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The Global Invasive Species Team | |
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Global Invasive Species Team listserve digest #091 Sat Aug 18 2001 - 11:22:34 PDT --CONTENTS-- 1. Weed-free top soil (Maine, USA) 2. Herbicide Sonar (Oregon, USA) 3. Sterilizing soil (Colorado, USA) 4. Cankers on Oriental bittersweet (Maryland, USA) 5. More on Houttuynia cordata (North Carolina, USA) --------------------------------------- 1. Weed-free top soil (Maine, USA) From: Ross Geredian (goodmigrations(at)yahoo.com) For information on getting weed-free soil, contact Nancy Sferra (nsferra(at)tnc.org) or Parker Schuerman (pschuerman(at)tnc.org), both of the Maine Chapter TNC. They completed a major sand plain restoration on the Kennebunk Plains and had to import soil, I believe, and then add native vegetation using plugs. --------------------------------------- 2. Herbicide Sonar (Oregon, USA) From: Vanelle Carrithers (vfcarrithers(at)dowagro.com) A great deal of information on Sonar and other aquatic herbicides can be obtained through Dr. Kurt Getsinger, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Plant Physiologist, Ecosystem Research and Simulation Division, Aquatic Plant Laboratory. The last address and phone number I have for him is: Waterways Experiment Station, P. O. Box 631, Vicksburg, MS 39180; 601-634-2498. He has done quite a lot of research and published much of it (as have others in his lab) on Sonar and other aquatic herbicides. He is also an aquatic plant consultant for the Environmental Protection Agency. --------------------------------------- 3. Sterilizing soil (Colorado, USA) From: Gregory Eckert (Gregory_E_Eckert(at)nps.gov) I autoclaved soil in Ecuador and it did a number on all the weed seeds. I had done a coarse sieving first. Costs could be prohibitive, and sterilization will significantly alter soil nutrient dynamics, especially nitrogen, and of course it will kill beneficial organisms. This may be the case with any of the proposed treatments. If the application area isn't too great, organisms will colonize the sterile soil quickly enough once plants are put in. You may want to get a read about nitrate and/or ammonium to determine if you need a nitrogen amendment. --------------------------------------- 4. Cankers on Oriental bittersweet (Maryland, USA) From: Barry Rice (bamrice(at)ucdavis.edu) Peter Vogt (Maryland) has observed cankers on invasive Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), and writes: "All the cankers I have observed occur on vines of ca. 1/2 to 1" diameter, although some vines are up to 4" in diameter.... I have seen up to three cankers, usually a couple inches apart and all near the base, on a single vine. The cankers completely girdle the vine. I have not noticed vine mortality associated with the cankers, however." Peter notes that some of the most cankerous plants are growing on Chinese chestnut trees (Castanea mollissima) and wonders if there may be a connection between the cankers and chestnut blight. Anyone with observations, insights, and interest in this should contact Peter Vogt at: vogt(at)qur.nrl.navy.mil --------------------------------------- 5. More on Houttuynia cordata (North Carolina, USA) From: Larry Fowler (Larry.Fowler(at)aphis.usda.gov) Regarding the inquiry on Houttuynia in listserv digest #90, I am currently working for USDA, APHIS, PPQ. About 10 years ago while I was the regional botanist, I received a notice of Houttuynia cordata occurring in Louisiana. My recollection was that it was in swampy areas, of south Louisiana in habitats like those in which Saururus cernuus, its relative, is expected to occur. I recommended that we conduct a survey to learn more: that never came to fruition. The state may have some field information. A possible contact might be Tad Hardy with the Louisiana Dept. Agric. and Forestry (504-925-7772, this may be dated). >From Hortus III: A monotypic genus, a perennial herb, native to temperate east Asia, grown in moist locations; propagated by division and seeds, to 15", rhizome creeping, Japan, s. to mts. of Java and Nepal. >From Economically Important Foreign Weeds - Potential Problems in the United States, (Clyde F. Reed, Agriculture Handbook No. 498, April 1977): Shaded places in lowlands, forested banks; very common; sometimes cultivated, escaping and becoming a harmful weed. Japan*, Taiwan*, Korea, China, India, S.E. Asia, Java, Tibet. (An asterisk following the country indicates that the plant is considered a major weed in that country and that some effort is being made to control it.) Some supporting references: Kasahara, Y. Studies on the weeds of arable land in Japan, with special reference to kinds of harmful weeds, their geographic distributions, abundance, life-length, origin and history. Ber. Ohara Inst., 10(2): 72-109. 1954. Anonymous. Weeds found on cultivated land in Western Taiwan. Plant Industry Division, Taipei, Taiwan, Plant Industry Series No. 25: 1-185, 76 figs. Sept. 1964. Lin, C.I., C.C. Kuo and M.T. Kao. Weeds found on cultivated land in Taiwan. Vol. 1: 1-505. 1968; vol. 2: 1-144. 1968. |
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