Melinis minutiflora Beauv.

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More info for the terms: cover, mesic, shrub, succession

Molasses grass is shade-intolerant [11] and thrives in open, disturbed areas [4,19,34] such as burned sites [13,29,45]. Molasses grass is not tolerant of heavy grazing [32,49]. Establishment and spread of molasses grass in native plant communities in Hawaii may alter succession in invaded communities [1].

At Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, nonnative bush beardgrass (Schizachyrium condensatum) is abundant in unburned, seasonally dry woodlands [11]. Following fire, molasses grass partially replaces bush beardgrass. In the absence of fire, molasses grass establishment in bush beardgrass communities is depressed due to low light levels. In a controlled experiment, molasses grass established in unburned woodlands following the removal of bush beardgrass. Additionally, when molasses grass seedlings established in bush beardgrass communities or when bush beardgrass and molasses grass seedlings emerge on the same site simultaneously, molasses grass came to dominate the site [11].

Lowland dry shrublands in Hawaii are relatively intolerant of fire and are often replaced by nonnative-dominated communities after fire. See FIRE REGIMES for more information on the role of molasses grass in these changes. In Venezuela, Baruch and others [3,4] suggest that the spread of molasses grass was likely aided by the burning of savannas in the Coastal Mountains to improve pastures. Molasses grass may alter the successional dynamics of shrublands in Hawaii [1,49]. Molasses grass "appears capable of displacing" many of the native lowland mesic shrublands in Hawaii [49]. On the upper leeward slopes of Moloka`i Island, monospecific molasses grass stands and shrub (pūkiawe (Styphelia tameiameiae) and `a`ali`i) stands with molasses grass had significantly greater soil nitrogen pools than uninvaded shrublands (P<0.05). The increase of nitrogen may promote further establishment of molasses grass and other nonnatives in native Hawaiian shrublands that are normally nutrient-poor [1]. Conversion of Hawaiian woodlands to grasslands via fires appears to increase nitrogen available to plants. In a molasses grass-dominated grassland converted via fire from a `ōhi`a woodland in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, net nitrogen mineralization was 3.4 times greater than in an unburned `ōhi`a woodland [27].

Molasses grass can tolerate low grazing pressure, giving it an advantage over less tolerant species [33]. However, molasses grass is intolerant of heavy grazing, and changes in dominance have been observed with changes in grazing pressure. Beginning in the 1970s in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, there has been a shift in the central coastal lowland grasslands from dominance of annual and short-statured perennial grasses to dominance of mid-sized, fire-tolerant, perennial grasses including molasses grass [32]. Following the removal of feral goats from the park between 1971 and 1975 [31,33], Japanese lovegrass (Eragrostis amibilis), golden false beardgrass (Chrysopogon aciculatus), Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), and native pili grass were replaced by nonnative thatching grass (Hyparrhenia spp.) and molasses grass. In 1970 there were approximately 14,000 goats in the park and by 1980 there were fewer than 200 [44]. At Pu'u Kaone in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, goat removal led to molasses grass dominance. In a 5-year period, molasses grass became a dominant species with 25% cover in a formerly closed golden false beardgrass-Bermudagrass community [32]. Molasses grass grasslands subjected to heavy grazing by axis deer on Lāna'i are "becoming barren, eroded landscapes" [49].

Muhlenbergia brasiliensis Steudel; Panicum melinis Trinius, nom illeg. superfl.; P. minutiflorum (P. Beauvois) Raspail; Suardia picta Schrank; Tristegis glutinosa Nees.

The scientific name of molasses grass is Melinis minutiflora P. Beauv. (Poaceae) [2,23,50,53,54,55].

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More info for the term: hemicryptophyte

RAUNKIAER [35] LIFE FORM:
Hemicryptophyte