Abstract
Vulpia myuros (L.) C.C. Gmel. has shown a dramatic increase in abundance as a weed of winter wheat since 2000, especially under regimes of no-till husbandry. A long-term experiment on disturbance timing at Silwood Park suggests that this increase is probably not due solely to no-till cultivation or to the plant’s well-known herbicide resistance, but rather to autumn cultivation coupled with warmer winter weather.
Highlights
The study of phenology has experienced a renaissance since the search for evidence of the impacts of climate change has become so pressing (Fitchett et al, 2015)
Species restricted to the October cultivated plots on this date were Vulpia myuros, Arenaria leptoclados, Stellaria graminea+, Myosotis arvensis, Quercus robur seedlings+, Arrhenatherum elatius+, Veronica chamaedrys+, Hypericum perforatum+, Phleum bertolonii+, Epilobium montanum, Ervum tetraspermum, Heracleum sphondylium+, Cerastium fontanum+, Ranunculus repens+, Rumex acetosa+, Vicia sativa subsp. nigra+, Prunus sp. seedling, Veronica arvensis and Vicia cracca, with a preponderance of species probably recruited from the uncultivated surrounding acid grassland
There was no record of Vulpia myuros at Pound Hill up to 2003 (Crawley, 2004) and the first record was obtained in May 2004, just prior to cultivation of the May-cultivated plots A, B & D
Summary
The study of phenology (the science of the timing of things) has experienced a renaissance since the search for evidence of the impacts of climate change has become so pressing (Fitchett et al, 2015). Germination were to occur independent of disturbance, such species might decline in abundance if, on average, they did not reach fruiting size by the time of disturbance It is likely, that there will be strong selection for species that germinate immediately after disturbance, and selection against species that germinate before disturbance but do not ripen seed before they are killed by cultivation. That there will be strong selection for species that germinate immediately after disturbance, and selection against species that germinate before disturbance but do not ripen seed before they are killed by cultivation This was the pattern observed after 10 years of a long-term disturbance timing experiment at Silwood Park in Berkshire (Crawley, 2004): dominance, relative abundance and species composition were all significantly different on replicated plots cultivated in October, March or May each year (see Appendix A)
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