop approaches for cost-effectively benefiting native over nonnative species in dynamic management and biophysical contexts, including within predominantly nonnative plant landscapes containing only small patches of native plants. Our objective was to test the effectiveness of a minimal-input strategy for enlarging native species patches within a nonnative plant matrix. In Pecos National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA, we identified 40 native perennial grass patches within a matrix of the nonnative annual forb kochia [Bassia scoparia (L.) A.J. Scott]. We mechanically cut B. scoparia in a 2-m-wide ring surrounding the perimeters of half the native grass patches (with the other half as uncut controls) and measured change in native grass patch size (relative to pretreatment) for 3 yr. Native grass patches around which B. scoparia was cut grew quickly the first posttreatment year and by the third year had increased in size four times more than control patches. Treated native grass patches expanded by an average of 25 m2, from 4 m2 in October 2015 before treatment to 29 m2 in October 2018. The experiment occurred during a dry period, conditions that should favor B. scoparia and contraction of the native grasses, suggesting that the observed increase in native grasses occurred despite suboptimal climatic conditions. Strategically treating around native patches to enlarge them over time showed promise as a minimal-input technique for increasing the proportion of the landscape dominated by native plants.

中文翻译：

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为入侵植物管理开发最小投入技术：周边处理扩大原生草斑

入侵植物科学一直需要开发方法，以在动态管理和生物物理环境中经济高效地使本地物种受益，而不是非本地物种，包括在仅包含小块本地植物的主要非本地植物景观中。我们的目标是测试最小输入策略在非本地植物基质中扩大本地物种斑块的有效性。在美国新墨西哥州的佩科斯国家历史公园，我们在非本地一年生地肤的基质中发现了 40 个本地多年生草丛 [地瓜(L.) AJ 斯科特]。我们机械切割牛蒡在围绕一半原生草斑（另一半作为未切割对照）周边的 2 米宽的环中，并测量原生草斑大小（相对于预处理）3 年的变化。周围的原生草斑牛蒡在治疗后的第一年，被切割的斑块迅速增长，到第三年，斑块的大小增加了四倍于对照斑块。处理后的原生草斑平均扩大了 25 m2, 从 4 m22015年10月治疗前至29 m22018 年 10 月。实验发生在干旱时期，条件应该有利于牛蒡和原生草的收缩，表明尽管气候条件欠佳，但观察到的原生草的增加发生了。随着时间的推移，对原生斑块进行战略性处理以扩大它们显示出作为一种最小投入技术的前景，它可以增加由原生植物主导的景观比例。