LOWER LAKE – Can native plants coexist with non-natives? How land managers can use environmental heterogeneity to protect native species diversity in California grasslands will be the subject of a lecture on Saturday, June 5, at the McLaughlin Reserve.

The lecture will take place from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., with an optional mini field trip from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Angela Brandt, a Ph.D. student at Oregon State University, will present the lecture.

Brandt will discuss how environmental conditions, such as rainfall and soil characteristics, can vary dramatically across time and space.

Many plant species may take advantage of these heterogeneous conditions in the environment to coexist with their competitors. For example, one species might perform best in wet years, thus another species that competes with it for resources can do better in drier years.

Understanding how native and nonnative species could use this environmental heterogeneity to coexist is critical to both ecological understanding and management of invaded ecosystems, such as the California grasslands.

Over 9 million hectares of grasslands in California are currently dominated by Eurasian annual grasses and forbs that primarily invaded in the mid-1800s.

Are nonnative species outcompeting and displacing all native species, or do we see some plants coexisting by responding to environmental heterogeneity?

Brandt is conducting grassland community research at three University of California natural reserves – McLaughlin, Hastings and Sedgwick. She is interested in exploring spatio-temporal patterns of plant community diversity and how these patterns can inform our understanding of how species coexist.

The goal of her work is to tie these ideas in with biological invasions to determine whether native and nonnative species interact differently with the environment and whether native species can persist in areas that are heavily invaded with nonnatives.

After the talk, Brandt will lead a mini field trip to two of her plots for those interested in continuing discussion of the results and ideas she has presented. This will also be a great opportunity to see how different two areas of "grassland" can be, even when they are located near to each other.

Registration is required. Registration closes Friday, June 4.

Contact Cathy Koehler at telephone 707-995-9005 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to register.

The McLaughlin Reserve is located at 26775 Morgan Valley Road, Lower Lake.