Factors determining the centrifugal organization of remnant Festuca grassland communities in Alberta

Abstract

Abstract. This paper describes the species composition of remnant grasslands in the aspen parkland region of Alberta and its relation to soil characteristics and small‐scale disturbance. Our findings are consistent with the centrifugal model of communities with Festuca hallii dominating undisturbed ‘core’ habitat and the composition of more ‘peripheral’ habitats varying in soil properties and in the magnitude of disturbance. Invasive non‐native species are not present in the core habitat and are present only in the disturbed sites, most abundantly in those with the highest soil nitrogen. The centrifugal model, as it applies to these remnant grasslands, differs from its previous application to wetlands and forests in that the core communities are not on the most fertile sites, but on the least disturbed. These findings have implications for the management of prairie remnants to exclude invasive exotic species.