THIS RESEARCH WAS MOTIVATED BY AN EMAIL
FROM SYLVIA SOWADSKI OF THE SAN DIEGO
FIRE PREVENTION BUREAU
She expressed her concern and the concern of neighbors.
CAN MULCHED ARUNDO DONAX SPROUT?
Got that question on my mind as Sylvia is saying to dispose of the Arundo Donax out of some concern that if we mulch our Arundo Donax and put it back on the root system that the chips will sprout.
This is a research question.
HERE IS THE ANSWER
The incidence of and need for concern is very little.
Here is a photo of the spreading of
Proceedings
California Exotic Pest Plant
Council Symposiums
Volume 6: 2000, 2001, 2002
Edited by
Mike Kelly California Exotic Pest Plant Council
pp 64-78
http://www.cal-ipc.org/symposia/archive/pdf/18602.pdf
PAGE 64
PAGE 65
PHOTO #5
Figure 10. Site #5 is a military training facility where approximately 5800 cubic yards of Arundo Donax Giant Reed) mulch were spread. A circle, a tiny dot on the entire landscape indicates that there wa one Arundo Donax that sprouted on the entire hillside.
The conclusion is that resprouting is rare, but the site needs to be monitored. I will agree to monitor our site on the Arosa Canyon Preserve bordering our organic garden with the help of hired staff and residents. We will mechanically manage this parch, cutting down the reeds to prevent fire hazard. We will manage the patch without the use of Round Up that increasingly is being shown to be carcinogenic to human, and harmful to flora, fauna, and the fertility of the soil.
I am aware of the concern of our neighbor that the patch would regrow in five years. It is important to recognize that even with Round Up applications, Arunda Donax, when unmanaged, can return.
The key is management.
We are also engaging in experiments to show that the rhizomes can be managed mechancially. Other experiments will demonstrate natural means of killing the rhizomes.
THe alternative is using Round Up, taking the chance to harm wildlife, flora, and fauna, destroying the viability of the organic soil nearby, and then hauling off the reeds to the dump at great expense to the landowner.
I prefit to see this valuable mulch, that is identified, in the literature as helping soil erosion. We have already demonstrated over a five year period that Arundo Donax will compost into an important soil amendment.
In one report site, the cost of handling a patch at the Camp Pendelton in San Diego was something like $49,000, and an estimated $15,000,000 for that entire stand. That project was down with the Marines and Nature Conservancy working together.
There has also been USDA funds involved in restoration of land with Arunda Donax.
There is much to gain here through demonstrating natural management.
Our San Diego landfill is already maxed out.
The cost of transport is a factor to the homeowner.
ASIDE: POTENTIAL BENEFITS
ARUNDO DONAX AS A BIOFUEL SOURCE?
There is also research that indicates that Arundo Donax is potentially one of the greatest potential sources for alternative biofuel. The Military already has peak oil--the shortage of oil--on their radar. What if Arundo is explored
for its potential value to the military? What if it is a source of income and jobs as a local industry in San Diego Country evolves?
REPORT FROM AUSTRALIA
Conclusion;
With proper tools and land management Adx (Arundo Donax) has high potential to be the basis for a new biofuel industry with effective weed risk management
• Generation of jobs, income & sustainable regional development
http://www.irrigation.org.au/Day1/Stream3_S24.pdf
Please note that where Round Up is notes as one possible way to exterminate the root system, other means are noted through. Also, note how a mechanical break kept the crop from expanding to other areas.
REPORT FROM GEORGIA
Amazing info about the values of Arundo as a Biofuel source and its non invasive nature if managed properly.
Two diskings annually around field borders are all that is required to prevent spread of Arundo. In all planned projects, BG&E will have a minimum of a 20 ft buffer zone around the perimeter of Arundo donax planted for commercial use .
Arundo donax does not produce viable seed, has clumping rhizomes, and produces no runners such as with bamboo.
The most extensive studies of Perennial Grasses to determine their suitability as bioenergy crops were undertaken under the FAIR of the EU from 1997 to 2000. Their final report recommended Arundo donax as the most promising of all those grown in trial plots, harvested and then tested as the feedstock for a variety of commercial utilizations including biopower, biofuel & paper fiber as well as the added benefit of phytoremediation (the de-pollution of contaminated soils). At no stage of this most exhaustive program were there any instances of invasiveness and Arundo was stated as “environmentally friendly,” “soil improvements achieved,” “environmentally benign,” and “The champion of future bioenergy crops.”
http://www.biggreenenergy.com/default.aspx?tabid=4269
Posters 2001
Evaluation of Chipped Arundo Biomass as Mulch
Dawn M. Lawson Southwest Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command, San Diego Ca., and Harry Smead Tierra Data Systems, Escondido, Ca
Introduction
Arundo donax can produce huge volumes, up to 45 kg/m2, of biomass (A.H.B.M. Wijte, pers. comm.). In many cases the plants are foliar sprayed and the material is left standing or it is chopped in place. There are times when for other reasons, such as reducing the amount of dead biomass introduced into a riparian system, that the choice is made to remove the material. This can be costly and difficult to manage and so we evaluated its use as mulch for restoration and erosion control.
