Occurrence, fate, and transport of aerially applied herbicides to control invasive buffelgrass within Saguaro National Park Rincon Mountain District, Arizona, 2015–18

Paretti, Nicholas V.; Beisner, Kimberly R.; Gungle, Bruce; Meyer, Michael T.; Kunz, Bethany K.; Hermosillo, Edyth; Cederberg, Jay R.; Mayo, Justine P.

doi:10.3133/sir20215039

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 117 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…Reductions in P. ciliare due to herbicide application and mechanical treatments should be weighed against the potential negative effects on non-target native species and ecosystem processes (Abella 2014; Cornish and Burgin 2005; Paretti et al 2021). Previous studies have found that treatments to reduce P. ciliare have no effect on (Abella et al 2013; Backer and Foster 2007) or increase native species (Daehler and Goergen 2005; Lyons et al 2013; Tjelmeland et al 2008), especially if herbicide is combined with additional treatments (Farrell and Gornish 2019).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of a decade of treatments to reduce invasive buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare)

Munson

Lin

et al. 2023

Invasive plant sci. manag.

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The invasion of non-native grasses threatens biodiversity and ecosystem function globally through competition with native plant species and increases to wildfire frequency and intensity. Management actions to reduce buffelgrass [Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link], an invasive warm season perennial bunchgrass, are widely implemented, with chemical and mechanical treatments extending over two decades within Saguaro National Park in the Sonoran Desert of North America. We assessed how the effectiveness of treatments to reduce P. ciliare cover spanning from 2011 – 2020 were influenced by stage of invasion, treatment type and intensity, and environmental conditions. An increase in treatment effectiveness was largely explained by high initial cover of P. ciliare, an indicator of a late invasion stage and associated with high treatment intensity. Treatments had potential to be effective in patches as small as 0.3 m2P. ciliare canopy area per 400 m2 area (< 0.001% canopy cover) across treatment types and environmental gradients. Chemical treatments had higher or equal effectiveness than mechanical treatments, and greater reductions in P. ciliare were associated with shorter average years of treatment interruptions, or gaps, and to a lesser degree, total years of treatment. In many cases, P. ciliare was reduced with as little as two years of treatment, but more than 3 average years of treatment gap could result in reduced treatment effectiveness. There was generally higher treatment effectiveness on shallow slopes, north and east facing aspects, and on higher elevations within one district of the park. Our findings highlight that resource-intensive treatments in all but the smallest patches of P. ciliare have largely been effective. Further opportunities for improvement include more frequent surveillance, limiting treatment gaps to ≤ 3 years in areas of low P. ciliare cover, and comparing treated to untreated areas.

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