Invasion by Ammophila arenaria alters soil chemistry, leaving lasting legacy effects on restored coastal dunes in California

Many restoration projects rely on invasive plant removal to restore ecosystems. However, success of restoration efforts relying on invasives removal can be jeopardized, because, in addition to displacing native plants, invasives can also dramatically impact soils. Many studies have documented invasives’ effects on soil chemistry and microbiota. While European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link) is a worldwide invasives problem in coastal dunes outside northern Europe, little attention has been paid to effects of this species on soil chemistry following invasion, even though it establishes persistent, dense monocultures. In our study, we evaluated effects of A. arenaria invasion on soil chemistry of coastal dunes at Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS); persistence of effects following removal by mechanical or herbicide treatment (legacy effects); and effects of treatment independent of invasion. Dune restoration efforts at PRNS have met with mixed success, especially in herbicide-treated backdunes, where decomposition of dead A. arenaria has been greatly delayed. Based on results, invasion impacted 74% of 19 variables assessed, although there was a significant interaction in many cases with successional status (earlier vs later). Almost 60% of invasion effects persisted after restoration, with legacy effects prevalent in herbicide-treated backdunes where sand deposition from adjacent beaches could not mitigate effects as it could in herbicide-treated foredunes. Mechanical removal — or inversion of invaded surface soils with less-contaminated subsoils — resulted in fewer legacy effects, but more treatment effects, primarily in backdunes. Soil chemistry may decelerate decomposition of A. arenaria due to the limited nitrogen (N) available to enable microbial breakdown of the high carbon(C):N (70.8:1) material, but microbial factors probably play a more important role. Success of restoration at PRNS may not be fully realized until legacy effects are resolved through additional actions such as inoculation with healthy microbiomes or necromass reduction through controlled burning.

Infection of the Native California Grass, Bromus carinatus, by Fusarium circinatum, the Cause of Pitch Canker in Pines

At Point Reyes National Seashore in California, Fusarium circinatum, the causal agent of pitch canker in pines, was isolated from Pinus muricata, the California native grass, Bromus carinatus, and the introduced grass, Holcus lanatus. All grass plants from which F. circinatum was isolated were symptomless. Pathogenicity of grass isolates was confirmed by inoculation of P. radiata trees, which developed symptoms similar to trees inoculated with a pine isolate of F. circinatum. Isolates from grasses were somatically compatible with isolates recovered from symptomatic pines. B. carinatus grown in a growth chamber was inoculated with a green fluorescent protein-expressing strain of F. circinatum. Segments of inoculated leaves were incubated in moist chambers; after 1 to 2 days, sporulating hyphae were observed growing from leaf tissue. Spores of F. circinatum removed from B. carinatus leaves were confirmed to be fluorescent when illuminated with ultraviolet light. These results raise the possibility that B. carinatus cryptically infected by F. circinatum may be a source of propagules capable of infecting pines.

Open Space at Continent’s End

Chapter 4 revolves around the pivotal year of 1962, when Monterey County planners and Big Sur residents crafted a pioneering open-space master plan that foreshadowed the state’s commitment to coastal conservation in the following decades. Some residents balked at the idea of submitting to increased regulation, but the majority of residents understood that the government was going to have growing influence over the shape of landscapes and acknowledged the paradox that to retain a sense of the wild, residents would have to work alongside the government to determine viable residential and tourist features. Together, residents and Monterey County officials helped to secure in Big Sur a landscape quite distinct from two other notable California destinations: the rapidly commercializing Tahoe region and the newly established Point Reyes National Seashore. By accommodating a spectrum of visitors while restricting the numbers who could settle here, Big Sur locals and county officials secured the appearance of a democratic landscape long associated with the West, while, in fact, creating an increasingly exclusive landscape more representative of contemporary California.

Oyster feuds: conflicting discourses and outcomes in Point Reyes, California

The closure of Drake's Bay Oyster Farm in Point Reyes National Seashore, California, ignited a heated local and national conflict regarding the roles of stewardship and conservation and private business in protected areas. It is vital to examine parks and conservation critically to identify places where they are exacerbating resource struggles that often result from globalization and development, in the United States and in other countries. This article uses Foucauldian discourse analysis to identify conflicting discourses present in this conflict and to analyze knowledge and power in relation to issues of resource and land use in protected areas. This analysis highlights differences in scale and logic between the discourse used by local stakeholders, and the discourse used by conservation organizations and Park officials, in the Point Reyes conflict and in other National Parks. Key Words: Political ecology, discourse, aquaculture, oysters, Foucault, National Parks, conservation, land stewardship, Point Reyes, protected areas

A Management Controversy at Point Reyes

This introductory chapter presents the case study of the Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS), which was embroiled in a controversy in 2012. The issue was not the usual industry-versus-nature debate: on the one hand, national environmental organizations sought official designation of a marine wilderness; on the other, oyster farm operators and local foods advocates insisted that their historic operation was doing no harm and should be allowed to continue. This case example reveals a great deal about parks management in the United States. As the chapter shows, such controversies highlight much larger questions about what parks are for, what they are meant to protect and provide to the public, and how to make choices between competing uses or management priorities for park resources.