[APWG] NEWS: Botanic gardens blamed for spreading plant invaders
Katie Fite
katie at westernwatersheds.org
Mon Mar 28 09:55:29 CDT 2011
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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