Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T05:53:50.490Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Preventing Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) Seedling Establishment in the Northern Prairie Pothole Region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michelle K. Ohrtman ,
Sharon A. Clay ,
David E. Clay ,
Eric M. Mousel  and
Alexander J. Smart
Michelle K. Ohrtman*
Affiliation:
South Dakota State University, Department of Plant Science, Brookings, SD 57007
Sharon A. Clay
Affiliation:
South Dakota State University, Department of Plant Science, Brookings, SD 57007
David E. Clay
Affiliation:
South Dakota State University, Department of Plant Science, Brookings, SD 57007
Eric M. Mousel
Affiliation:
South Dakota State University, Department of Natural Resources, Brookings, SD 57007
Alexander J. Smart
Affiliation:
South Dakota State University, Department of Natural Resources, Brookings, SD 57007
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: michelle.ohrtman@sdstate.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Controlled burns and grazing are being tested to manage invasive grasses in the Prairie Pothole region of the Northern Great Plains. These practices, however, may inadvertently promote saltcedar infestations from seed by opening the vegetative canopy. Saltcedar seedling establishment was investigated in greenhouse experiments using intact soil cores from one summit and three footslope sites in eastern South Dakota. Establishment tests were conducted in soil cores collected from treatment and control plots immediately after spring fire treatment (postburn) and in cores that contained peak cool- or peak warm-season vegetation, with or without clipping (simulated grazing treatment), to simulate vegetation conditions typical of saltcedar seed-shed in northern regions. Cores were seeded with 100 saltcedar seeds and subirrigated to maintain high soil water conditions, characteristic of the environment near potholes during late spring/early summer. Seedlings were counted during the first 3 wk to estimate establishment and the height of five seedlings core−1 were measured weekly to estimate growth rates. Opening the canopy with fire or clipping increased saltcedar establishment. Cores taken immediately after fire treatment had two times more seedlings establish (38% vs. 19%) and greater average seedling growth rate (1.5 mm d−1 vs. 0.9 mm d−1) when compared with no-fire controls. Fire after seeding reduced seedling establishment to 5%, but did not affect growth rate. Saltcedar establishment in peak cool-season vegetation cores was 6% regardless of earlier fire treatment, whereas in peak warm-season vegetation, establishment ranged from 8% (no spring fire) to 17% (spring fire). If soils remain wet, invasion risk following spring fire may be greatest when warm-season grasses are flowering because this time coincides with northern saltcedar seed production. Areas adjacent to viable saltcedar seed sources should be managed to maximize canopy cover when seeds are released to limit further establishment. Fire after saltcedar seed deposition may control propagules and young seedlings.

Keywords

saltcedar, Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. TARA, Tamarix chinensis Lour. TACH, and Tamarix hybridsGrazingfirePrairie Pothole regionNorthern Great Plainsgrasslandcompetitionvegetation management
Type
Research Article
Information
Invasive Plant Science and Management , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , December 2011 , pp. 427 - 436
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Brotherson, J. D. and Winkel, V. 1986. Habitat relationships of saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima) in central Utah. Great Basin Nat. 46:535–541.Google Scholar
Burch, D., Coffin, M., Siefert-Spilde, R., Moehring, R., and Franklin, S. 2007. Missouri River Watershed Coalition Saltcedar Management Plan. http://www.weedcenter.org/mrwc/docs/about-us-saltcedar-plan.pdf Accessed: February 17, 2011.Google Scholar
Busch, D. E. 1995. Effects of fire on Southwestern riparian plant community structure. Southwest. Nat. 40:259–267.Google Scholar
Busch, D. E. and Smith, S. D. 1993. Effects of fire on water and salinity relations of riparian woody taxa. Oecologia 94:186–194.Google Scholar
Christner, T. 2011. Utilizing early season defoliation to control introduced cool-season grasses in the northern tallgrass prairie. M.S. thesis, Brookings, SD: South Dakota State University. 118.Google Scholar
DeLoach, C. J., Milbrath, L. R., Carruthers, R., Knutson, A. E., Nibling, F., Eberts, D., Thompson, D. C., Kazmer, D. J., Dudley, T. L., Bean, D. W., and Knight, J. B. 2006. Overview of saltcedar biological control. Pages 92–99 in Aquirre-Bravo, C., Pellicane, P. J., Burns, D. P., and Draggon, S., eds. Monitoring Science and Technology Symposium: Unifying Knowledge for Sustainability in the Western Hemisphere. Fort Collins, CO U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station Proceedings RMRS-P-42CD.Google Scholar
Ehrenreich, J. H. 1959. Effect of burning and clipping on growth of native prairie in Iowa. J. Range Manag. 12:133–137.Google Scholar
Friedman, J. M., Roelle, J. E., Gaskin, J. F., Pepper, A. E., and Manhart, J. R. 2008. Latitudinal variation in cold hardiness in introduced Tamarix and native Populus . Evol. Appl. 1:598–607.Google Scholar