Approximately 80,000 yards of chipped Arundo do- nax were generated as a result of Arundo eradication efforts on Camp Pendleton. The material consists of stem and root fragments ranging from 1/2 inch to 6 inches in size (Fig. 1). This material has the potential to resprout under ideal laboratory conditions from pieces as small as 1/4 inch (Claude Boehm, pers.comm). However, other than the potential for Arundo resprouts the material contains very few weeds, making it potentially useful for restoration. Also expected are additional benefits associated with stabilizing the soil and hindering wind and water ero- sion. Our question was to find out how much Arundo resprouting actually occurs under actual field condi- tions to evaluate the viability of using Arundo as mulch throughout the Base.
Methods
During calendar year 2000 approximately 20,000 cubic yards were spread on five sites (Fig. 2). The pur- pose of the first study was to get an idea of the quan- tity of resprouting Arundo in order to determine the practicality of using this product for restoration and erosion control. In 2001, approximately 400 cubic yards of Arundo mulch was incorporated in a coastal sage scrub restoration project (Rusev et. al). The pur- pose of the second study is to evaluate Arundo mulch against Oceanside landfill orchard mulch in terms of soil moisture retention and non-native plant invasion.
The Arundo was removed from the soil with a grap- ple and ground using a stationary tub grinder between October 1999 and January 2000 (Fig. 3). Between the months of February and Aprilapproximately 450 truckloads of Arundo mulch was spread 6 to 10 inches deep at five sites (Figs 4 – 11).
The sites were visited on February 15 and June 16, 2000 to evaluate resprouting.
Results
On June 16, 2000, after approximately four months post-application, sites 1-4 were examined for Arundo resprouts (Table 1). Site # 5 was examined on August 8, 2000. These sites had received about 7.8 inches of rainfall. The total number of resprouts across all lay down sites was relatively small. The area with the greatest amount of resprouting was the woodlot con- taining the source pile that still was fairly deep (ap- proximately 36 inches).
Table 1. Number of resprouts at each site.
Site* # of Resprouts
#1 #2 #3 10 2 10
#4 #5 1 12
#1 Vacant Lot; #2 Firebreak; #3 Pistol Range & Park- ing Lot; #4 Parking Lot; #5 Military Training Facility
At the coastal sage scrub restoration site in 2001 14 resprouts were found.
Discussion
In the 2000 study the Arundo resprouts seemed to share two traits. They all grew from large rhi- zomes that 1) apparently remained fairly intact through the mulching operation, and 2) were bur- ied rather deeply in the substrate under deeper layers of mulch (Fig. 12). Mulch that was spread
65
thinly and evenly, like over most of Site #3 and at the parking area at Site #4, had fewer resprouts. Site #1 was different in that resprouts appeared to be more uniformly distributed across the site and not necessarily tied to deeper mulch than at the other sites. However, since this was the only site where the mulch was tilled into the soil, resprout- ing may still have been accelerated by deeper mulch in the subsurface soil. The woodlot had the most resprouting and the deepest pile of mulch of all sites investigated here.
In the 2001 study four of the fourteen resprouts had no detectable rhizome or stem fragment at the base of the plant while the remainder grew from pieces ranging from 6 to 29 cm in length. At this time both the Arundo mulch and Oceanside Land- fill Orchard Mulch have resulted in increased moisture retention and slower non-native plant in- vasion than bare ground (Rusev et.al, 2001).
Conclusions
1. While very small stem and root fragments can germinate under laboratory conditions, in the field very few actually do.
2. The numbers of resprouts are so few and small that pesticides are not needed for their control and they can easily be collected by hand.
3. Even though resprouts are few, they do occur and so arundo mulch is only recommended on sites where follow-up monitoring is planned.
