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ARS Home » Plains Area » Sidney, Montana » Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory » Pest Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #203394

Title: Invasion of tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) in a southern California salt marsh

Author
item WHITCRAFT, C - SCRIPPS INST. OCEANOGRAPH
item TALLEY, D - SFBAY NATURAL EST RES RES
item CROOKS, J - TIJUANA RIV NAT EST RES R
item BOLAND, J - RETIRED
item Gaskin, John

Submitted to: Biological Invasions
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/15/2006
Publication Date: 2/2/2007
Citation: Whitcraft, C.R., Talley, D.M., Crooks, J.A., Boland, J., Gaskin, J.F. 2007. Invasion of tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) in a southern California salt marsh. Biological Invasions. 9(7):875-879.

Interpretive Summary: This manuscript describes the first USA invasion of a salt marsh habitat by saltcedar.

Technical Abstract: Exotic plants have been demonstrated to be one of the greatest threats to wetlands, as they are capable of altering ecosystem-wide physical and biological properties. One of the most problematic invaders in the western United States has been salt cedar, Tamarix sp., and the impacts of this species in riparian and desert ecosystems have been well-documented. Here we document large populations of tamarisk in the intertidal salt marshes of Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, a habitat not often considered vulnerable to invasion by tamarisk. Initial research demonstrates that there are multiple species and hybrids of Tamarix invading the estuary and that the potential impact of tamarisk within this salt marsh is significant. This highlights the need for managers and scientists to be aware of the problems associated with tamarisk invasion of coastal marine habitats and to take early and aggressive action to combat any incipient invasion.