Higgins, K. F. 1986. Interpretation and Compendium of Historical Fire Accounts in the Northern Great Plains. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Interior Fish Wildlife Service Research Publ. 161.39 p.Google Scholar
Higgins, K. F., Kruse, A. D., and Piehl, J. L. 1989. Effects of Fire in the Northern Great Plains. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/habitat/fire/index.htm. Accessed: January 22, 2011.Google Scholar
Hulett, G. K. and Tomanek, G. W. 1961. Effects of some environmental factors on germination of salt cedar (Tamarix pentandra Pall.). Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 64:96–101.Google Scholar
Lesica, P. and Miles, S. 2004. Ecological strategies for managing tamarisk on the C. M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, Montana, USA. Biol. Conserv. 119:535–543.Google Scholar
McDaniel, K. C. and Taylor, J. P. 2003. Saltcedar recovery after herbicide-burn and mechanical clearing practices. J. Range Manag. 56:439–445.Google Scholar
Merkel, D. L. and Hopkins, H. H. 1957. Life history of saltcedar: (Tamarix gallica L.). Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 60:360–369.Google Scholar
Mullahey, J. J., Waller, S. S., and Moser, L. E. 1991. Defoliation effects on yield and bud and tiller numbers of two Sandhills grasses. J. Range Manag. 44:241–245.Google Scholar
[NCR-13] North Central Region-13 Committee. 1998. Recommended Chemical Soil Test Procedures for the North Central Region. http://extension.missouri.edu/explorepdf/specialb/sb1001.pdf Accessed: January 29, 2011.Google Scholar
[NRCS] Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2010a. Soil Series Classification. https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/scname.asp. Accessed: December 16, 2010.Google Scholar
[NRCS] Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2010b. Web Soil Survey. http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx. Accessed: December 16, 2010.Google Scholar
Olsvig-Whittaker, L., Walczak, M., Sabach, A., and Dror, E. 2009. Vegetation change in response to grazing and water level decline in the Enot Zukim Nature Reserve (En Frescha), Israel. Isr. J. Plant Sci. 57:1–12.Google Scholar
Pearce, C. M. and Smith, D. G. 2003. Saltcedar: distribution, abundance, and dispersal mechanisms, northern Montana, USA. Wetlands 23:215–228.Google Scholar
Pearce, C. M. and Smith, D. G. 2007. Invasive saltcedar (Tamarix): its spread from the American Southwest to the Northern Great Plains. Phys. Geogr. 28:507–530.Google Scholar
Sexton, J. P., McKay, J. K., and Sala, A. 2002. Plasticity and genetic diversity may allow saltcedar to invade cold climates in North America. Ecol. Appl. 12:1652–1660.Google Scholar
Sexton, J. P., Sala, A., and Murray, K. 2006. Occurrence, persistence, and expansion of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) populations in the Great Plains of Montana. West. N. Am. Naturalist 66:1–11.Google Scholar
Sher, A. A., Marshall, D. L., and Gilbert, S. A. 2000. Competition between native Populus deltoides and invasive Tamarix ramosissima and the implications for reestablishing floodplain disturbance. Conserv. Biol. 14:1744–1754.Google Scholar
Sher, A. A., Marshall, D. L., and Taylor, J. P. 2002. Establishment patterns of native Populus and Salix in the presence of invasive nonnative Tamarix . Ecol. Appl. 12:760–772.Google Scholar
Smart, A. J., Derner, J. D., Hendrickson, J. R., Gillen, R. L., Dunn, B. H., Mousel, E. M., Johnson, P. S., Gates, R. N., Sedivec, K. K., Harmoney, K. R., Volesky, J. D., and Olson, K. C. 2010. Effects of grazing pressure on efficiency of grazing on North American Great Plains rangelands. Rangeland Ecol. Manag. 63:397–406.Google Scholar
Smith, M. D. and Knapp, A. K. 1999. Exotic plant species in a C4-dominated grassland: invasibility, disturbance, and community structure. Oecologia 120:605–612.Google Scholar
South Dakota Department of Agriculture. 2010. South Dakota Saltcedar Distribution Map. http://www.sdda.sd.gov/Ag_Services/Plant-Protection/PDF/2010%20SALTCEDAR.pdf Accessed: September 9, 2011.Google Scholar
Stewart, R. E. and Kantrud, H. A. 1971. Classification of natural ponds and lakes in the glaciated prairie region. Washington, D.C. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Resource Publication 92. Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wetlands/pondlake/index.htm Accessed: January 10, 2011.Google Scholar
Stromberg, J. C. 1997. Growth and survivorship of Fremont cottonwood, Goodding willow, and salt cedar seedlings after large floods in central Arizona. Great Basin Nat. 57:198–208.Google Scholar
Stromberg, J. C. and Rychener, T. J. 2010. Effects of fire on riparian forests along a free-flowing dryland river. Wetlands 30:75–86.Google Scholar
Towne, G. and Owensby, C. 1984. Long-term effects of annual burning at different dates in ungrazed Kansas tallgrass prairie. J. Range Manag. 37:392–397.Google Scholar
Volesky, J., Stubbendieck, J., and Mitchell, R. 2007. Conducting a Prescribed Burn and Prescribed Burning Checklist. Lincoln, NE University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service Extension Circular ED121. 15 p.Google Scholar
Zaman, S., Padmesh, S., Bhat, N. R., and Tawfiq, H. 2009. Germination characteristics and storage behavior of Tamarix aucheriana (Decne.) seeds. Eur. J. Sci. Res. 26:532–538.Google Scholar
Zavaleta, E. 2000. The economic value of controlling an invasive shrub. Ambio 29:462–467.Google Scholar