Today we hiked part of the perimeter of the Gardner Basin to determine the extent to which alyssum has invaded the basin. Our basic conclusion was that alyssum is everywhere! We walked all the way to the mountains on the far side of the basin and we were still seeing patches of alyssum. I guess all the wind in the basin makes it easy for the seeds to spread. On our walk we also noted the extent of crested wheat grass, another invasive species, and poa, a native grass.

After our hike, we took soil cores through poa, alyssum, and sedge in Steven's Creek and the Remnant to analyze for biomass back in the lab.

Maggie