The False Brome Working Group is dedicated to education and outreach, developing control measures, and identifying research needs for false brome in North America. We are made up of representatives from various federal and state agencies, as well as private and non-profit groups. Our overall goal is the containment and eventual elimination of this pest plant.
A partnership of:
USDA Forest Service
USDI Bureau of Land Management
Oregon Department of Agriculture
US Army Corps of Engineers
OSU College of Forestry
Institute for Applied Ecology
Starker Forests Inc.
The Nature Conservancy
Native Plant Society of Oregon
What is False Brome?
False brome (also known as slender false brome, Brachypodium sylvaticum) is a non-native grass species invading habitats in western Oregon and California. It is listed as a noxious weed by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
Holmes, S. E., B. A. Roy, J. P. Reed, and B. J. Johnson. 2010. Context-dependent pattern and process: The distribution and competitive dynamics of an invasive grass, Brachypodium sylvaticum. Biol. Invasions 12 2302-2318.
Poulos, L. P. and B. A. Roy. 2015. Fire and false brome: how do prescribed fire and invasive Brachypodium sylvaticum affect each other? Invasive Plant Science and Management 8:122-130. (http://doi.org/10.1614/ipsm-d-14-00024.1).
Vandegrift, R., W. Blaser, F. Campos-Cerda, A. F. Heneghan, G. C. Carroll, and B. A. Roy. 2015. Mixed fitness effects of grass endophytes modulate impact of enemy release and rapid evolution in an invasive grass. Biol. Invasions 17:1239-1251. (http://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-014-0791-1).
Arredondo, T. M., G. L. Marchini, and M. B. Cruzan. 2018. Evidence for human-mediated range expansion and gene flow in an invasive grass. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 285:20181125. (http://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1125).
Cruzan, M. B. 2019. How to make a weed – the saga of the slender fasle brome invasion in the North American west and lessons for the future. Bioscience 69:469-507. (http://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz051).
Fox, S. E., J. Preece, J. A. Kimbrel, G. L. Marchini, A. Sage, K. Youens-Clark, M. B. Cruzan, and P. Jaiswal. 2013. Sequencing, assembly and characterization of a transcriptome resource for Brachypodium sylvaticum (Poaceae). Applications in the Plant Sciences 1:1200011.
Marchini, G. L., T. M. Arredondo, and M. B. Cruzan. 2018. Selective differentiation during the colonization and establishment of a newly invasive species. J. Evol. Biol. 31 1689-1703. (http://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13369).
Marchini, G. L., N. Cole Sherlock, A. P. Ramakrishnan, D. M. Rosenthal, and M. B. Cruzan. 2016. Rapid purging of genetic load in a metapopulation and consequences for range expansion in an invasive plant. Biol. Invasions 18:183-196.
Marchini, G. L., C. A. Maraist, and M. B. Cruzan. 2019. Functional trait divergence, not plasticity, determines the success of a newly invasive plant. Ann. Bot. 123:667-679. (http://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcy200).
Ramakrishnan, A. P., T. Musial, and M. B. Cruzan. 2010. Shifting dispersal modes at an expanding species’ range margin. Mol. Ecol. 19:1134-1146. (http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04543.x).
Rosenthal, D. M., A. P. Ramakrishnan, and M. B. Cruzan. 2008. Evidence for multiple sources of invasion and intraspecific hybridization in Brachypodium sylvaticum (Hudson) Beauv. in North America. Mol. Ecol. 17:4657-4669. (http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.03844.x).
Taylor, L. A. V. and M. B. Cruzan. 2015. Propagule pressure and disturbance drive the invasion of perennial false-brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum). Invasive Plant Science and Management 8:169-180. (http://doi.org/10.1614/IPSM-D-14-00042.1).
Taylor, L. A. V., E. A. Hasenkopf, and M. B. Cruzan. 2015. Barriers to invasive infilling by Brachypodium sylvaticum in Pacific Northwest forests. Biol. Invasions 17:2247-2260. (http://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-015-0871-x).
Workman, R. E. and M. B. Cruzan. 2016. Common mycelial networks impact competition in an invasive grass. Am. J. Bot. 103:1041-1049. (http://doi.org/doi:10.3732/ajb.1600142).
2011 Workshop Presentations
Workshop on the Ecology, Management and Control of False-brome in the Willamette Valley
Held March 11, 2011 at the Corvallis Public Library Meeting Room in Corvallis, OR.
Download a simple poster that informs recreationalists about false brome
Download a detailed recreation poster. Please contact us if you would like a copy of this poster in a different format which you can modify for your resource area. (Fall 2003)
Controlling false-brome
Efficacy of false brome treatments: Click here to open a table describing the efficacy of a number treatments, including physical, chemical, biological control, and integrated pest management.
The following are some cautions from Glenn Miller with the Oregon Department of Agriculture about some specific herbicide formulations:
Habitat (brand name): Ineffective at controlling false brome.
Aquamaster/Rodeo: 12 to 24 hours of drying time required in order for herbicide to be effective. Other formulations of Roundup with different surfactants do not appear to have the same drying issue as Rodeo.
Distribution
False brome is currently concentrated on the west-side of the Oregon Cascades. It is found in forests and foothhills near Corvallis and Eugene, as well as the Cascade Ranges east and northeast of Eugene. Isolated populations have appeared in northern and southern Oregon, along the Pacific Coast, and at the headwaters of the Metolious River on the east-side of the Cascades. The plant appears to be expanding rapidly.
False brome has also been identified in Virginia and Bergen Swamp, Genesee County, New York (2009).
Click on map at left for a larger version. Map produced and provided by the Willamette National Forest.
Predicted distribution
A preliminary habitat model map (guestimate) to show where there is high and low vulnerability for false-brome to establish and where it is uncertain due to lack of data was recently developed by Cindy McCain, Noel Bacheller, and Aimee Lesieutre (Siuslaw National Forest) and others. The model is largely based on potential natural vegetation, temperature and precipitation, as well as some expert opinion.
