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Saltcedar Tamarisk

 

Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb -- Caryophyllales:  Tamaricaceae

 

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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 unregulated streams in the Green River Basin, USA".  Regulated Rivers: Research and Management. 16 (6):  543–564.

 

Morisette J. T., C. S. Jarnevich, A. Ullah, W. Cai, et al.  2006.  A tamarisk habitat suitability map for the continental United States".  Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 4 (1):  11–17.

 

Shafroth, Patrick; Juliet Stromberg & D. Duncan.  2000.  Woody riparian vegetation response to different alluvial water table regimes" (PDF).  Western North American Naturalist. 60:  66–76.

 

Sher, Anna A.; Diane L. Marshall & Steven A. Gilbert.  2000.   Competition between native Populus deltoides and invasive Tamarix ramosissima and the implications of reestablishing flooding disturbance.   Conservation Biology. 14 (6):  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.  Ecological Applications. 12 (3):  760–772

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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 Environments. 40 (2):  133–155.

 

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, D. Radtke, et al.  2001.  Regeneration of native trees in response to flood releases from the United States into the delta of the Colorado River, Mexico.  Journal of Arid Environments. 49 (1):  49–64.

 

Zavaleta, E.  2000.  The economic value of controlling an invasive shrub.  AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment. 29 (8):  462–467.

 

Zouhar, Kris.  2003.  Tamarix spp. In: Fire Effects Information System.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.