Disentangling the Effects of Tillage Timing and Weather on Weed Community Assembly

Stéphane Cordeau, Richard G. Smith, Eric R. Gallandt, Bryan Brown, Paul Salon, Antonio DiTommaso and Matthew R. Ryan
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Stéphane Cordeau: Agroécologie, AgroSup Dijon, INRA, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21000 Dijon, France
Richard G. Smith: Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
Eric R. Gallandt: School of Food and Agriculture, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
Bryan Brown: School of Food and Agriculture, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
Paul Salon: USDA-NRCS Soil Health Division, Big Flats Plant Materials Center, Corning, NY 14830, USA
Antonio DiTommaso: Soil and Crop Sciences Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Matthew R. Ryan: Soil and Crop Sciences Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

Agriculture, 2017, vol. 7, issue 8, 1-18

Abstract: The effect of tillage timing on weed community assembly was assessed at four locations in the Northeastern United States by tilling the soil every two weeks from April to September and quantifying the emerged weed community six weeks after each tillage event. Variance partitioning analysis was used to test the relative importance of tillage timing and weather on weed community assembly (106 weed species). At a regional scale, site (75.5% of the explained inertia)—and to a lesser extent, timing—of tillage (18.3%), along with weather (18.1%), shaped weed communities. At a local scale, the timing of tillage explained approximately 50% of the weed community variability. The effect of tillage timing, after partitioning out the effect of weather variables, remained significant at all locations. Weather conditions, mainly growing degree days, but also precipitation occurring before tillage, were important factors and could improve our ability to predict the impact of tillage timing on weed community assemblages. Our findings illustrate the role of disturbance timing on weed communities, and can be used to improve the timing of weed control practices and to maximize their efficacy.

Keywords: canonical correspondence analysis; environmental gradient; germination timing; variance partitioning; weed community; weed seed bank (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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