General Impact
Gutterman (2000) states that, "This species has been observed to germinate and produce seeds in seasons when there was not enough rain for many of the other annual species in these areas to germinate. The strategies this species employs enable it to emerge in large populations and produce seeds even in very harsh seasons when almost no seed germination occurs in other plant species." Wilken and Hannah (1998) state that, "S. arabicus has been reported as a host to the smut fungus, Sporisorium aegypticum (Vanky and Ershad 1993)." Brooks (UNDATED) states that, "S. arabicus rose from relative obscurity to become one of the dominant annual grasses in arid and semi-arid regions of California during the 1940s (Clarke, pers. comm.). As S. arabicus became more dominant, the similar native annual grass, six-weeks fescue (Vulpia octoflora) became less common (Clarke, pers. comm.). S. arabicus can compete effectively for limiting nutrients with native annual plants that occupy spaces between shrubs (Brooks 1998)." The author also states that, "Fire is readily carried across inter-shrub spaces by the dead stems of S. arabicus (Brooks 1998, Brooks in press), which may have contributed to the increasing frequency and extent of fire in recent decades in California deserts."
No Impact information recorded for Schismus arabicus
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