Literature Cited
Rusev, A., T. Zink and M. F. Allen. 2001. Annual Report for the Restoration of Coastal Sage Scrub Habitat as Mitigation for the Santa Margarita River Flood Control and Basilone Bridge Re- placement Project. Prepared for Southwest Division Naval Fa- cilities Engineering Command, San Diego, California.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the staff of the Environ- mental Security Office at Camp Pendleton, espe- cially Chris Bandy, Wildlife Biologist and Rich Riddle, Range Conservationist for their participa- tion in and support of this project.
OTHER RESEARCH
ABOUT ARUNDO DONAX (GIANT REED)
Reedgrass...
Arundo is native to the Mediterranean area east through India and other subtropical environments. In the United States, giant reed has been reported to grow from California through the southern states to the eastern coast and as far north as Maryland. While Arundo prefers well drained soils where abundant moisture is available, the plant has also been observed to grow well where water tables were close to, or at, the soil surface. Individual plants can tolerate excessive salinity. Although Arundo can survive very low temperatures when dormant, it is subject to serious damage by frosts just after the start of spring growth or while still a seedling.
Arundo donax is grown commercially in southern Europe where it is harvested, cured and used to make musical woodwind instruments. In the United States, some biotypes have been grown as ornamentals for the landscape industry.
USES OF ARUNDO DONAX
to do...
EARLIER RESEARCH
I am searching the internet.
This is what I found so far.
7:10 pm
October 26, 2011
http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr195/psw_gtr195_2_14_La...
PAGE ONE
Establishment from vegetative parts re- quires either burial in deep, moist layers of soil or near-saturated conditions at the surface for prolonged periods. Therefore, establishment of new patches occurs primarily in conjunction with flooding. Between flood events, spread occurs outward from existing patches (Else 1996).
PAGE TWO
A. donax removal followed by natural re-colonization by native species achieves a cost savings that allows much larger areas to be restored (Bell 1998). On Camp Pendleton, A. donax control, with or without replanting of native vegetation, serves to mitigate temporary and permanent impacts to endangered riparian species. This is based on the premises that natural processes will result in the recovery of native habitats that support the listed species and that control will prevent future habitat losses from an- ticipated A. donax spread (ACS/ES Camp Pendleton 1994, Babbitt and others 1995).
Wow!! this stand could be harvested as a security issue and used as biofuel.
Environmental security is not on the radar of the Miltary, said keynote speaker commander at the Bright Green Future Conference last Saturday.
I taped that....in own Iphoto library....
$15,000,000 needed to eradicate it!
49,000 a ha...
Throughout southern California, restoration of riparian habitat is compromised by A. donax invasions of restored sites (Stein 1998). Because A. donax establishes readily from vegetative fragments, but not from seed, it was evident that control at
4 Unpublished data on file at Dendra Inc. 1003 Hygeia Ave. Encinitas, CA 92024
230 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-195. 2005.
Santa Margarita River A. donax Control Project—Lawson, Giessow, and Giessow
DOES NOT GROW FROM SEED
DISPERSAL OF VEGETATIVE PARTS DOWNDSTREAM
the Santa Margarita River should proceed from the upstream portions of the watershed downstream. Without this approach, removal in the lower reaches would be only temporary, because dispersal of vegetative parts downstream would reestablish populations. The lack of seed production means that once A. donax is removed from a drainage in this manner, it can remain free of A. donax indefinitely. Reintroduction by human activities (for example, illegal dumping of yard trimmings) can occur, but it is rare enough that periodic checks should be sufficient to prevent its reestablishment. The likelihood of discontinuities in the overall control effort heightens the need to begin upstream.
CAUTION
Can harm wildlife....
A. donax control is limited during the toad breeding season, generally from February 1 to July 15. In addition, activities are minimized near damp sandy areas during September to avoid impacts to juvenile arroyo toads.
TIMING
Because of the need to avoid impacts to endangered species, the actual time available for foliar herbicide application is approximately 8 to 10 weeks per year, from mid-September to the onset of winter dormancy.
Marine corps and nature conservancy worked together...
Call IN THE MARINES.!!!!
MILITARY REINFORCEMENTS
JOB FOR THE EX MILITARY...
funding from where?
hire Andrew to do it.//
and fletcher...
2321
USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-195. 2005. 231
DEAD STALKS WERE LEFT ON THE GROUND AS A FIREBREAK
during flood events. We subsequently addressed the fire hazard in part by manually knocking down strips of dead A. donax (leaving the stalks on the ground) to act as fire breaks. 232
BINGO...
IN THE MARINE EXPERIMENT OF CONDUCTED BY THE USDA...
