[APWG] NEWS: Botanic gardens blamed for spreading plant invaders

[Katie Fite]

And here is a prime example threatening BLM lands and rare plant habitats in
the arid West ­ forage kochia.

http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_kopr80.pdf

Katie Fite


On 3/27/11 8:56 PM, "Scott Lenharth" <scott.lenharth at gmail.com> wrote:

> Wayne, here's a prime example of what you've mentioned:  Caucasian Bluestem
> studied here in Missouri by the ag school (UMC):
>  
> http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G4674
>  
> For our purposes, there are several "red flags" in this write-up:  this
> non-native grass "is easily established", "may be difficult to control with
> herbicides", "no serious disease problems".  Note also how the comparison with
> native grasses is framed as "Wildlife biologists prefer native...", rather
> than acknowledging the underlying science of co-evolution and the enormous
> interaction between native flora and fauna.  This is the problem with
> assessing plant/animal introductions from a strictly agronomic perspective.
>  
> A different Bothriochloa, "King Ranch Bluestem" (Bothriochloa ischaemum var.
> songarica) was "studied" by the SCS and various universities from the 1950s. 
> In the last 10 years, having rapidly established in Texas and other states,
> the research focus by these same entities is on control.  Having proven to be
> invasive, of poor forage quality, and disastrous for wildlife, a lot of folks
> now get to spend funding on undoing the work of their predecessors at the same
> institutions.
>  
> Introductions will continue, in the search for the next great ornamental,
> biofuel, forage, whatever.  And I expect we are quite close to seeing
> genetically modified plants with all the exceptional abilities that will make
> them "superweeds", from the ecosystem management perspective.
>  
>  
> 
>  
> On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 7:03 PM, Wayne Tyson <landrest at cox.net> wrote:
>> While plant and animal fanciers perhaps cannot be stopped, it would be
>> interesting to know to what extent "the government" is responsible--and to
>> what extent various agencies have truly given indigenous species a fair
>> trial. For example, which species have been intentionally planted in huge
>> quantities for "erosion control," "range improvement," and the like . . . I
>> wonder what the International Erosion Control Association, for example, and
>> other trade and professional organizations, not to mention universities and
>> others proclaiming expertise, each has to say about their past and current
>> policies and activities in this regard.
> 
> 
> 
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