Evalua&ngEstablishmentofReed

Canarygrass(Phalarisarundinacea)along

streamsandroadnetworksinAnchorage,

Alaska

TessaHovland♦thovland@alaskapacific.edu

AlaskaPacificUniversity♦EcologicalServicesCoastalProgram♦AlaskaRefuges

ReedCanarygrassPhalarisarundinacea

www.forestryimages.org

h?p://plants.usda.gov

Totalpointscollected=458

312

134

12

Road‐StreamXing

StreamCensus

Other

DataOverview

•  Totalareasurveyed=213acres– 12acreshaveRCGpresence

InfestedAcres #InfestaDons %ofTotal

0.001 115 25.11

0.01 49 10.70

0.1 30 6.55

0.5 9 1.97

1 4 0.87

NoRCG 251 54.80

Total 458 100

Road‐StreamCrossings

•  312TotalAcresInfested #InfestaDons %ofTotal

0 250 80.130.001 35 11.220.01 14 4.490.1 10 3.210.5 2 0.641 1 0.32

Total 312 100.00

StreamCensus

•  134totalAcres_Infest #InfestaDons %ofTotal

0.001 75 55.970.01 32 23.880.1 18 13.430.5 7 5.221 2 1.49

Total 134 100.00

Frequencydistribu&onofRCGdistancetostreams

Distance(m)

Frequencydistribu&onofRCGdistancetoroads

Analysis

•  Spa&alanalysisthroughGIStoexaminedistribu&ons

•  DevelopingRiskAnalysismodelto1.PredictareaswhereRCGispresentorsuitablehabitatwherefutureinvasionscouldoccur.

2.Helppriori&zetheseverityofcurrentRCGinfesta&onstoaidinmanagementac&ons.

3.Helptoiden&fyifthereisapa?ernamongRCGinfesta&onsoriftheiroccurrenceissimplyopportunis&c.

Analysis

•  Iden&fyandquan&fyriskfactorsforRCGinvasion–  Riskfactors:

•  Sizeofinfesta&on•  Distanceofinfesta&onfromroads

•  Distanceofinfesta&onfromstreams

•  Associatedvegeta&on•  Streamchanneliza&on

•  Overlayfactorstodetermineareasof“highrisk”

Adams,C.,&Galatowitsch,S.(2006).IncreasingtheEffec&venessofReedcanarygrass(PhalarisarundinaceaL.)ControlinWetMeadowRestora&ons.Restora2onEcology,14(3),441‐451.

AKEPICdatabase.2008.AlaskaExo&cPlantInforma&onClearinghouseDatabase.<h?p://akweeds.uaa.alaska.edu>.Accessed10/1/09.

Apfelbaum,S.I.andC.E.Sams.1987.Ecologyandcontrolofreedcanarygrass.(PhalarisarundinaceaL.).NaturalAreasJournal7(2):69‐74.

BasilI,GalatowitschS.(2008).AlteringlightandsoiltolimitPhalarisarundinaceareinvasioninsedgemeadowrestora&ons.Restora&onEcology,16(4),689‐701.

Doren,R.,RichardsJ.,VolinJ.(2008).Aconceptualecologicalmodeltofacilitateunderstandingtheroleofinvasivespeciesinlarge‐scaleecosystemrestora&on.EcologicalIndicators.ScienceDirectJournalHomePage.Volume?<www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolind>.Accessed10/11/09.

Execu&veOrder13112(1999).FederalRegister/Vol.64,No.25/Monday,February8,1999/Presiden&alDocuments.

GalatowitschS.,MillerT,SlemmonsC.(2007).ManaginginvasiveplantsinwetlandsoftheKenaiPenninsula:Developingamanagementprogramforreedcanarygrassinfesta&ons.FY2007Progresssummary.

[ISSG]InvasiveSpeciesSpecialistGroup.2005.GlobalInvasiveSpeciesDatabaseHomepage.<h?p://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=394>.Accessed10/17/09.

LandsromS,LomakkaL,AndersonS.(1996).HarvestinspringimprovesyieldandqualityofReedCanaryGrassasabioenergycrop.DepartmentofAgriculturalResearchforNorthernSweden.S‐90403.

Lavergne,S.,&Molofsky,J.(2004).ReedCanaryGrass(Phalarisarundinacea)asaBiologicalModelintheStudyofPlantInvasions.Cri2calReviewsinPlantSciences,23(5),415‐429.

Miller,T.W.,LauraPotashMar&n,andCraigB.MacConnell.2008.WeedManagement–TechniquesManagingReedCanarygrass(Phalarisarundinacea)toAidinRevegeta&onofRiparianBuffers.WeedTechnology200822:507–513.

MilnerG.(2004).WetlandEnhancementThroughScrapingReedCanaryGrass.LandandWater,50(2),44‐47.

