Study highlights best practices in buffelgrass control

WESTMINSTER, Colorado – 9 May, 2023 – Buffelgrass is a highly invasive perennial found in arid regions around the globe. It is known to reduce the biodiversity of native ecosystems and to increase the frequency and intensity of wildfires.

A team of researchers recently took a close look at efforts to control buffelgrass in Arizona’s Saguaro National Park, located in the Sonoran Desert. An article featured in volume 16, issue 1 of the journal Invasive Plant Science and Management describes what that investigation can tell us about effective control strategies. After examining data from 2011 to 2020, the team found:

• Chemical treatments with glyphosate had greater or equal effectiveness as compared to mechanical removal methods
• Early detection and treatment of new areas of buffelgrass invasion can increase treatment effectiveness.
• Treatments are likely to be more effective if spaced at an interval of less than three years.
• Steep slopes with south-facing aspects may need more frequent treatment since that environment favors buffelgrass growth.
• If longer treatment gaps are necessary due to a lack of resources, treatments in areas with less favorable environmental conditions for buffelgrass (e.g., north-facing aspect, low topographic slope) can be cautiously discontinued on a temporary basis.

“Most important of all are long-term monitoring and surveillance,” says Yue M. Li, conservation research scientist at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Arizona. “Low levels of buffelgrass can quickly expand by multiple orders of magnitude.”

To learn more, visit the article “Effectiveness of a decade of treatments to reduce invasive buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare)” – available at https://doi.org/10.1017/inp.2023.2.