How to translate text using browser tools
4 August 2020 Evaluating the efficacy of removal treatments on wavyleaf basketgrass (Oplismenus undulatifolius)
Anna K. M. Bowen, Vanessa B. Beauchamp, Martin H. H. Stevens
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

With the spread of a new invasive plant species, it is vital to determine the effectiveness of removal strategies as well as their advantages and disadvantages before attempting widespread removal. While thousands of dollars have been spent to curtail the spread of wavyleaf basketgrass [Oplismenus undulatifolius (Ard.) P. Beauv.], a relatively new invasive species, the lack of a cohesive management plan and funding has made controlling this species especially difficult. We assessed the efficacy of a variety of chemical control methods and hand weeding for this species and followed select methods over time. We also assessed the potential for ecosystem recovery following removal by measuring total and native species richness in response to treatments. Our pilot study revealed a wide breadth of responses to our eight herbicides, with fluazifop plus fenoxaprop, imazapic, quizalofop, and sulfometuron methyl being the least effective. In our follow-up experiments, hand weeding, glyphosate, and clethodim treatments were effective at reducing O. undulatifolius percent cover, density, and biomass, with an average reduction of at least 48% in the first year. However, we found substantial variation in the effectiveness of clethodim between our two experiments, which was likely driven by site differences. We also found that all three of these removal methods were effective at reducing the number of O. undulatifolius flowering stems and the height of those stems, which will likely reduce the spread of this species to new areas. Finally, we found that these methods have the potential to restore total and native species richness, but that glyphosate-treated plots did not fully recover until 2 yr after treatment.

© Weed Science Society of America, 2020.
Anna K. M. Bowen, Vanessa B. Beauchamp, and Martin H. H. Stevens "Evaluating the efficacy of removal treatments on wavyleaf basketgrass (Oplismenus undulatifolius)," Invasive Plant Science and Management 13(3), 176-188, (4 August 2020). https://doi.org/10.1017/inp.2020.22
Received: 4 February 2020; Accepted: 29 July 2020; Published: 4 August 2020
KEYWORDS
clethodim
forest management
Glyphosate
hand weeding
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top