Narumalani,S,Mishra,D,Wilson,R,etal.(2009).Detec&ngandmappingfourinvasivespeciesalongthefloodplainofNorthPla?eRiver,Nebraska.WeedTechnology,23(1),99‐107.

Viereck,L.A.,Dyrness,C.T.,Ba?en,A.R.,andWenzlick,K.J.1992.TheAlaskaVegeta&onClassifica&on.Gen.Tech.Rep.PNW‐GTR‐286.Portland,OR:USDepartmentofAg.,ForestService,PacificNorthwestResearchSta&ons.278p.

References

What’sNext?

•  Futureresearchonasub‐setofdatatocapturerateofspread

•  Management!– 115are1/1000thofanacre

Observa&ons

•  RCGseemstobeopportunis&cinMOAinvasion

•  Forstreamcensuspoints,seemstobelessRCGwithincreasedstreamchanneliza&onorbankheight

•  FoundRCGatvariousstagesofdevelopmentintoOctober

•  August‐Octoberistheeasiest&metospotRCG

•  S.CarlTobin,ChairpersonEnvironmentalScienceDepartmentAlaskaPacificUniversity

•  DavidWigglesworthCoastalProgramManager‐SouthcentralAKUSFish&WildlifeService

•  JeffHeys

Ac&ngRegionalAISCoordinator

USFish&WildlifeService

•  GinoGraziano,NRSInvasiveWeedsandAgriculturalPestCoordinatorDNR,DivisionofAgriculturePlantMaterialsCenter

•  GretchenGaryInvasiveWeedsProgramCoordinator

StandinginRCGontheUpperMissNa&onalWildlifeandFishRefugenearWabasha,MN

ReedCanarygrass(RCG)

•  Perrennialgrass•  2+meterstall

•  Establishesinwetlands,fields,&waterchannels•  Na&vetoEurasia&temperateN.America

•  Introducedforstabiliza&on&forage•  Rapidgrowth&highseedproduc&on

Rhizomes

UNIVERSITYOFALASKAFAIRBANKS

h?p://www.shorelandmanagement.org/s2s/category/plants/

Importance

•  Notoriousglobalweed(Apfelbaum&Sams.1987)•  RCGdistribu&oninAnchorageunknown– Someknownloca&ons(AKEPICdata)

– Determineextentandmethodsforeradica&onefforts

•  Adverseeffectsonsalmonhabitat(Milleretal.2008)

– Clogsstreamchannels&preventsfishpassage– Lowersdissolvedoxygeninstreams– Reducesnaturalriparianhabitat

ResearchGoals•  Iden&fyandmapextentofRCGinfesta&ons

•  Determinefactorscontribu&ngtotheestablishmentofRCGalongAnchoragestreams

•  Road‐streamnetworks

•  Human/naturaldisturbance•  Vegeta&onandassociatedplants•  Soilnutrients•  Other?

•  UseGIStopriori&zesitesforstrategichabitatconserva&on

ResearchGoals

•  AKEPIC–  (AlaskaExo&cPlantInforma&onClearinghouse)– Geospa&aldatabasefornon‐na&veflora– h?p://akweeds.uaa.alaska.edu/

ProjectDesignOverview

•  StudyArea:– HighlandDrivetoPo?erValleyRoad

•  FollowAKEPICprotocol•  Conductinventoryalongroad‐streamcrossings

•  Conductfull‐lengthstreamcensusforprioritystreams

•  Mapinfesta&onsusingTrimbleGeoXT

SamplingDesign

•  PhaseI:Road‐streamcrossingsurveys

•  PhaseII:Full‐lengthstreamcensus– PriorityStreams:

• CampbellCreek

• ChesterCreek• ShipCreek

AKEPICDataCollec&on

•  Siteinforma&on•  Loca&oninforma&on

•  Plantinforma&on

AKEPIC:SiteInforma&on

•  Sitecode•  Areasurveyed(acres)•  Sitevegeta&oncommunitytype– Vierecketal.1992

•  Disturbancetype/landuse

AKEPIC:Loca&onInforma&on

•  GPScoordinates:(decimaldegrees)NAD83•  GPSaccuracy(feet)•  Loca&onnotes

Trimble®GeoXH™

AKEPIC:PlantInforma&on

•  USDAplantcode– USDANRCSPLANTSdatabase

•  Infestedacres– Visuales&matebyspecies’extent Infestation

area (acres)

Radius of infestation area (feet)

0.001 3.7 0.01 12 0.1 37 0.5 83 1 118

AKEPIC:PlantInforma&on

•  %overstorycover•  Collec&oninforma&on

•  Aggressiveness– Spreadingbeyonddisturbancefootprint

•  Low•  Med

•  High

•  Othernotes