Both stems and rhizomes were removed with a clamshell bucket on a trackhoe or excavator and processed through a tub grinder to minimize potential for resprouting and make the material re-usable as mulch.
232...
fter extraction of the stalks and rhizomes with the track hoe, laborers walked over the site and removed remaining pieces of rhizomes. Scattered resprouting from missed pieces of rhizome were either pulled by hand or treated with herbicide.
A. donax resprouting (resprout density) over 2 years following foliar herbicide treatment was analyzed using linear regression. Annual changes in percent absolute foliar cover within treatments were evaluated using Student’s t-tests.
Site Restoration
A. donax was mechanically removed from a 25-ha site 11 km from the river mouth during fall 1999/winter 2000. A small-scale restoration experiment was carried out in January 2001 within 30 5x5-m plots to test the effect of mulching on survival of cuttings planted to revegetate the site. Fifteen plots were covered with a 25 cm thick layer of mulch consisting of chipped A. donax ranging from 1-15 cm in length. Because stem and root fragments of A. donax rarely sprout when spread at this depth (Lawson and Smead 2001), we chose it as the mulch material.
http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr195/psw_gtr195_2_14_La...
234
http://www.cal-ipc.org/symposia/archive/pdf/18602.pdf
Arundo donax Eradication and Coordination Project: Coordinating \eradication projects in the Bay-Delta region
Mark Newhouser, Team Arundo Del Norte 43
BINGO!!!!
Evaluation of Chipped Arundo Biomass as Mulch
Dawn Lawson, SW Div. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, San Diego, CA. and Harry Smead, Tierra Data Systems, Escondido, CA 64
Distributions of Arundo Donax in Coastal Watersheds of Southern California
Bill Neill Riparian Repairs, Anaheim CA, and Jason Giessow, Santa Margarita and San Luis Rey Weed Management Area, Encinitas CA 77
Planning Arundo donax removal: A review of methods for control and biomass removal
Jason Giessow and Jesse Giessow, Santa Margarita and San Luis Rey Watersheds Weed Management Area, Fallbrook, Calif. 85
Watershed Based Eradication of Arundo donax (giant reed): from pulling together to mapping to treating to re-planting
Jason Giessow, Santa Margarita and San Luis Rey Watersheds Weed Management Area, & DENDRA, Inc. 87
http://ceres.ca.gov/sec/Arundo_facts.html
What the Sonoma Ecology Center is doing about it-
The Watershed Council of the Sonoma Ecology Center has obtained a grant from the California Department of Water Resources Urban Stream Restoration Program to begin eradication of Giant Reed in the Sonoma Creek channel. We are planning volunteer workdays in the Spring of 1995 to remove clumps and haul away or burn the biomass, and to replant with native trees and shrubs. As part of our program, we are making efforts to educate the public about this and other pest plants, so nurseries stop selling it and people know not to plant it or dump cuttings into waterways.
TO DO....next...
WITH PEAK OIL NOW ON OUT MILITARY RADAR,
AND SOURCES FOR ASLTERNSTIVE FUELS AN ISSUE,
THE MARINES OF CAMP PENDLETON NEED LOOK FARTHER
THAN THEIR BACKYARD
ARUNO DONAX: THERE IS NO NEED TO SPEND MILLIONS
ERADICATION IT. IT IS POTENTIALLY THE WORLD'S MOST
LIKELY CANDIDATE AS A BIOFUEL SOURCE
Report Copyright by Leslie Goldman,
Your Enchanted Gardener
This report is dedicated to Sylvia Sowadski of the
San Diego Fire Prevention Bureau, who is asking us to control our
canyon Rim Arundo Donax, motivated me to research the internet
and come up with these remarkable findings:
1. Check out this report from Australia---]
LOOK FORWARD TO THIS AMAZING RESEARCH ON ARUNDO DONAX AS A POTENTIAL BIOFUEL AS WELL AS A JOB OPPORTUNITY
REPORT FROM AUSTRALIA
http://www.irrigation.org.au/Day1/Stream3_S24.pdf
Please note that where Round Up is notes as one possible way to exterminate the root system, other means are noted through. Also, note how a mechanical break kept the crop from expanding to other areas.
REPORT FROM GEORGIA
Amazing info about the values of Arundo as a Biofuel source and its non invasive nature if managed properly.
http://www.biggreenenergy.com/default.aspx?tabid=4269
MAKE OUR CANYON A PESTICIDE FREE ZONE PLEASE
Petition...is one needed, or are we willing to just let this be?
Reference:
In Ojai...reports of ill consequences of Round Up Spraying are reported.