Kill a Plant to Save the West

[liveonearth]

Anyone who runs rivers in the western US cannot help but to know about TAMARISK. They're pretty, feathery shrubs that crowd the riverbanks and flower in pink. In fact they are introduced from Asia. Like kudzu they were planted to prevent erosion but then took off. We call them "tammies"--or some call them "toiletwood" because they burn like shit and smell like piss. River runners aren't shy about sculpting the tammies to suit their camping needs.

http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2007/01/to_save_the_west_kill_a_plant.php
This article tries to put an optimistic face on the tammie invasion, but far as I know there is no stopping this plant. Groups of people working VERY hard can eradicate it from small areas (Marijka can attest) but eliminating it from the entire west is impossible....or seems that way. They produce gadzillions of seeds that fly in the wind, and have brutally long taproots once established. The one suggestion that I have heard that could possibly work: genetically modify the plant such that seeds are not generated, or are not fertile.

People get all upset about genetic modification of food (want fish genes in your corn?) but I think it is the only technology we have that has a chance of changing the direction of this ecosystem-wide foreign plant invasion.

Comments

[neptunia67.livejournal.com]

Genetic modification wouldn't change the plant population that's already there and producing fertile seeds, would it? I don't see how planting more tams that are modified would help the situation. Elaborate?

[neptunia67.livejournal.com]

The beetle idea is interesting. I guess they only eat tamarisk (I HOPE they only eat tamarisk)...

tenacious weeds

[marijkab.livejournal.com]

Beetles released at Echo Park in Dinosaur N.M. have so far chowed down on tammies since May of last year. These beetles (Diorhabda elongata deserticola) have been tested in sites throughout the west for over 20 years. So far, so good. Excellent results, in fact, in sites in Lovelock, NV, and another I can't remember in Cataract Canyon. Of course, the wisdom of introducing one non-native species to control another can be a double edged sword. Only time will tell, and the beetles are extremely picky about where they will live, so they might not make it in Grand Canyon and other areas at all.
Tammies will never be exterminated completely, but it can be controlled, sometimes with great results and less labor than you'd think. And boy does it feel good to yank them out of the ground.