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 Saltcedar
is tolerant to high salinity and secretes salt at a sufficient rate to on the
soil surface to where harm is caused to native plants. The plant also increases fire frequency in
riparian areas where it dominates due to an accumulation of dead
vegetation. In fact, fires causes
saltcedar to sprout more rapidly, while native riparian vegetation usually do
not. Saltcedar groves remove native
species by affecting their reproductive potential and contributing to a drop
in biodiversity. This pest also
contributes to the decline of wetland communities as habitat refuge for
wildlife. Species affected by the
spread of saltcedar include the plants and animals animals that are
associated with riparian communities, including some threatened or endangered
species (i.e., desert pupfish, bighorn sheep, southwestern willow flycatcher,
etc.).
By
reducing the genetic diversity of California riparian communities,
environmental damage and indirect economic impact occurs. When saltcedar dominates in natural communities
habitat degradation occurs. Saltcedar
may also pose a threat to agriculture due to its high water demand and its
cloging of water delivery canals
(Zavaleta 2000).
Even though this plant is a
considerable environmental pest, barrier plantings of it were effectively
deployed in the Lower Desert areas of California to stop sand storms from
covering highways and housing areas.
Nevertheless, University of California researchers estimate that the
saltcedar invasion in the southwest includes over one million hectares of
sensitive habitats ranging from northern Mexico to southern Canada. Principal States affected include
California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
REFERENCES:
Busch, David E.
& Stanley D. Smith. 1995. Mechanisms associated with decline of
woody species in riparian ecosystems of the southwestern U.S". Ecological Monographs. 65 (3): 347–370.
Christensen, E.
M. 1962. The Rate of Naturalization of Tamarix in Utah. American Midland Naturalist. 68 (1): 51–57.
Horton, J. L.; T. E.
Kolb & S. C. Hart. 2001. Responses of riparian trees to
interannual variation in ground water depth in a semi-arid river basin". Plant, Cell and Environment. 24 (3): 293–304.
Merritt, David M.
& David J. Cooper. 2000. Riparian vegetation and channel change in
response to river regulation: A comparative study of regulated and
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Shafroth, Patrick; Juliet Stromberg &
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Sher, Anna A.; Diane
L. Marshall & Steven A. Gilbert.
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native Populus deltoides and invasive Tamarix
ramosissima and the implications
of reestablishing flooding disturbance.
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1744–1754
Sher, A. A. ; D. L.
Marshall, J. P. Taylor. June 2002. Establishment patterns of native Populus and Salix in the
presence of invasive, non-native Tamarix.
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Sher, A. A. & D.
L. Marshall. 2003. Competition between native and exotic
floodplain tree species across water regimes and soil textures. American Journal of Botany. 90 (3):
413–422.
Stromberg, J. C. 1998. Dynamics of Fremont cottonwood (Populus
fremontii) and saltcedar (Tamarix chinesis) populations along the San Pedro
River, Arizona". Journal of Arid
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Taylor, J. & K.
McDaniel. 1998. Restoration of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.)-infested floodplains on
the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Weed Technology. 12 (2):
345–352.
Zamora-Arroyo F., P. L. Nagler, M. Briggs,
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Zouhar, Kris. 2003.
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